Korean Job Discussion Forums

[brosario1]

Greetings.

Does anyone know about this school? So far everyone who I have talked to over there seems sweet and friendly. It's a Christian school (I am a Christian as well so its not a problem), but does anyone have any experience with this school or with ILSAN in general?

This is my first time going to Korea.

And they are offering me 2 million KRW. Any opinions on this would be appreciated, either on the thread or via PM Thanks and GodBLess

[jrwhite82]

2-2.3 is the going rate for hagwons (a little on the low end) if you don't have teaching experience. Tell them that most schools offer 2.2 if you want. They might agree, offer you 2.1, or stay with their offer. It never hurts to ask.

How are the hours and vacation?

Ilsan is great. I lived there for a year and am heading back next month. It is about 45 minutes to an hour from Seoul by subway/bus. It is well developed and there is a lot to do in Ilsan itself. Lake Park is really nice, but can be a bit crowded. La Festa has some great BBQ and shopping. Western Dom has good shopping as well and the sausage place by the movie theater is my favorite.

Most teachers/foreigners hang out in La Festa, because that's where all the bars are. So start there if you want to meet other people outside of your school who are not Korean and you don't mind drinking. If you don't like going to bars there are a few English churches you can check out to meet people, or make friends through work, or there are some clubs and stuff I'm sure you could find.

The teacher community is not huge, so you will start to recognize people rather quickly. But it is big enough to be able to find people who you should get along with.

There is a HUGE church between La Festa and Western Dom, check it out. They have translating devices so you can understand the sermon.

I loved living in Ilsan.

[brosario1]

thanks so much for the feedback. I am definitely leaning towards this school, especially now that they have told me they will go from 2 to 2.1.

See you in Ilsan!

[jrwhite82]

Great! Good luck man!

[OculisOrbis]

Be very cautious of 'christian' schools in korea. the christian part of their values is normally extolled when they are reasoning why they are offering less salary and you will be deemed a bad christian if you oppose unpaid overtime, working weekends, opposing attending forced services on your free time etc. Christian schools here are in it for profit and tend to justify the greed and shady practices with their religion. (Also most school that claim to be 'International', in fact, are nothing more than glorified hagwons so youre looking at a possible double negative with that place - and the double negative does not equal a positive, in this case.)

I'n not saying saying this school will do all that, but, from my experience, it seems it has been a far less than satisfactory experience of most teachers in christian schools here. Even contacting current teachers will likely just get you the prescribed scripture response of the management. Former teachers are who you need to talk to, but good luck in getting their contact info.

[jrwhite82]

He makes a some what valid point, but it sounds like you did your homework pretty well. You asked for higher pay and they agreed to give it to you, so it sounds like it isn't one of those schools (those bad schools probably being in the minority) The teachers you talked to were the Native English Teachers right and the director wasn't in the room during the conversation? If you got a good vibe from them and they are happy I wouldn't worry at all.

Remember that at any job you take not everything is going to go your way. If you work hard, follow your directors advice at the beginning and develop positive relationships with your students, then you shouldn't have to worry about anything.

If your director tries to use your faith as a tool to manipulate you into working extra hours or take less pay that is pretty ridiculous. I know it does happen but remember what you read on these boards are usually the exceptions, not the norm. Most teachers who are content don't come on here to rave about how normal and incident free their jobs are.

[mlotto777]

I have first hand knowledge of this school. Contact me.

[email protected]

[OculisOrbis]

[sugar79]

Hi there

If anyone of you have experience and can tell me more about this school, I would appreciate.. as I have also applied to them and would like to know the "real deal", as it does from the outside seem like an excellent environment to belong to.

thank u. pls write soon

[Zackback]

only 2.1 million to work from 9am to 6pm..plus all those little extras (not money but work responsibility)..no thanks

[sugar79]

thank u for your reply. i hear you about the extra duties, etc with no pay.. while this aspect is very frustrating for me to deal with too, this has been my experience with 2 non-Christian schools/ hagwons here too, so i really dont see it as a "bad" thing or any different from the other schools here.

is there anything more u can tell me - like, are there foreigners working there who dont have formal teaching qualifications and only have a Bachelors degree?
do teachers get paid on time? is the workload fairly reasonable, etc? do they really care about the teachers well-being and treat everyone fairly, despite nationality or race?

thank u! and God bless u!!

[RangerMcGreggor]

[enchoo]

Hello All,
Lighthouse International School in Poongsan Station Ilsan please tell me ASAP about your experiences there and any PAY or DOCTRINAL or MICROMANAGEMENT PROBLEMS. I am about to be interviewed there for a position teaching ACT in a winter camp situation through a recruiter in a few days. Honest comments with specific examples without naming names.
Thanks in advance.
GP

[PRagic]

"is there anything more u can tell me - like, are there foreigners working there who dont have formal teaching qualifications and only have a Bachelors degree?"

99% of the institutes in Korea employ people with unrelated BA/BS degrees and zero teaching experience, so that's not necessarily a red flag in and of itself.