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willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
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 Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
Considering it was never your appartment at all this can happen.
Maybe the lease was up and the school had to move you out. Maybe there is anothe reason. Why not ask your boss before posting here in anger? Oups too late 
Just wait until Monday and ask your employer the reason for the move. |
This is exactly what I am talking about, man. How can you possibly be pinning the blame on the OP in this situation?
They are not asking him to move into another apartment. They are telling him that he has to get out of his apartment, with only 2 weeks notice, and to go find his own place. His contract stipulates that he will be given housing, NOT a stipend of 400,000W. He is working at a public school, it should not be his responsibility to put down key money and to find his own place.
First off...how can the school possibly have not known sooner that the lease would be up? Surely they must have known that this was the case when they drew up the contract?
Second....if they were asking him to move into a different, comparable apartment, that they had already arranged....then he wouldn't have much of a case. Then again, after living in one place for 4 years I would think it common courtesy to inform him of this move at contract signing.
Third....he was not blaming the messenger, but simply pointing out that the person whose job it is to inform him of such matters didn't even call him, which leads him to believe (by logical deduction) that his co-teacher either had this information and didn't share it, or that his co-teacher wasn't doing his job properly...especially if he's had problems with a lazy co-teacher in the past.
Whether there is a logical explanation or solution provided by his boss on Monday or not is irrelevant. The manner in which this situation was handled was entirely inappropriate and the OP has the right to be angry. You're always so quick to jump on anyone who has a complaint with their employer, but I guarantee that if you were kicked out of the apartment you'd been living in for 4 years 2 weeks before the new school year started, you'd probably be a little bit upset about this fact. Add into the mix that the OP may live in a town without an English speaking real estate office, and his Korean may not be good enough to manage such an undertaking on his own...the school made no mention of helping him find an apartment, but simply said, "get out....but don't worry, we'll give you 400 bucks instead" |
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thegadfly
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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| willteachforfood wrote: |
Third....he was not blaming the messenger, but simply pointing out that the person whose job it is to inform him of such matters didn't even call him, which leads him to believe (by logical deduction) that his co-teacher either had this information and didn't share it, or that his co-teacher wasn't doing his job properly...especially if he's had problems with a lazy co-teacher in the past. |
Sorry -- there is no logical leap from "my co-teacher didn't tell me" to "my co-teacher knew but didn't tell me."
Do you imagine that ONLY the foreigners are kept in the dark? Koreans are told about as much as we are -- they just have a more effective ability to pick up on gossip. Bosses make sudden decisions and drop it into the laps of the lower-ranking folks -- foreign AND Korean -- and then there is the mad scramble to make things work, or to keep things from exploding.
Yes, the OP got screwed over by the sudden change, but this anger he has toward his co-teacher is misdirected and counter-productive. The co-teacher did not make the decision, could not change the decision, and most likely had about as much notice of the event as the OP...and the co-teacher is put in the unenviable position of telling the guy that clearly hates him that management is tossing him out of his place in two weeks.... Both the OP AND the co-teacher should be ticked off at management...and nothing unites folks like a common enemy.
Folks need to learn to pick fights with the right people -- the co-teacher is NOT the person to blame -- in fact, he might be a potential ally in this situation.... |
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willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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| thegadfly wrote: |
| and the co-teacher is put in the unenviable position of telling the guy that clearly hates him that management is tossing him out of his place in two weeks.... |
From what the OP has said, the co-teacher is extraordinarily lazy and has earned the 'right' to be hated....but I do see your point that it is possible that the co-teacher was never given the information. I do not feel that it is probable, but it is possible, so I will retract my statement that the co-teacher 100% has some of the blame....there is a 70% chance that he should take some of the blame (not for him losing the apartment, but for the OP finding out about it so late in the game.) |
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bobbybigfoot
Joined: 05 May 2007
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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Maybe his boss thinks that since he's been in Korea at least four years that it wouldn't be that hard for him to find another place.
Since he left for a month, it's quite possible the school decided to get rid of the apartment and provide housing allowance instead.
Then, in a bind, probably decided to rope-a-dope and got him to sign without telling him.
They probably screwed him over (not telling him up front) because they feel like he shafted them by going off and finding another job.
Or maybe they screwed him over because, well, it's so commonplace in Korea to do such things.
Make no mistake: Koreans screw each other over just as much as they screw us over. |
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willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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| bobbybigfoot wrote: |
| Make no mistake: Koreans screw each other over just as much as they screw us over. |
+1
This doesn't, however, mean that foreigners just need to grin and bear it because that's what Koreans do. |
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southernman
Joined: 15 Jan 2010
Location: On the mainland again
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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| bobbybigfoot wrote: |
| Make no mistake: Koreans screw each other over just as much as they screw us over. |
This is very true. My brother in-law used to produce the night time news for a Hong Kong TV station. Before I came here he told me that he didn't know much about Korea apart from the fact that Korean businessmen are regarded as the least trustworthy in Asia.
I would go with the gadfly's advice pick your battle with the right person, theres no point wasting time and energy getting angry with a minion.
Also NY_Gal's advice about how paying key money could quite possibly work out in your favor is also true.
You left for a month and weren't going to re-sign anyway. The schools in a bind and needs a teacher, they offered you a job but not in your current apartment. Your co-teacher is a lazy SOB but he's retiring soon, right.
You must have saved a truckload of money during your 4 years, if you're not happy move on because as you know finding a new apartment is hardly a major issue, there are realtors everywhere. |
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Epik_Teacher
Joined: 28 Apr 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| southernman wrote: |
| bobbybigfoot wrote: |
| Make no mistake: Koreans screw each other over just as much as they screw us over. |
This is very true. My brother in-law used to produce the night time news for a Hong Kong TV station. Before I came here he told me that he didn't know much about Korea apart from the fact that Korean businessmen are regarded as the least trustworthy in Asia.
I would go with the gadfly's advice pick your battle with the right person, theres no point wasting time and energy getting angry with a minion.
Also NY_Gal's advice about how paying key money could quite possibly work out in your favor is also true.
You left for a month and weren't going to re-sign anyway. The schools in a bind and needs a teacher, they offered you a job but not in your current apartment. Your co-teacher is a lazy SOB but he's retiring soon, right.
You must have saved a truckload of money during your 4 years, if you're not happy move on because as you know finding a new apartment is hardly a major issue, there are realtors everywhere. |
They want me to find a new apartment, pay to move, etc... I live on the 14th floor of an apartment and it will probably cost at least 1 million to move. If I leave, they will have to find another apartment anyway, that's the part I don't get. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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| With GEPIK, if the school moves you during the contract, they are required to pay the movers. Are they offering you key money or not? |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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| jrwhite82 wrote: |
| With GEPIK, if the school moves you during the contract, they are required to pay the movers. Are they offering you key money or not? |
Moving should cost about 300,000 won. In my utilities bill every month, there are always a handful of coupons for movers.
Your school should pay for the move, though. |
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hamsteRRiFic
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Location: going around in circles...
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:04 pm Post subject: |
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So...
When you were planning on taking another job, did you think you would continue living in the same apartment?? Or did you plan to get a new job, but not realize you would also be getting a new place to live??
I guess I don't understand why you are flipping out. You still have a couple of weeks to find something, and I seriously doubt if you're working during those weeks anyway. In your area housing is cheap and 400,000 per month will be enough to find something decent. It's not going to take 1,000,000 to move. Where did you come up with that figure? This is Korea, the land of cheap labor. I've lived in 5 different apartments and it has NEVER cost me that much to move. Maybe 250,000 at the MOST, and that includes hiring the truck with a couple of people to come and pack everything up for me AND someone to clean the new place before I move in.
If you are so unhappy with this situation, why don't you tell your employer that it's a deal-breaker for you, and you won't work there if you can't stay in your current place? If you were planning on getting a new job anyway, I'm sure you have whatever documents you need ready. Quit and find another place to work that provides housing. This is the best time of year to find another position last-minute. It's the best time of year to find your own housing, too, because so many foreigners all over Korea are selling their decent-quality household items for cheap.
Honestly, taking care of your own housing is not nearly as difficult as you are making it seem. You find a realtor, look at a couple of places, find one you like, pay the money, sign the lease, and move in. Not that different from your home country. Personally, I prefer not having my housing tied to my employment. One is far more protected should the job turn sour. Besides, have you even looked into what it would cost to stay in the building but move into a different unit, or even stay in the same one? Chances are you won't even have to move out of the building unless you really want to.
Anyway, I realize that it's frustrating to learn things at the last minute, but frankly I don't think this qualifies as being "screwed over." Is it horribly inconvenient? Yes. But are they screwing you? No. You are getting all of the money that you are owed. You have been offered compensation instead of provided housing. If that's not satisfactory, then just say no and move on (which you were planning to do anyway). Aside from being caught off guard, what's the big deal? |
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lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Location: somewhere in China
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| Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:10 am Post subject: |
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| I left Korea for a month, I hadn't signed a contract because I was planning to take another job. It fell thru, and at the last minute they asked me to re-sign. I did, now all this BS is happening. |
If you left for a month, then that means you weren't teaching. The school obviously wasn't planning on rehiring you then. This means that you WEREN'T going to do a 5th year.
In addition to this clarification from your original post, I find it hard they were able to contact you during that month if you didn't provide them contact information.
Are you not telling us something? Maybe your Plan A didn't work, so then it was you that contacted them to get your old job back. I doubt it was ever a Plan B until Plan A fell through.
Now you are seeing the ramifications of saying no to a school. |
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Slowmotion
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:49 am Post subject: |
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| Weigookin74 wrote: |
| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
The owner of my place decided that she wanted to rent to a Korean after my first year, because of an insurance fee she'd have had to pay for me to stay. I had to move house, but my school paid the moving fee.
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Yeah right! Probably just didn't want a foriegner there. Maybe other tenants complained. Your landlord might have said that as a way to evict you and to "save face". That's very important here. Also why your co-teacher didn't want to tell you OP. |
When people on here have a mentality like that, I wonder exactly what Korean people have done to them lol |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 1:51 am Post subject: |
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| Slowmotion wrote: |
| Weigookin74 wrote: |
| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
The owner of my place decided that she wanted to rent to a Korean after my first year, because of an insurance fee she'd have had to pay for me to stay. I had to move house, but my school paid the moving fee.
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Yeah right! Probably just didn't want a foriegner there. Maybe other tenants complained. Your landlord might have said that as a way to evict you and to "save face". That's very important here. Also why your co-teacher didn't want to tell you OP. |
When people on here have a mentality like that, I wonder exactly what Korean people have done to them lol |
I know. I stayed in the same building anyway, and have a nicer apartment. It all worked out for me. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:02 am Post subject: |
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| willteachforfood wrote: |
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
Considering it was never your appartment at all this can happen.
Maybe the lease was up and the school had to move you out. Maybe there is anothe reason. Why not ask your boss before posting here in anger? Oups too late
Just wait until Monday and ask your employer the reason for the move. |
This is exactly what I am talking about, man. How can you possibly be pinning the blame on the OP in this situation?
They are not asking him to move into another apartment. They are telling him that he has to get out of his apartment, with only 2 weeks notice, and to go find his own place. His contract stipulates that he will be given housing, NOT a stipend of 400,000W. He is working at a public school, it should not be his responsibility to put down key money and to find his own place.
First off...how can the school possibly have not known sooner that the lease would be up? Surely they must have known that this was the case when they drew up the contract?
Second....if they were asking him to move into a different, comparable apartment, that they had already arranged....then he wouldn't have much of a case. Then again, after living in one place for 4 years I would think it common courtesy to inform him of this move at contract signing.
Third....he was not blaming the messenger, but simply pointing out that the person whose job it is to inform him of such matters didn't even call him, which leads him to believe (by logical deduction) that his co-teacher either had this information and didn't share it, or that his co-teacher wasn't doing his job properly...especially if he's had problems with a lazy co-teacher in the past.
Whether there is a logical explanation or solution provided by his boss on Monday or not is irrelevant. The manner in which this situation was handled was entirely inappropriate and the OP has the right to be angry. You're always so quick to jump on anyone who has a complaint with their employer, but I guarantee that if you were kicked out of the apartment you'd been living in for 4 years 2 weeks before the new school year started, you'd probably be a little bit upset about this fact. Add into the mix that the OP may live in a town without an English speaking real estate office, and his Korean may not be good enough to manage such an undertaking on his own...the school made no mention of helping him find an apartment, but simply said, "get out....but don't worry, we'll give you 400 bucks instead" |
For Pete's sake...I am not blaming the OP!
I am saying ALONG WITH OTHERS IN THE THREAD that there could be other explanations for this situation beyond "the school screwed me".
READ the thread buddy, plenty of credible reasons have been provided.
I argued that before JUMPINMG TO CONCLUSIONS on this, that the OP SHOULD PERHAPS WAIT UNTIL MONDAY and ASK HIS BOSS about the situation.
By the way, the appartments provided by employers ARE NOT OURS. they belong to the school or are rented by the school. That is not a slam, its a fact.
You know what...here it is as bluntly as I can put it: The OP directed his anger at the WRONG person as his co-teacher has NOTHING to do with any of this. Then instead of considering his situation with maturity, he-she came on an online discussion board to complain and take shots at his co-teacher and school. Now thats real productive and conducive to solving the issue.
It is also a classic case of : shooting blame one way and then wallowing in a pool of your own misery, rolling around in it with others who on a discussion forum will invariably join in.
The smarter option: call your boss right away (even if it is a weekend) and politely ask why this is happening. In short DO something about it instead of WHINING about it online. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:10 am Post subject: |
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I bet what happened was that EPIK_Teacher just re-signed last minute. According to his other thread, this is a fact.
So the school went to renew the lease late last week. The landlord decided to jack up the key money/rent, because he probably hasn't in 4 years. Now the cost of EPIK_Teacher's apartment is ridiculously high. So the school had to check their budget office. That took a day. Then they find out they don't have the money. So they told EPIK_Teacher. Since EPIK_Teacher is notoriously one of the most anti-Korean posters on this board. He let his bias get the best of him and got very upset about this situation. Before he got any more information. |
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