Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sab2197]

I want to apologize in advance for asking what I am sure is a commonly asked question by people considering teaching in South Korea. I simply could not turn up more information using the search feature on the forum, possibly due to a buggy computer or a faulty internet connection.

Anyway, the last few months I have been considering teaching English in South Korea and have been doing some slow and steady research on the subject. My biggest question right now deals with hagwons. So far, it seems more of the negative press I have encountered about teaching in South Korea has been associated with hagwons, as they are privately owned and not regulated by the South Korean government. What are your experiences with hagwons? Are hagwons usually bad places to teach? Should they be avoided completely? Also, if you could provide links to posts that deal with this same question, that would be very helpful. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and insights.

[Hokie21]

It's hit or miss. I've had nothing but positive experiences with my previous hagwon and am planning on rejoining next month. Some have good ownership, some bad.

So based on my personal experience I would say no, don't completely rule them out.

[Hokie21]

Double post

[young_clinton]

If you don't know the Hogwan then it's better to pass and try to get a Public School position. Keep in mind it's easy for a Hogwan to get rid of you, not so easy for a public school to do the same.

[YTMND]

A hagwon could be better. If you go to a hagwon and it doesn't work out you can transfer easily. If you leave a public school job, they might not hire you again in that area.

[andrewchon]

Hagwons are 'regulated' in as much as they are private business and business are regulated.

Public school jobs are safe money-wise but:
1. they are getting scarce
2. work you do is less and less like teaching
3. locations are tending to rural areas

Pretty soon hagwon will be the only choice!

[EZE]

I'm at my third hagwon. I was very happy at my first one and I'm very happy at my third one after a few kinks got worked out, but the second one was very bad. The only bad one was Wonderland which, of course, has the very worst reputation of any hagwon.

[sab2197]

Thank you all very much for your responses. This is all good information to keep in mind as I continue to research teaching in South Korea. So far it seems like as with everything else in life, there are pros and cons to both. No matter what position I end up interviewing for, I will be sure to do research on the institution that is considering hiring me.

[young_clinton]

I think most Hagwons are ethical. But you still take chances that you don't take with Public schools.

[PatrickGHBusan]

OP, much has been said on Hakwons here and you now have some pretty decent advice.

I will comment on one thing you said:

No matter what position I end up interviewing for, I will be sure to do research on the institution that is considering hiring me.

This is a wise move but you should also realize that "what you read" online about a given school needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt. Most online reports on schools are unverified stories from former teachers that left. This can be useful but you should remain on the lookout for the fact that many of these stories are terribly one-sided and may not represent what the actual conditions at a school are.

So, you need to balance what you read online with actually talking to teachers who work at the school you are considering or who have recently left. Emails can work but a skype session would be better. Ask your questions and typically you will get a far more accurate picture of the school than from relying on online reports.

Just my two cents on this...good luck

[sab2197]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! That is very good advice. At first, I was afraid to post my question because I felt it was probably a frequently asked question. I'm so glad I did though. I got some pretty fantastic feedback. Thanks again!

[Popocatepetl]

[Los Angeloser]

[World Traveler]

Great advice. I'd also say MANY hagwons are bad, even the big chain ones. SO much shadiness going on in this industry. I'm surprised some people are saying otherwise. I've NEVER met an honest hagwon owner (though I'm sure they exist).

[PatrickGHBusan]

Thats the thing WT, what you may consider shady or dishonest may not be an issue for another teacher who just might be comfortable in a bit of a less formal work setting. Now, I am not talking about late pay or abuse, those are wrong no matter what. I am talking about informal things that happen day to day in most workplaces and that do happen in Hakwons. It then becomes an issue of how a teacher feels and is able to work in such a system right?

For example, a hakwon boss asks the teachers to prepare a Christmas show for the parents. This means extra work with the kids. This work will be mostly paid in the form of OT but some will not. At the end of the project the owner takes the teachers out for a couple of nice dinners parties. That is an informal give and take, it is not in most work contracts yet it works and it happens in many schools. It could certainly be seen as dishonest by some people who are uncomfortable with any sort of informality right?

I think there are many decent hakwons out there that offer teachers many advantages over a PS position in terms of teaching environment and sometimes pay. However, it takes work to find them because the industry is so darned uneven in terms of conditions from one hakwon to the other.

So, as most people said here: hakwons can be fine, but do your research!