Korean Job Discussion Forums

[turquoisejoy]

Has anybody worked at Avalon in Yongin?
feel free to PM me.
thanks.

[Tycho Brahe]

i know two people who work in the avalon in mangpodong in suwon.

both think that its a pretty good place to work. they get no hassle that you wouldn't get in any rapidly expanding business.

and the 2 - 10 working hours sound bad but two of those hours are prep (or so i've been told) so you're down to the average actual teaching time of 6 hours ...

so the hours aren't that bad and the wages are decent and reliable. after that its down to individual management of your branch. and you can never really guarantee how things are going to work out between yourself and your boss.

[Moleface13]

Ive been offered a job to work for Avalon in Yongin. Does anyone know much about this area or the Dongbaek Elementary Campus? Thanks in advance!

[WormBones]

I guess since this has already been raised from the dead...

I've also been offered a position at Avalon in Guri east of Seoul.

Is there anything to do in Guri? It's 2-10pm and I just don't want to be stuck heading to one bar for the next year since the metro closes at midnight.

[balzor]

[eslteacherlooking]

http://kissmykimchi.com/2009/06/avalon.html

[mkpopcorn]

Anyone know anything about the Seongbuk branch?

[mwalls]

I guess I'll go ahead and resurrect this:

Any thoughts on the Suwon branch? This will be my first job, by the way.

[Dimension V]

I worked at Avalon in Incheon for 1 year.

Positive
Timely pay.
Taxes taken care of.
Friendly Korean staff.
Some really wonderful students.
Good apartment, close to school.

Negative
Materials were by and large dreadful. I dreaded having to use such boring, confusing, and useless things. I felt so bad for the children because parents were duped into buying these books without knowing what to look for, they blindly purchase inferior books. I am guiilty however because I accepted a job without prior knowledge of the texts to be used. I trusted my lead foreign teacher who interviewed me. However, he was fired because he came into work intoxicated and scared students. True story.
Which leads me to my next point, the quality of most "teachers" at Avalon, at least mine, was quite poor. That is to say nothing of their personal lives.
Avalon seems to have a high rate of attrition, both for students and for staff, both foreign and Korean.
There also was very little time to do anything creative in the class.
Everything seemed to be problematic, observe....
Student complains of being tired or bored with class.
So, teacher does something out of the book.
But, parent complains that book or activity book or workbook is not filled out.
Then, Korean staff gently tell you how to do your job,

In other words, if you don't mind crushing individuality and academic integrity, and you will do anything for a paycheck and the "benefits" , then you have found a perfect school.

It is hard to write these words because all of this is done with a smile, a fancy lobby, high tech marketing, cartoons in books, etc.

But facts are facts, don't trust me, you can visit the site that students made on naver.com

The name of it even is too vulgar for this forum!
But basically, in English, it says F***Avalon, but it is written in Korean. Of course because Korean students made it.
And as the saying goes, "The customer is always right".

Now, to elaborate on the good things.
You will have a great experience if you have the right attitudes.
In spite of the downsides, of which there are many, I must admit that there were times when I really loved that opportunity. After, Korea has been a hermit kingdom for most of its history. So, being able to work and live in this country is a unique opportunity.

So, if Avalon offers you a position, no matter if your branch is good or bad, I strongly recommend making the effort to put up with the shortcomings and enjoy, truly enjoy your experience.

[Mix1]

Far from the worst but not the best either.

You will always get paid and there is an HR team that can help get stuff done for you. Be nice to them and they'll be nice to you (within limits).

Campuses and housing options will vary tremendously.

Don't get lowballed; their lowball figure is 2.1 or lower whether you have experience or not.

[mwalls]

Thanks a lot Dimension V and Mix1. That seems in line with what I've been reading so far. I may look into it if the public school job I'm leaning towards falls through. It seems that getting paid on time is a big plus, which still surprises me that I have to worry about it. And that's a good tip about enjoying whatever it is you're doing--we often forget that part.

[baby_b]

@Dimension V

Hi,

Can you tell me which Incheon Avalon you were working at?

(Sorry can't PM.)

[Berriful]

Can anyone tell me anything about the Daegu branch? This will be my first position.

[munybse]

[mandrews1985]