Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jmadtownweb]

Has anyone worked for a Kid's College Hagwon before? I have a chance to interview for the one in Yeonhi-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul and wanted to know a little bit a bout it. seems like an awesome area...
Thanks in advance.

[Eglayzer]

I worked at a Kid's College in Gimhae, near Busan, and have mixed feelings about it. Firstly, I made all the classic mistakes of a noob. I choose a brand new school, taught kindy, and lived rural, on my first contract. So to some extent it was just going to be a hard year no matter what.

However, I did do some training at the main office and got to meet other people and they all had the same complaints as me. Long hours and really crappy teaching material. If you dont mind either of these things then go for it. There are some real advanatages to the Kids College system. I got to teach teh same kindy kids, about 10-12 depending on time of year, all day every day. This can be stressful for boht you and the kids because its hard for them to listen to a foreign language all day. I had crazy amounts of classroom control issues because the students just tune you out after a few hours. You will teach the same kids for six hours straigh, then switch to elementary classes. The nice thing though is that if you have a little talent you can really make an impact with those students. My kids knew nothing at the start but were able to make their own sentences and spell a lot of works by the end. Impressive for just one year I thought.

Do you have specific questions because I could talk all day about it? They always paid me on time and such so it might depend a lot on what your individual contract looks like.

[jmadtownweb]

Thanks for the reply EG. Good info. The hours say on M/W 10-6:50 T/TR 10-4:45 and Fr 10-2:45

These seem like great hours. Did you have the same? and if so did they honor them, or make you work overtime?? I've taught two years at public. I don't mind a big workload just as long as I get paid on time, and it's not complete hell. Any other things you could think of about your experience would be a bonus for me. Thx man.

[Eglayzer]

They are a really big chain of schools so just like any other chain, it really depends on the particular owner. I had a friend who worked at Kids College corporate office as well and he seemed to think there was some sketchy stuff going on there but thats not unusual in a Korean corporate setting.

Those hours sound fine as long as thats how they are written in the contract. In my contract, it was my first so dont make fun of me, it simply said that you will teach 30 or 6 hours a day between 9-7. So I THOUGHT it would work out to something like your doing but it actually meant that I had 3-4 long 1 hour breaks in my days with nothing to do but warm my desk. My director couldn't understand why I was upset because he had never worked with a foreigner before.

My best advice is to talk with the last guy that worked there and see what he thinks. I can really only comment on Kids College concepts rather than your individual school. The concept is good but be prepared for the material to be pretty pathetic.

[Eglayzer]

After thinking about this more, if you some experience then find a better school. Its still an employees market and you can do better than Kids College. Thats my advice.

[LAtoSeoul]

If it's the Kid's College in Guri, its run by 2 great bosses. Always pay on time and the kids are actually very good kids. Also good location and they give you a great apartment.

[chrisassd]

I played Santa for Sue teacher last year it was quite an experience.

[jmadtownweb]

thanks for all the info. unfortunetely i didn't get an interview. but i do have one with Langcon tonight located near Hongje station in Seodaemun. Anyone have any exeriences with this hagwon? It's kindy I think and I'm not sure how I feel about that.