Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jzrossef]

I'm in a bit of an awkward situation here. The school I work for lent me a car for a month, and I had a minor accident with it. The road got too muddy and my car slanted down to the nearby farmland and landed on its side. Since it was moving really slowly, it only suffered few dents here on the side with some leaks with few mechanical pieces... the engine works fine. The cost estimates came up about 140,000 won. Its insurance covers about 40-50k, and the administration want to pay about 50k, leaving me with 40k. Not sure if that's fair... but they're good people and I feel I am responsible, even though they should have had proper insurance.

The issue is that I need to compensate the loss with something. I work from 9 - 5 Monday - Friday, and my visa lets me work outside of school with or without permission. (The principle was sympathetic with me and assured me that he can let me leave at 4pm till I can compensate the loss.

I don't know what is the protocol for my searches with part-time jobs. What I used to do is to browse part-time jobs over sites like craiglist or kijiji, but I can't seem to find one like that here... locally and all that jazz. I'm not exactly sure if it's appropriate to post paper advertisements in the apartments or public poles... doesn't sound all that professional, in a sense. If anyone can share their opinions or insights, I'd really appreciate it.

For what's all worth, thanks for listening to me with all my vents... just hope that I can prevail through the difficult times.

[OculisOrbis]

you damaged it, you should pay for it. not much to consider here. i dont know why your school is paying anything to fix it. it's also unbelievable that you think you should be compensated for the mere 40k that youre being asked to contribute when you should be paying for everything.

[Ramen]

your school graciously lent you a car and you caused and had an accident with some damages. yes, you are responsible so pay up.

what's the big deal in paying 40K won?

i wouldn't want to hire you with that kind of attitude.

[thegadfly]

I'm sorry, but I am confused -- you are looking for another job to make up for a 40k won "loss"? Did you leave a few zeroes off of your numbers?

You borrowed a school car, got in a wreck, and aren't sure if it is fair that you pay for part of the costs incurred? Were you driving on school-related business, at the school's request? If so, then yeah, they need to pay for it all. If you were driving it on your own time, for your own use, and was lent it as a favor, then you should pay the full cost (minus insurance, if they were willing to file for so low an amount)...but the amount you are talking about is 140,000 won -- an amount so small that I can not get why it would drive you (hehe) to look for an additional job...and you say you only need 40k of it....

If you are looking for part-time work in your town, you need to network -- go to any of the foreigner watering holes (daytime or nightime --coffee shops, bars, certain restaurants, whatever), strike up a few conversations, mention you are looking for part-time or sub work -- you may not get anything immediately, but "friend of a friend" referrals are probably your best bet....

Good luck!

[CentralCali]

I'm confused by the "proper insurance" comment. OP: Haven't you ever heard of a deductible for insurance?

[Zyzyfer]

Wow. I blew 40K yesterday on pizza and a few beers. Really pinching those pennies if you're sweating this amount!

[jrwhite82]

Did you mean 40,000W, 400,000W, or 4,000,000W? Why do you need a second job to make up 40,000 or 400,000W? 4,000,000W, I can see wanting to get some extra money. But 400,000 to 40,000W is nothing. Why don't you ask your director if you can do some extra work for him to pay it off. He seems like a REALLY nice guy if he's willing to pay for half of YOUR accident. You have to start networking if you want to do private tutoring. That's the best way. I've seen some corporate/adult gigs on worknplay.

These are the stories I should bookmark to quote in threads when people claim hagwon owners are all corrupt and evil and that the NETS are always the ones getting screwed.

It sounds like you are on an F4 visa. I think there are some other laws and rules you have to follow before teaching privates. Check with your local government office about registering yourself as private tutor. A few other posters might have more info on that.

[I-am-me]

If they required you to drive to a job, then it should be covered under their insurance. I wouldn't pay a penny if that is the case. If you were driving for personal business, then you should pay.

[jzrossef]

My mistake. It's 400k, not 40k. (Just found that it's actually 500k)

The story is that while I am not required to drive, as mentioned in the contract... my current residence is a bit far and school lent me their car so that I can drive to school until I move closer to school... it's gonna happen mid-March.

The administration I work are not the most competent people in the world, but they're honest and work hard. (May sound ironic as this is coming from a person who had an accident... but it's not due to reckless, for my defense)
Even though they should have had proper insurance, I don't hold grudges... annoyed, but I can handle it. BTW, I was driving home from school when this happened.

Anyway, it looks like that amount is reasonable. Just had to be sure, you know? 1.5million to repair dents and one headlight sounded a lot to me, that's all. And I just wanted to know if there were any laws that I should know about.

Speaking of work&play though... is there anything more local version? I'm in Yangpyeong, and most of the advertisements are from Seoul or other major cities. I'll give it a shot, but not sure if that's the way to go. There is always the option of posting your ad in public poles or apartments, but I wanna reserve that as a last resort.

Oh, and there's no option of working overtime to compensate for 500k... schedule for school is already full as it is. Good call though, jrwhite82.

BTW, I wasn't complaining about innocent teachers vs. evil hagwons... not really in the mood to defend myself... but I'd appreciate a solution to this part-time work option if anyone's got more ideas.

[busanliving]

Are you at public school or hogwan? If public school ask if they can find you some extra school classses or other work. Also what kind of visa do you have? If you don't have the correct visa you would be pretty stupid to advertise that you are looking to work illegally, maybe if you have your bosses permission to work at a second location and he will file it with immigration.

And why didn't you take responsibility for checking the insurance?

[CentralCali]

Another couple of questions arising from my curiosity:

1. What type of driver's license do you have?
   
2. Are you actually covered on the vehicle's insurance?

[jzrossef]

[Bondrock]

You sound distressed, but honest.

I suggest you talk to your school and see if you can work out a payment plan for the 400k to ease your anxiety. Also, it is probably a small repair shop doing the car repair and often those guys will accept a payment plan if someone vouches for you.

That might ease the stress level for you.

Making contacts takes time. You need to contact any Korean family you might have and see if they can send any work ideas your way.

And make friends with the local merchants. Take some rice cakes to your neighbors and introduce yourself. Make yourself and your abilities known and your opportunities will increase.

[jzrossef]

[BigBuds]