Korean Job Discussion Forums

[plchron]

Don't waste a year, or half a year of your life being unhappy

[Eglayzer]

I will consider it but you all are still missing key points to why I am leaving and that is the very rude way I have been treated since moving here, that I don't know who exactly lied to me (it could have been my school or the recruiter), I don't enjoy working at this school (I have finished 2 previous contracts so I know what I'm doing here).

At one point they asked me to go out with them for dinner to talk about the housing situation and see if we can get some solutions. They asked me to bring my girl friend and even rescheduled the dinner to make sure she would come (2 hours by bus for her!). When she got their they literally started yelling at her, that she should convince me to stay in my current apartment and just deal with their failures. Thats why they wanted my GF there, because she is a young Korean female they could yell at her and she would have to sit and take it, while if they did the same to me I would turn and tell them exactly what I thought of them. This is one example of their very disrespectful managing style.

I do not trust them to pay my final paycheck should I give them notice. Its true it MIGHT not be their fault that I was lied to but it is now their problem to fix because they are the ones that made the huge investment without bothering to verify the commute times. That is most definitely their fault. So, if I don't trust them, then why would I give them 30 days notice that they can potentially screw me for something that was not my fault at all?

I am sorry, and I am not trying to stoke the fires of this debate since it was not the original topic but I do believe you are blaming the victim a bit.

[duke of new york]

So they were rude to you and your girlfriend, there is an unsubstantiated possibility that they lied to you about your commute time (a relatively minor issue, not worth running over), you don't like your living arrangements and you don't like your job. None of those are valid reasons to quit without any notice, except the lying. If you were pretty sure that they misrepresented the commute time on purpose, and the difference in commute made your work intolerable, maybe this would be grounds for running. But honestly, an hour commute as compared to your expected half-hour commute should not be such a big deal that you have to run. Now, you said you don't trust the hagwon to pay you if you give notice. I don't know the guy or the situation firsthand, so maybe this is evident to you and not me, but nothing you said suggests that this will happen. Just because someone is rude doesn't mean he will break the law.

I still don't understand what you ever expected the boss to do about this. He is already paying your rent for you. Did you want him to pay rent on two apartments on your behalf, because you didn't like the first one? I'm sorry if he was rude to you about it, but I would have said no, too, and essentially told you to suck it up and live in the free housing you're getting. You wanted to live in Sinchon? You said you're a 25-30 minute walk from Sinchon station--you live in Sinchon. There are not so many stores and post offices in Seoul that there will be one next to every apartment building. You didn't ask to be near these things, nor did you ask to be near the school. You say "it is now their problem to fix because they are the ones that made the huge investment without bothering to verify the commute times," but the same can be said about you: you made a huge investment of your time and energy without really verifying any of these things that you say were important to you, like housing location. Do you really see something like "20-25 minute bus ride" and take it for face value, especially after having done this for two years? One of the first things I learned while looking for a job in Korea--before I even came here--was that commute times given in job offers are untrustworthy and tend to be about half of what they are in reality. Not to mention hogwans themselves are not to be trusted, so everything they say should be independently verified or put in writing. You can look up bus stops and routes on the internet easily. You can ask for specifics about your apartment and neighborhood and asked for pictures. You obviously didn't do any of these things, so you are just as guilty of not doing the proper research before signing this contract.

I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm lecturing you, but I am assuming that you are a mature person who is capable of taking responsibility for himself and trying to convince you to do just that. I also don't mean to suggest I am on the side of the mean ol' hagwon boss--obviously he has wronged you. This gives you the right to quit, but not the right to run. Think about the other people it will affect. Maybe you don't care about your boss, but your coworkers will probably have to work extra to cover for you while someone else is hired. The kids may or may not be adversely affected. Think about the person who is hired to replace you: They'll definitely be paying an exorbitant housing deposit, and may get screwed in other ways like getting cheated on airfare or having their passport withheld, just to keep them from running like you did. You're not in the wrong for wanting to quit, but you will be if you run. Running is a very selfish and irresponsible way of quitting. You'll be the one violating the contract, not your boss. I won't post any more on the subject, because you don't want to hear it. But I very strongly disagree with your decision to run, I've explained to you why it is unethical and uncalled for, and I really hope you will reconsider. It's just 30 days.

[Eglayzer]

You have some valid points and I am glad that your do recognize that because you have never met my boss you do not know the whole story. I will take it into consideration on my final decision. Right now though, from the other information I have gathered is that there is very little to no incentive for me giving 30 days notice to my employer other than a quasi moralistic argument that I owe them a favor. The way I see it right now (this could change because I have not made a decision and recognize that I am just upset at the moment) they lied to me first. If I run, I am guaranteeing nothing els goes bad for me, according to the information I have gotten so far about my visa and returning to Korea, but if I give 30 days notice I could potentially lose a months worth of pay or more. Am I understanding this situation right?

To be honest, I am on the fence about giving them notice or not but am playing a little devils advocate with you to get a better understanding of both sides. Plus I am upset at the way they yelled at my girl friend who is under absolutely no contractual obligation to be nice to them. I will return to this thread after everything is settled to tell you and the other posters what the outcome was.

[koreatimes]

[Modernist]

All I would say is, don't make your final choice while you're angry. I can tell from reading your posts you are seething, especially over the treatment of your GF by these people [I agree, that was a Mickey Mouse BS thing to pull], but from my own experience, decisions made in a fog of anger/fury are rarely wise ones.

Give it a few days, get calm, read the posts again, think, and reason it out. You'll feel better, you'll be smoother, and you'll end up much more comfortable with your outcome.

[plchron]

remember to have your documents ready for the next round

[Eglayzer]

Wise advice Modernist. However, I am the type to hold a grudge and at a place in my life where money is not all that important to me so I am not really willing to put up with it at the moment. We will see. Today was payday for October so I will wait at least a month and see how I feel.

[Eglayzer]

So is everyone at least in agreement with me that there will be no negative future visa or legal issue for me if I pull a runner? Assuming of course that I break no laws (paying my utility bills ect..).

[Utopian]

[koreatimes]

[Died By Bear]

Whatever you did, whatever you said to your recruiter, is all meaningless. You're locked in, even if they promised you the world, you are LOCKED IN.

Unless you run.

LIFE IS A HIGHWAY

[ssmith]

In Seoul they look for the cheapest places for foreigners and they pay for it and you don't. If you want a good place to live they key money is more then 10 million. I have friends that spend three hours or more commuting and they still work 12 or more hours a day. It's just a fact of living in a big city.

Yes, your recruiter was not honest and should have said nothing as it usually is someone within the school who is told to find the cheapest place for the foreigner. Live with it for a year and make the most of it then you can move on. Save enough money for a good studio or apartment.

[I-am-me]

To be honest...stop whining! Life isn't always fair. So you have to communte an hour...so what? I know plenty of korean teachers that commute 2 hours one way. I communte 25 minutes myself. Suck it up for for a yr. Why cause so much trouble over it?

[plchron]

Life isn't always fair, but the OP can control his situation by bailing, if he is willing to take the financial hit then he should go for it. And maybe next time his employer would be hesitant to try and screw him over.