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Reference letter from a public school

 
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itiswhatitis



Joined: 08 Aug 2011

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:30 am    Post subject: Reference letter from a public school Reply with quote

I worked at a public school in Gyeonggi province from 2008-2009 with GEPIK. I had a rough year (I admit that it was mostly my fault) and at the end of my contract I did not plan to come back to Korea.

I found out the hard way that I'm not that special/the world doesn't owe me a living shortly after I returned to Canada in 2009. I returned to Korea in 2010 and had to take a job in a semi-rural area at a hagwon because my Korean co-teacher told me to take a hike when I asked for a reference.

I worked at a hagwon for 2 years after the public school and I have a good reference from them but I am either quitting/getting fired from the hagwon that I have been at since March (thus soon to be job hunting). The current hagwon didn't care about the public school and did not even call my co-teacher for a reference BUT I would prefer to have some kind of document that at least confirms that I worked there. My former co-teacher and I are now on friendly terms but she's going to feel used if I ask for a BS good reference letter now.

My understanding is that former employers need to provide some kind of proof of employment. Of course I won't tell her that she needs to do anything/that I'm in hot water with my current job. Hopefully I can treat it as a formality and swing it that I just need proof that I worked there and even swing it to her that it is just a form for the principle to sign and draft the document myself.

Advice?

Thanks!!!
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amoonbot



Joined: 29 Jul 2009

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Proof of Employment is different from a reference letter. If you want to bypass your coteacher, you could always contact the GEPIK coordinators and ask them to give you one. At least for SMOE, you can get a proof of employment from the head office as long as you didn't break contract or back away from a renewal.

It's worth a shot giving the GEPIK office a call. If that doesn't work, you could always just politely talk to your coteacher and ask for the proof. It's not a reference letter, so they wouldn't have to bs anything.
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tideout



Joined: 12 Dec 2010

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

amoonbot wrote:
Proof of Employment is different from a reference letter. If you want to bypass your coteacher, you could always contact the GEPIK coordinators and ask them to give you one. At least for SMOE, you can get a proof of employment from the head office as long as you didn't break contract or back away from a renewal.

It's worth a shot giving the GEPIK office a call. If that doesn't work, you could always just politely talk to your coteacher and ask for the proof. It's not a reference letter, so they wouldn't have to bs anything.


Good advice. Get the proof of employment you can at least. Others will know better, but I'm guessing a lot of hogwons will count it as a plus you finished that contract - and you do have one solid reference letter as well.

Good luck with the job hunt.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Article 39 (Certificate of Employment)

(1) If a worker makes a request to issue a certificate
specifying term of employment, job specification, title and wages
or other necessary information even after the retirement of the
worker, the employer shall immediately prepare and issue the
factually correct certificate.

(2) The certificate referred to in paragraph (1) shall only
contain the items that the worker concerned has requested.

Article 40 (Prohibition of Interference with Employment)

No one shall prepare and use secret signs or lists, or have
communication for the purpose of interfering with employment
of a worker.

http://www.moel.go.kr/english/topic/laborlaw_view.jsp?idx=254&tab=Standards

.
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plchron



Joined: 26 Feb 2011
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Article 40 (Prohibition of Interference with Employment)

No one shall prepare and use secret signs or lists, or have
communication for the purpose of interfering with employment
of a worker.


So when foreigner get blacklisted from public schools....Who holds the list? How do we expose it?
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

plchron wrote:
Quote:
Article 40 (Prohibition of Interference with Employment)

No one shall prepare and use secret signs or lists, or have
communication for the purpose of interfering with employment
of a worker.


So when foreigner get blacklisted from public schools....Who holds the list? How do we expose it?


LOL... it is not that there is a list amongst employers but that there is ultimately only one employer (the Ministry of Education) and that employer has a long memory and often checks your employment file for prior problems - burn me once ...

.
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Emark



Joined: 10 May 2007
Location: duh, Korea?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

plchron wrote:

So when foreigner get blacklisted from public schools....Who holds the list? How do we expose it?


I've wondered the same thing. I started a post about flagged, blacklisted teachers. This issue has come to light in the past. Seems to me that nobody want to seriously take care of this when they get wind of it. We teachers are pretty powerless. Some of us have the guts but lack the support from others. Others have the means to do the work but find it not worthwhile to assist the greater good with their abilities. Still others belittle the efforts of those who want to do this exposure work.
For the record, I'm on board for digging out and exposing the black lists if others want to lend a hand.
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