Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mr. Pink]

[fidel]

[rapier]

So whats the pay like? Cmon, 2.5 ,or 3.0?

[Mr. Pink]

[Che]

Worked in public schools for four years with EPIK.Don't know why people bitch so much about work hours as I never had any problems.The trick is to avoid the korean teachers resenting you should you want to go home once you've completed your teaching schedule.After all they have to complete absence forms,sickness forms etc if they want time off as they're bound by the rules of the workplace.
My way around this was to show I was always available if there was work to be done.When I arrived at a new school IWould make a point of staying on a while and usually got invited to dinner or some other little social gathering.At my first school I would sometimes show up on Saturday morning to do a little prep for Monday. This was noted and I became part of the teachers group. Then after a while I would casually say I was leaving to do some prep at home if there was nothing for me to do. No problems.
I'm out of the school system now but have maintained many contacts and still have some good teacher friends who I see now and again.

[fidel]

Mr Pink,
Regarding the issue of unions/associations, like you my school is privately owned ( one teacher quoted to me that over 60% of high schools are), so instead of having an official union they have what they term an 'association' which is essentially the same thing. They weld a great deal of power at my school and if they don't agree with decisions that are made at the school they use this influence to get things the way they like. They even appoint a full time chairperson who is exempt from teaching duties for the duration of his tenure which is usually for several years.

Like you I have an I.D for the student database, however I would still hesitate to call myself a full teaching member of the faculty. However I agree that we are a step above the Korean one year contract instructors.
The korean teachers get benefits ranging from special subsidized health care (seperate from the standard heath insurance) salary bonuses far exceeding mine, yearly raises far exceeding mine, sabbaticals, international teacher exchanges, subsidized housing loans, to name just a few. There is a whole lot of other such perks that is one of the reasons why thousands take the teachers exam, but due to it's difficulty few pass on their first try.

[caniff]

Rapier, in response to you:

I'm making 2.4 base with .6 extra with 1 additional class mon-fri for 50 minutes. I could have done better on the contract, but then again I'm stupid. On the other hand:

The vacation and downtime where I don't have to go to school are unbelievable.

I think all together with vaca, test days, CLEANING DAYS , etc., I get over 4 months a year vacation. Helps with the mental condition...

[rapier]

[Mr. Pink]

[Mosley]

Adventureman gave a pretty good summary of the EPIK conditions.

flutieflakes: "whoever said EPIK sucks?" Well, I did, even though I didn't put it as eloquently as that. I still basically hold that to be true, but that battle was already fought w/bloodshed at Dave's last year & I've no intention of renewing an offensive over EPIK's shortcomings:the lack of standardization regarding working conditions, perks, accommodation, etc.; and the complete and utter lack of support from EPIK Central. But I will take issue w/your "shrug your shoulders" attitude about attendance.

I know you've been here a while, so I'm taken aback by your lack of concern about what your KOREAN colleagues think of your buggering off early. News flash: many Korean teachers resent us-even before one has worked a single day. They resent our salaries, our "long" vacations, our single housing(even if you're placed in a dump, like I), our free Saturdays, our lack of admin. duties, etc.,etc. So do you really think that many don't resent you, even though "nobody has said anything"? Dream on. The Koreans(and Japanese)will RARELY ever confront a barbarian directly about their shortcomings. To wit:
1. Bluntly put, ending workshops an hour early is an abrogation of your duty. And just because some teachers are silent about that, it doesn't mean they approve. If a suggestion to end workshops early comes from the oldest male teacher, noone will object openly.
2. Last year, fairly or unfairly(I suspect the latter), a few EPIKs were denied renewal-at the last minute! Guess what? "Nobody had said anything" to them either-no complaints, feedback or whatever.
3. A similar thing happened to a JET a few years-she was a whiny, spoiled brat. She took vacations at her discretion, always buggered off early, etc. Because of the 3 yr. limit, it's very rare for a JET to be denied renewal, but that's what happened to her. A bruhaha followed, and she screamed "Well, nobody told me anything was wrong!" Right, sweetheart: in E. Asia, ya gotta read the vibes.

Not trying to flame ya bud, but I think others need a more realistic view if they think they can join EPIK, bugger off at any time of day & all will be peachy.....

[flutieflakes]

well mosley..................the fact that i am now teaching supplementary classes (20, 000 a day) at 4:15 surely justifies my 4:00 finish.........i work in a place where my english people are so laid back they elect to go visit temples, parks and other places around town when spring rolls around...........it is them who ask for these outings, not me...........i guess the boonies are a diferent vibe...............perhaps if you stopped shoving grammar down their throats they would react differently............boring them to tears i'm sure you old tyrant you.................ff

[shawner88]

About a year ago the government announced a plan to hire at least 1 foreign teacher for every public school in the country at 3,000,000/month with accomodation by 2005. Anyone else remember that? It's probably just another of many big announcements of which never actually comes to be.

[Mosley]

I may or may not be a boring tyrant or reactionary grammarian(SOME teachers like grammar-based lessons) but I'm not THAT old....

shawner: that's pure unadulterated bull.

[Zyzyfer]

Public schools might seem better on paper, but I suggest that anyone looking for a solid, respectable job should ask a lot of questions about the specifics of the job, or you may very well find yourself in a predicament.

[Mr. Pink]