Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Radius]

One at one school i work at M,T,W and the other at the other school I work at on TTH,F.
Both claiming the same reason---the work load is too much and the pay isnt enough compared to what the foreigners make. The one teacher told me that I make more than her and it wasnt fair. They should get paid more, i agree. DO you think their little protest is going to change the directors mind on how much to pay the new 2 hires he has to make soon? lol.

[iggyb]

Quitting in this economy? The families must have some money...

[paulandsilas]

The only work three days, so why are they complaining?

[liveinkorea316]

Your schedule sounds like public school. If it is those women will have guts to just quit for something like that. Public school is a gravy train in Korea where their job is guaranteed till 65 and they hardly have to work much. Just teach (I mean lecture) the same textbook day in day out for days on end.

If you work in a Hagwon, indeed two, then they are likely to be getting paid not very much. They are also likely to not be qualified to teach English anyway because alot of Hagwon teachers who are Korean are simply college or uni grads in any discipline from what I have seen. They would be teaching in the hagwon until something (or someone) better comes along much like someone works in a gas station or coffee shop.

In the first case above i would think they are bluffing. In the second who cares cause they are like a good number of esl'ers out there who are on vacation aswell. Their excuse about foreign teachers wages sounds like it is cover for "my boss is shafting me and I hate this job, the hours and I don't know how to do it anyway so I am leaving to go back home with mum and dad till I can find something else I like doing between talking on my cell and shopping"

[asylum seeker]

Hagwon teachers often only get between 1.2 and 1.5 million per month and do more work (eg calling parents, paperwork etc) than the NETS so I can sympathize. I think in some cases their teaching ability, in practical terms, actually exceeds that of the NET too.

[Radius]

[Radius]

[some waygug-in]

The last hagwons I worked at had the Korean teachers earning a lot less than the FT, but they only taught half the classes.

Not sure what the deal is there, but the haggies I was at had FT's 6 classes/ day and the KT's at 3-4.

They had to do a lot more prep work and marking tests etc but they sure weren't overworked.

[ThingsComeAround]

In answer to your post, I don't think it will have the effect that you think it might on the director. They quit and gave a face-saving reason (resentment of your treatment) when in truth it could be unrelated. Maybe they found a better paying job (or got a boyfriend). People don't quit when it is hard to get cash.. well- smart people don't do that

[GreenlightmeansGO]

Supply and demand. You don't need a rocket-scientist Korean to be an afternoon-school English teacher. You just need someone with a decent (not nearly fluent) level of English and they can do the job. Hence, you can pay less and still get a teacher.

Now, let's say you offer 2 mil for the 1-5 job to a foreigner. That is the entry-level salary for most jobs, so it is alright for a foreigner. However, if you try offer that foreigner 1.5 mil for that job, you will not have a foreigner working for you.

Lastly, the Korean teacher can easily be replaced, while the foreigner will not be so easily/quickly replaced.

[Dodgy Al]

Hahaha! They must be young.

[Weigookin74]

Don't blame us for market conditions? If pay dropped to 1.5, you wouldn't have many foriegners. We are more in demand. Quit bit$^& about the rules of economics.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Wishmaster]

Ha...1.5?! Wow, I don't think you'd see many takers for that. Even with the terrible economy in the west. Even with an apartment and airfare included in the deal. I just couldn't imagine putting up with the Korean "experience" knowing that(with the exchange rate) I was making the same amount of coin as a full-time cashier at Mcdonald's. Uh...no. No thanks. Only those from the 3rd world(ie Philippines, etc) would work for that and that is because they are desperate and at the mercy of the Koreans(unfortunately). No, all you apologists can take those 1.5 million won jobs...after all, this is Korea and you should just accept it.

[interestedinhanguk]

A fair number of the hagwon teachers are no more qualified than NETs in terms of educational level. Furthermore, they rarely speak English fluently (unlike NETs). Even if they do, they still probably have an accent.

A Korean friend of mine teaches at a hagwon. She has a bachelors degree in an unrelated field. Once she was moaning about why should NETs make more. She only works a couple hours a day. I asked her how far she had to move and how many sacrifices she had to make for her job.

I work in a kindy/hagwon. I do more work than the Korean teachers. And I'm not talking about when the boss is away and they all skip out and leave the kids alone, while they sit in one room and chat.