Korean Job Discussion Forums

[itiswhatitis]

You will enjoy a hagwon much more than a public school.

From my experience, at a hagwon you are considered to be an actual teacher whearas at a public school you are considered more of a clown/white monkey. At the hagwons the Korean children are extremely respectful and they bow to you as they come in and as they leave.

I've done both and I can tell you that I never have discipline problems at the hagwon. At the public school the control of the classroom all depends on the Korean teacher (average elementary class size in a public school is between 35-40 UNLESS you're at a rural school in the middle of nowhere). With such large classes discipline is often a problem at public schools.

Time for a reality check:

How many Korean teachers do you think actually want a foreign teacher in their classroom? I mean really, stop and think about it. A very small minority of them do, and the minority of them that do want you only want you so that they can use you to practice/improve their own English. They may beg you to meet with them on your own time to study English and they will not pay you for it (maybe in Kimchi). If you refuse to meet with them then they have the power to make your life miserable. DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS UNCOMMON AND THAT IT WON'T HAPPEN TO YOU.

Speaking of which.....

My co-teacher at the public school (I now work in a hagwon) used to complain that now that she has a foreign teacher that she has no choice but to know the correct answers to questions from her students about English. I was shocked that she admitted this to me and I considered complaining about it but I didn't after I realized how vulnerable I was (she could have made my life miserable or even got me fired). This kind of BS would never be tolerated in a hagwon. You think this is uncommon? THINK AGAIN!!!


Kids in Korea have little respect for foreign teachers in a public school setting. They view you as being a clown. Kids in Korea know the difference between a white person/foreigner who is a diplomat, MBA or Engineer and one who is a dime a dozen English teacher. The reason you get more respect in a hagwon is because in a hagwon you are viewed as a teacher but in a public school you are viewed as a spoiled clown who does no real work (even though this is not the case-you will work much harder and longer hours at a public school).

My experience is that public school teachers get the least amount of respect in Seoul (as compared to other parts of Korea). This is probably because many of the white people/foreigners in Seoul are in fact diplomats, MBA's and engineers (trust me...a 10 year old Korean knows the difference and it will become very clear to you).

My advice: keep away from public schools in Korea at all costs (especially those in Seoul). Korea is a great place to live so long as you don't work in a public school

[Malislamusrex]

That's you experience chap, my co teacher asks me for help because 'I am more powerful' than her and she is having a rough time I come in... and the students don't like that.

I disagree with what you say by the way, if you can manage ps it's good.

[andrewchon]

I'm sorry you had such a bad time at a public school.
However, considering life of coping with utter confusion, fear and fun, which were the lot of mine and the lower 90 percentile, I am grateful to the teachers who taught me in our 70+ classroom full of 'what the hell am I doing here...' So, for the lower 90 who don't have a clue and most likely never will admit to not having a clue, I shall carry on helping them cope.

[minos]

Hagwons are generally more screwy and expect more work out of you. Unless you have a a-hole coteacher or principal, it's a pretty chill job. I still miss my 4+ week vacations. Plus no worries about student enrollments or pension issues.

[itiswhatitis]

Outside of Seoul most non-Koreans are either US military or English teachers. I was actually referring specifically to Seoul. For the record (government statistics don't lie) there are a lot of diplomats (Seoul must literally have at least 100 different embassies such as America, Japan, Nigeria ETC...) and there are a lot of Engineers and a lot of MBA's who are non-Korean in Seoul. Trust me, Koreans respect an American MBA/dipmolat/engineer a million times more than a public school English teacher. If you plan to come to Korea to teach English and you want so much as an ounce of respect then you ought to definitely work at a hagwon.

[hank25000]

(I wonder if this is how I would have sounded if my first job had been in a public school...)

Public school jobs are meant for REAL teachers. That is, those with the proper credentials. Anyone who is less than that is asking for problems.

Would you like to know what it is like teaching in Canadian schools? Or a UK school? Or an Australian school? If you REALLY knew what it was like, you'd be much less harsh in how you think of your time in a Korean public school. It would give you a better perspective, and honestly may rid you of the bad feelings you have about that time of your life.

[emmajuno]

Well, out here in Jeonbuk I can tell you with certainty that no-one prefers hagwon over public school and my hagwon sucks ass.

I teach 8 classes per day and have to write notes on every class and then discuss every class with my boss at the end of the day. I also have to write personal reports on all my students every 3months. This is in addition to the attitude of my boss that I don't care about the kids or the hagwon if I have even the slightest problem with the running of my school. I had an issue with writing notes and discussing everything at the end of the day because I want to go home. Also because I do more work for the same money as the people at the sister school. My taking an issue with doing this whilst being told I had it lucky compared to the sister school led my boss to become incredibly agressive and threatening, telling me that I should move to the other school or leave if I did not want things her way. She also told me that she would extend the working hours of the people in the other school just because I had brought it to her attention.

This is not an uncommon story. I'm worked like crazy. Other people in hagwons have it even worse than I. In fact my friends friend walked in one day only to be told that her school had been sold and her boss had disappeared. People in hagwons have the power to make your life hell, too.

[runthegauntlet]