Korean Job Discussion Forums

[laurenmcgee]

Hello everyone,

I'm living in Korea looking for a job in Seoul. I am currently teaching elsewhere. I have heard from Daekyo Co (I think they might also be known as school bus...) but can't find much on them in terms of what they are like. Does anyone know of any other good after school programmes???

[freddy_teacher]

anyone?

i got a job offer from them, but i cant find any info...

i ran into someone teaching at an after school position last year and he said that its the only job he'll ever do (just short of working for a university).

so now im on a quest trying to grab a position. can anyone recommend an after school company? whats the general consensus about these academies?

[OculisOrbis]

Try to contact these people.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=174594&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

[freddy_teacher]

[laurenmcgee]

Thanks for your replies,

I heard of edup/win education but heard bad news about them. Nothing on Daekyo though, but they seem pretty decent and have established offices.
If anyone knows of good afterschool programmes or anything about Daekyo (also know as school bus) please let me know! Thanks!

[OculisOrbis]

Asking for a good after school program company is basically the same as asking for a good recruiter. Neither really exists. They are both parasitic by nature.

[laurenmcgee]

Have you had a bad experience of an afterschool programme?

[OculisOrbis]

No, but I know a number of people that have.

[freddy_teacher]

[OculisOrbis]

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7839719/

There really isnt anything to say that you can't find online with 20 minutes of research. Youre already convinced you are going to take this job and seem to just want someone to tell you that you should and pat you on the back for making a great decision.

[freddy_teacher]

thanks for contributing positively. you're a valuable asset to this website and all of korea. i commend you sir.

[Alias77]

I don't care much for Daekyo. It's an expanding company that has recently been buying out other after-school programs. They started out with after-school computer classes (in Korean) and other such things, but they now want a chunk of the English market. They push the extra "prep" time (of 2) hours starting at 11 a.m., which includes mandatory lunch, that seems to be the new way to suck up your personal time while still paying the same salary. The Korean teachers that work for this company have it even worse (compared to other after-school programs). As I understand it, they require monthly student evaluations/report cards. If you have 60 or more students, any experienced teacher knows that this further equates to a major drain of your personal time to write comments. Most (normal) people would view three months as a more appropriate (and logical) grading and evaluation period to gauge progress, although I once worked under a two month evaluation system which was manageable.

Long story short, I feel that they're a typical corporate monster wanting established long working hours from foreigners and Koreans alike. IMO, there are times when extra work should be done. However, I'd rather do appropriate planning, grading, and material preparation on my own time than be saddled with mandatory hours designated for "busy" work. I don't know any (foreign English) teacher, even those who are responsible and dedicated, who would back up a corporate assertion that you need to be at work two hours early every day to talk about the lessons with the Korean teacher. The impression Daekyo projects, is that they lean much further toward "profit margin" and sales (enrollment) statistics than education and teacher/student satisfaction and accomplishment. Understandably, profit may be any hagwon's primary focus as a business, but you can quickly tell which employers also happen to care. That, to me, makes a difference.

I suggest that you read the contract thoroughly and consider what the company is really asking of you and your time. In reference to an earlier post that all after-school programs are parasitic, I agree that most are, but not all. Even then, there are varying degrees of parasitic. This also happens to be the wrong time of year to shop for after-school positions. The bulk of them hit the market in March and May.

What matters most in accepting any job here, as I've found, is that you are happy with most of the conditions. Starting a one year contract could be a long haul if you're not.

Good luck.

[freddy_teacher]

Alias77, thanks for your reply!

When I was at a hagwon this year in Seoul, i was required to do monthly evaluations as well. Granted I didnt have 60 students, maybe 30 at max, I still had to do them...

So far, what everyone has been describing sounds very similar to my hagwon position, just the after-school has MUCH better hours.

I actually dont mind "desk warming" for a couple hours. I think its better than "working" for a couple hours.

maybe the people who are posting negative things have AMAZING jobs that only require them to work 2 hours a day for 5,000,000w pay per month.

but for us regular folk with a simple B.A. in unemployment, a like for Korean culture and desire to teach esl, these AMAZING jobs are out of our reach. when comparing it to a useless North American 9 to 5, i cant really call working in korea, "working."

i still have yet to read a convincing argument on why after school programs are any worse than the average hagwon...

[laurenmcgee]

Thanks for the help.

I didn't want a pat on the back for making the right decision. I would like the job but was checking to see if there was any information that would help with decision making process or if anyone could enlighten me on new information. Which I thought that was what the website was for.....

I feel working from 1-5 teaching, is pretty great. Yeah you have the 11-1pm prep time but even with that it is still a lot less work then you would do at a hagwon. Even at a public school where a lot of my friends work they start at 8:30-4:30 and have lots of free time just sitting around. Thats a full time job, although with the great perk of vacation.

My main enquiry was to check to see if anyone had bad experiences with the company or knew of reputable after school programme. There isn't a major cause of concern from what I read so far. I think it depends on the priorities of the person. Mine is location (I want to be as close to central Seoul as possible) Sinjeong. Mokdong is only 7 stops from hondik uni. Second, is schedual I think afterschool offers the best hours. I guess everyone's different though.....

Fingers crossed we all end up in the jobs we expect or want (minus a few negatives which is usually the case in ALL jobs)

[surewould]

Anyone have any Daekyo updates? I'm talking to them now and the hours are looking pretty attractive.