Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Son Deureo!]

I'm curious, does having a bad teacher somehow justify paying him late? If so, does that mean you'd still expect him to give you 30 days notice when he hasn't seen a paycheck in over a month?

[Juregen]

[YTMND]

[Juregen]

[YTMND]

[The Sultan of Seoul]

Yeah, you want teachers that don't lose studetns, vet them better, pay higher wages for qualifications etc.

That said...

Yeah it can be tough. I have met teachers in SK who are qualified out the wazzoo back home but are too strict for the Korean market and scare off students. And then fresh off the boaters, fresh out of uni at 20 yrs old and fill up classes real quick due to enthusiasm and endless patience etc.

Juregen - you know as well as I do - you're best off employing 'teachers' who are bubbly and super personable. That is the reality of ESL in SK. More 'looking after and pleasing them' gets done than actual teaching.

[big_fella1]

One day late is late, once is okay but a second isn't unless you have interest free 은행 tatooed on you forehead. You shouldn't have to ask to be paid.

Give 30 days notice and quit. If you don't get paid at the end tell them that you're going to the tax office the next day unless they pay you. I assure you that they will be more scared of the tax office than of the labor board. If they're paying you late, I am almost certain their taxes aren't up to date.

Good luck.

[wooden nickels]

My wife and I have been in the hagwon business here for 10 years. I will give my humble opinion of our reasonable success.

Year 1-2) small study-room, only Wife teaching, no business debt, 3 month cash back-up, basic curriculum

Year 3) small hagwon, Wife teaching + 1 Korean teacher, no business debt, 3 month cash back-up, intermediate curriculum

Year 4) small hagwon, Wife teaching + 1 Korean teacher, + Myself, no business debt, 6 month cash back-up, intermediate-high curriculum

Year 5-6) small hagwon, Wife teaching + 2 Korean teachers, + Myself, no business debt, 6 months cash back-up, intermediate-high and curriculum

Year 7-10) small hagwon, Wife teaching + 2 Korean teachers, + Myself, + 1 Foreign teacher, no business debt, 6 months cash back-up, intermediate-high and specialty curriculum

Our basic plan from Day 1:

PLAN! PLAN! PLAN!

Start small.

Cash is King. Pay for everything up front. No debt. Have a cash, back-up.

Only increase the size of the business when the demand has increased and the student count has been maxed out for a period of at least 3-6 months. And, there is money to pay for everything up front and still have a cash back-up.

When hiring, seek qualified and experienced teachers. Yes, it�s worth an additional 200,000 won, or even more, per month for the salary.

Keep up to date with the public schools in the area. Understand their curriculum and what is needed for their tests. Curriculum needs to include TOEIC, TOEFL, and such at the demands of parents/students
PLAN! WORK HARD! MANAGE!

Have good rapport with the parents. Have a warm but structured environment for the students. Have a good working relationship with the hired teachers. Keep it professional but friendly and pleasant.

Put much thought into the curriculum and work hard to maximize learning. (Result: students have performed better than average compared to our competition) That�s right we can send the little trouble maker on his/her way because another mother has been waiting to have her child attend our school.

Treat the teachers as professionals. ALWAYS pay, punctually, one day late is not acceptable! Follow through on the contract and any and all verbal agreements. It�s amazing what professional, happy teachers bring to the business

No, I don�t wear a flashy suit to work. I dress casual but neat and well groomed, so does my wife, and so do the other teachers. No, there isn�t a big, long, flashy, luxury car parked in front of the school. We take public transportation to work. We don�t even own a car. No, we don�t live in a big condo or mega apartment.

However, we pay our teachers on time. Our business is debt free. We have a business fund (cash back-up) that will allow us to run our school for 6 months, under present conditions, even if not one single student walked through the door.

We now feel as though we are at a maximum business capacity for what we are capable of managing and producing a good product for a modest profit within our comfort zone.

No need to kill the goose that�s laying the golden eggs (pay the teacher on time).

Most bosses here are dirty, cunning businessmen. That�s why the student count is low.

Pay the teacher on time!

[Son Deureo!]

Excellent post, wonjangnim. It's great to hear that a hogwon owner who values qualified teachers and treats them professionally, and does not coddle unruly students can be successful here.

[Mr. BlackCat]

I had something sort of similar happen to me recently. I teach at a PS, which of course is always by the book. But I do afternoon classes as well and for the first semester I was paid on a certain date each month for those classes. But then a new accountant came in. First month goes by, nothing. It was vacation time so I just assumed I would get it at the start of the semester. Second month, nada. So I ask my co-teacher to ask the accountant. Word gets back to me that the kids haven't paid yet. Ok, I don't see how that's my problem. I did the work. But fine, I ask for a general date when I could expect the money, but was given the typical vague nothing answer. Month 3, again nothing. Now I get a bit peeved as we've crossed the million won mark. I talk with the accountant again through my CT. All I wanted was a date. It could be 3 months later, but I want a date. Again given the spiel that the kids haven't paid yet. But we've started a new semester for the afternoon classes, why are they even allowed to sign up again if they haven't paid for the previous block? Oh, that would be mean to them. Don't you love the kids? Blah blah blah.

Finally when month 4 supposed pay date neared I went down and made it clear I expected to be paid. They could have just said that I would be paid at the end of the semester, but I'm not taking wishy washy "We'll pay you when we feel like" it answers. Finally we agreed that the accountant would do me a 'favour' and pay me. I was told to thank her. Why? It's MY MONEY. I still had to wait another week. And now one month later, I haven't been paid again.

Anyway, OP and everyone else, what you need the money for is no one's business. I didn't need the money but that doesn't mean that they get to decide when to give it to me. It's my money. I could be incurring debt or I could be losing interest on an investment. I've even heard this is such a common problem in Korea because many business owners here invest that money themselves instead of paying out (I don't believe my school was doing this, though). My CT and accountant just kept asking why I wanted the money so bad. BECAUSE IT'S MY MONEY. I did the work and you owe it to me. Like some of the insane posters on this thread who are actually typing out monthly budgets to prove the OP is bad at finances, they tried to make me feel bad for even bringing the issue up. For all I know they could have gone a year without ever paying me.

The point is OP, you don't have to feel bad about wanting your money and you don't need to explain to anyone why you want it, especially people on an internet message board who are desperate to prove they are more financially savvy than others (and who have no ability to understand their experience and situations are not shared by every person in the world. That's great, Mommy and Daddy paid for your university. Or you don't have a kid. Or you don't have some medical issues that need to be paid for. Why don't you reflect on how lucky you are instead of insulting other people for not having the same privileges).