Korean Job Discussion Forums

[southernman]

[s.tickbeat]

I'm super lucky to be in an after-school program. Even if there's no vacation proper, I get long weekends and 'special days' all the time. School field trips, festivals, market days, sports matches. . . usually twice a month I'll have either a long weekend or a 'special' day. Mind you, it's not 6 weeks of vacation or anything but it IS a great middle ground between hagwon and public school.

I wonder how winter vacation will play out for me? If the school is closed and locked then I just can't work. I can't access my classroom. If it's accessible though then that's another story.

[Sector7G]

This thread reminds me of my one brief stint with a hagwon.

It was sold 2 weeks after I started, and although the new owner had worked in one before, he had never owned one.

My contract-the one he bought but apparently did not read-called for 10 days of vacation.

Knowing that hagwons work year round, and trying to be an accommodating guy, I approached him and asked him when would be the best time of year for me to take a vacation(I was prepared to be flexible). That is when I first found out I would have trouble at that place. He actually did not know that I(or any other foreign teacher) got vacation. He thought we only received the 3 or 4 national days that the Korean hagwon teachers got. So he about lost his mind when he found out it was in my contract.

To make a long story short, not only did he not want me to take more than one or 2 days at a time(like long weekends), he said he could not even give me more than a week or 2 advance notice as to when I could take them. Which meant making long term plans and reservations would be impossible.

There is more to the story but I got out of there(with letter of release) before vacation became an issue.

[RSwanson26]

This is why you should make sure your contract says something along the lines of "Saturday, Sunday, and National Holidays will not be included in your vacation days. You will be paid for National Holidays and will not be required to work on them, unless voluntarily."

[cragesmure]