Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hopefulwanderer]

Hello everyone. I would like to clarify that the reason for posting this review of ICEV – Incheon English Village (ECO, IES, Edible International Academy included) is that everyone deserves to know what they are getting themselves into in signing a contract with ICEV. Hopefully this gives you some important information that might help you make an informed decision before signing a contract.

As I am a current employee of ICEV I can say that all of this is being presented as objectively and close to the reality of my experience as it can possibly get.

First here are the Pros of working at ICEV: In the main ICEV program there is no lesson planning required, no homework to grade and no tests to give. Really the program is aiming for English immersion. If you’re attitude is adjusted towards making the best out of situations than it can be a fun experience for you and the kids. The kids are great, most of the time they are much more respectful and diligent than western students.

We get paid on time. Most of the contractual benefits of teaching in Korea are intact (Severance pay upon completion, rent free housing, flights reimbursed, ect).

**All new employees are currently being placed in dormitories instead of apartments. This may or may not be what they tell you in the interview, but regardless you will not get an apartment initially. Be ready to stick out 6 months or so in the dorms before you can get an apartment. The dorms do have a kitchen but it is very difficult to use because there are bus drivers from the school next door cooking down there during dinner time (after work). There are washers and dryers in the dorms. There is free internet (it will take 5 days or so to get your internet running, depending on when the technican will come over and set it up). There are no expenses living at the dorms. The rooms are small and furnished to the minimum (not that you could fit much else in there anyway). For some teachers the dorms are very difficult to live it. See the end of the post for more info on that.

And now for the Cons:

You will work mandatory overtime. Regardless of what they tell you over the phone or how they word it in the contract you WILL work Monday – Saturday with Saturday being paid as overtime. You could fight this and refuse to work it, as mandatory overtime is illegal, but life would probably get very difficult for you if you did. Again, overtime is NOT optional.

No breaks. Yep that’s right, no free periods. From 9am-6pm you will be working non stop with only your lunch hour as time off. Any non contact (time in front of a class) teaching hours will be time for preparation. Prep time varies from week to week. ICEV main program has just started a new curriculum. There was no pause in the classes to get everyone up to speed, we were all just thrown into the situation with little or no understanding of what we were supposed to be doing with the kids. This would be fine if there were no expectations placed upon you (which is how it should be in reality) but yes, the unrealistic expectations to make the curriculum work (when I say this I mean that they expect the exact lesson plan to be taught with no deviation from it) are placed on your shoulders. Be ready for this.

The only exception to the scheduling is Friday is 9am-2pm with no break.

Questionable food. ICEV is on its 3rd head chef this year due to budget cuts. One was fired because they overspent on the food budget (surprising as the food was very plain) and one quit because they didn’t want to cook food on the budget presented. I am not just saying this because I think Korean food is questionable, in fact, I think Korean food is delicious but the food at ICEV is often not something most Westerners will want to eat. You may not leave on your lunch break to get food elsewhere (ICEV is far from any restaurants anyway). There is a Convenience store that sells a small amount of frozen and refrigerated food that you can microwave if you want to eat something else, but most of the time that gets bought quickly as theres not enough for everyone. There has been on a few occasions not enough food for everyone during one of ICEV’s special programs, not something that would fly in any other educational setting.

ICEV is a business. Plain and simple. The management at ICEV is not interested in Education, they are interested in making money. This creates a lot of problems for teachers as your focus often times can be taken away from providing a quality education to your students. Also you should try and understand about Korean business culture and expect to be apart of an environment immersed in “business”. Oh the joy. The business culture here is ruthless. Expect it to rear its head in the majority of the situations you’ll find yourself in at ICEV and its additional programs you will be working for.

There are some other issues that constantly get in your way as a teacher that you will find are magnified at ICEV and its supporting programs due to again, the focus on making money instead of providing a good education:

You are constantly interrupted during your lessons. A lot of times its because they want to take photos of the class for their website, and they need new photos everyday. From a business standpoint this makes complete sense, but from an educational standpoint it means there are constant interruptions in your pedagogy, this distracts you as the teacher and the students.

The over cramming in the curriculum presents a lot of issues. You will be asked to do the impossible on a regular basis. There is often times a weeks worth of material crushed and compressed into one day and the expectation is to somehow, magically, get it done, although they often do not follow up on everything they delegate to you because, they themselves cannot keep up with it all. I know I can hear you all saying "Oh! That makes perfect sense". (Sarcasm). There are two ways in which you can handle this situation. One is that you can kill yourself and actually attempt to make everything work out and do everything with the students that they ask of you. This usually results in a whole lot of frustration and the students not really learning anything. The second way is to prioritize and do what is most important and leave out all the extra crap. This leads to much less tension, which leaves you more present with your students and able to teach better. It also lets the students absorb the material, the students will love you if you take this approach as they are constantly crammed with all sorts of work in their daily lives (we're talking about elementary school children here). The way kids are pushed in this country will shock you. Really. The risk with running the second option is that you put yourself out there for criticism for not doing things the "right" way. If you can handle that risk than I say just do it the way thats best for everyone.

You will not be treated with the same amount of respect as back home. The majority of people at ICEV are not welcoming, foreign and Koreans alike. Don’t expect much time to settle in (most of the time you will come into work the day after arriving) and be ready to give yourself about 3 to 4 months to really understand what your job is about as no one will help you. Its not that the other teacher’s don’t want to help you, its just that there are no breaks so there is literally no time. As mentioned above ICEV is a business which means that you will be treated more like indentured servants than valued employees. Be ready to be thrown into situation after situation where you wont have a clue whats going on, and somehow they will expect you to.

There will be promises made to others without you knowing and expectations placed on you that you did not agree to. Lets be honest, Korean culture is idealistic to the maximum, if something does not seem completely perfect thats a big problem. So, as a business, ICEV and its supporting programs are forced to deliver this Utopian image of itself to parents. Insane expectations (literally, I mean lists of every little responsibility than can possibly think of) will be placed on you without you knowing and they can, and will if they need to, call you out on those things in certain situations. You will not be notified during the interview of any of the expectations placed on you, and you will not be given a very clear explanation of what your work entails over the phone. Again, what they tell you over the phone will not be what your employment experience is in reality working at ICEV and its additional supporting programs. There are many times where I've said to myself "This is not at all what was told to me over the phone." or "If my employer wants these sort of expectations than they need to tell you in the interview so that they can find the right people for this position, because I have never encountered this in any other teaching environment and I would never wish this on anyone". You've been warned. Basically theres no way possible for you to fulfill their expectations so you end up not taking the job seriously at all because theres no way to achieve harmony in the workplace.

Its not a fun job. ICEV, as far as I can tell, makes no effort to make the job fun for its teachers. Everything is difficult, everything is made harder than it should be, there is always a great deal of pressure in the workplace that is not needed. If you think that coming to ICEV will be a fun, exciting and enriching experience please think again.

With all of the options out there in Korea I can confidently say that one would be a complete fool to not exhaust every other option before being forced to take a job at ICEV, I can wholeheartedly and honestly NOT recommend this job to anyone who is looking for a fun, culturally enriching job where the management treats you with respect.

Now. With all that being said I must present the other side of this quagmire, to pay respect to giving a clear, and realistic review.

Us westerners are far from innocent in this, in fact we are contributing quite actively to this cultural clash. Most of us are constantly complaining and criticising every minute detail of our experience. To be more subjective: I was totally shocked by how negative the foreign staff were at ICEV when I first arrived and its pretty obvious that this is a pretty big factor in why ICEV is the way it is. So for all of you out there who are looking at ICEV as a potential employer please take into consideration the cultural clash and negativity that your co-workers will push onto each other into account. (*There are exceptions to this and more level headed people working there, I am speaking generally). If you are a content and peaceful person this will be a continuous challenge for you to overcome. In my opinion, another reason not to take a job at ICEV.

Hopefully this was a helpful review, post any questions and I'll try to answer them as best as possible.

[Stan Rogers]

I have two questions. If was so bad why didn't you quit? Are you a woman?

[337heaven]

Thanks for the review.. I hope your next job is better suited to you.

[hopefulwanderer]

[thewhisperer]

EIA is Incheon English Village (ICEV)/ GlobalEDU Foundation. Your visa related contract will be with ICEV and you will be made to sign and “agreement” with EIA. You will not get a copy of this “agreement” and you will not be able to see it without permission. It will be locked away in a cabinet in the office. This is most likely because you agree to work overtime for overnight camps each month, which is not legally enforceable under Korean law because you cannot be forced to work overtime if you already work 40 hours a week.

The first thing that I would like to say about EIA is that it cannot keep its staff, and that speaks for itself! In 6 months three teachers quit because of the working conditions at EIA, and especially because of the manager of the program. This woman will lie, twist, and manipulate anything to make it favorable to her. Three people, including one that left without notice overnight, left directly because they felt humiliated, belittled, and were treated with such repugnant behavior from her.

Pros:
-Kids are great
-Only program at ICEV that gets two consecutive days off a week (except overnight camp)
- You may get bonus pay, but it is not in writing, and it will be hold against you to force you to do any unreasonable request that they want not in working hours.

Cons:
-It is not a real international school. There are no international students, and although they claim that they are following American curriculum, they are not; it is just another Korean academy in American clothing. It is run by Koreans for Koreans. What foreign teachers have to say is inconsequential (the people who actually have teaching experience). It is only one day program (Saturday) with one night from 6-9pm as a video cam class.
- Your boss is a bully. If she doesn’t like you she will try to cause as much trouble for you as possible. This is allowed by school officials because she is the daughter-in-law of the CEO of the company. She is the reason that 3 out of 5 teachers quit in six months.
-You are shared between programs and there is no communication between them which creates stress and chaos.
-There are constant distracting pictures. Korean staff will come into your class every hour and take pictures to make it appear that EIA is doing something academic. They have no consideration for the classroom environment, and it seriously disrupts the flow of lessons.
-Grades don’t matter; the staff will change them when they want to. This is done because it will “hurt the students more” and they will feel sad if they get a bad grade. EIA’s goal is to keep students coming back, not actually education. If parents and students feel that they are getting good marks from EIA, then they will come back. It is a complete sham.

If you can feel constantly stifled and felt to made subhuman everyday of your job, then EIA is the place to be. As they only hire certified teachers, it is easy to try it out and discover within a few months that you can get higher pay and more respect as a teacher and human in other places in Korea.

[Chaparrastique]

"Edible English" is a really stupid name. Euugh.

[TruthTella]

This is a review for both Edible and Main program ICEV

So I was a teacher in the Edible International Academy/ Main program at ICEV this past year (2014-2015). I didn’t finish my contract due to my personal values and happiness. I am a very laid back woman that can handle tough situations but when it comes to my happiness, no amount of money is going to keep me planted in a place that continues to bring me down. The year started off great, promises of wonderful things to come but once Edible started it all went downhill. There is an extreme lack of understanding of what it takes to run a school and what children need to thrive. Teachers were expected to do way more than what a one day a week program needed with a lack of the proper prep time. As a teacher I understand how plans can change quickly so you have to be adaptable, which I am. Edible often would throw changes at you without much notice at all. Sometimes you’d even find out you were getting a new child the morning of his or her first day. This was extremely irritating considering you want to make sure this child is comfortable and feeling welcomed. So having a child come in with no books ready, no name tag or desk assigned and without being able to announce to the class that a new student is coming is extremely unprofessional and inconsiderate toward the classroom teacher, the child and the other students. Not to mention ignoring the fact that a student knows almost no English whatsoever and is invited to join an all English Speaking program due to the fact that their parents can afford to pay the absurd amount of money for a one day a week program is ridiculous and unfair to the child who would need extra one on one attention.

I was asked to resign which was surprising to me considering how I always gave them a tough time and didn’t really let them walk all over me. But for happiness sake I left the program about 10 months into my contract. Somehow I got talked into signing onto a 13 month contract so I only had about 3 months to go but I ended up bailing and doing a “runner.” Korea has a lot to offer and so many other schools to teach from but sadly this specific school really tainted my feelings toward Korea in general. I was supporting a school that didn’t care about its students or foreign teachers, just money. Maybe this is something popular in Korea but I no longer wanted to support a school that’s sole purpose in life was to get as much money as possible and lie and sneak their way through to make that happen. It began to really be unsettling and stressful to be working for such a greedy place. I actually found myself getting a little greedy and caring more about money than anything else. Once I realized how bad it was for me to be working for them I decided to take off. I am glad I did because since them it’s only gone downhill. Many Korean teachers left and are leaving (main program ICEV), nearly all prep time has been taken away leaving just the hour lunch break, and no overtime. One great thing that this school had to his advantage was the crazy amounts of overtime you could get if you really wanted to save money. Since then overtime has been taken away and everyone works 5 days a week with mandatory Saturday’s. So taking away overtime is a huge mistake on their part considering most people resign because of the ability to save so much.

Main program is also falling apart. There are some great Korean teachers who are all treated unfairly and are subjected to mandatory overnight’s with students in the dorms. Many Korean teachers are leaving, ones that have been there for years so that says a lot about ICEV as a whole. It’s really a shame too because these two schools which ARE two schools ran under the same owner having people work for both schools at the same time has such potential to be great. Their greediness and lack of understanding has caused them to drastically decline. Teachers sign on and work a few weeks and take off. Another teacher in the Edible program recently did a runner. Thats 3 runners in less than 2 years. Think about it.

I am not writing this to bash the school. I am writing as a severe warning that it would be in your best interest to choose another school. Through the skype interviews you are painted this beautiful picture on how life at this school is then you go there and you realize everything you were told was a lie. Which leaves you with the choice to stick it out the year and be stressed or choose the smarter path and leave. Never let them make you think you can’t leave. Do what’s best for yourself.

Pro’s to main program

-You have new students each week so things stay fresh
-You get occasional free leftover breakfast
-You teach an assortment of classes
-You get to go on field trips to a number of cool places but only if the -Korean managers really like you.
-You play games, laugh and can have fun with the kids
-Cooking class
-Dodgeball
-The CU
-You might get a co teacher
-The soccer field
-You meet a lot of awesome people from different countries and work with many other foreigners. A lot of schools only have one or two...this school has about 20.
-JD is extremely helpful and understanding about scheduling and days off


Con’s to main program

-No more overtime or much prep time
-Sometimes you get stuck teaching the same classes over and over every week which becomes robotic
-Lunch ladies will serve you so you don’t take too much food
-Song and dance and being forced to be MC
-Parents in service (forced to perform in front of parents like puppets)
-YMCA all day everyday
-Games, Games and more Games so make sure you know some
-Lack of respect toward Korean teachers
-Quick changes of the schedule last minute will have you all over the place
-The “zoo” ( a few deer suffering in a small fenced in area for the last 10 years)
-Overcrowded cafeteria will cause you to stand with a about 20 kids waiting to be seated for about 10 minutes or so unless you get there first. This is also your break hour and you don't get to skip the line for lunch you have to wait at the end even if there is 4 classes ahead.
-You'll feel drained from running around all day...1st floor to the 4th to another building then back to the 3rd then the 1st over and over all day each hour.
-No real gym


Pro’s to Edible International Academy

-Lunches and dinners have some more familiar food which is a nice change
-Art’s and Athletics break time for teachers
-You get your own classroom
-You get paid more
-Taking the kids to the soccer field
-Growing food and cooking it with the kids (great time for kids, not always for teachers)
-You get to know your specific group of kids well
-The CU
-Your fellow Edible teachers that all feel the same as you do, so its a good support system
-Bonus’s which you may never get
-You make the midterms and finals so its fair to the kids
-You can order materials you need, if they get to you on time is a different story
-Managers want you to be happy so if you aren’t speak up. You have the power, not them. Never forget that! They need you there, its tough to find teachers for a school with bad reviews.

Con’s to Edible International Academy

-ALL management
-$$$$$$$$ Greed $$$$$$$$$
-The lack of help when you are cooking with the students, meanwhile managers are walking around taking pictures
-If grades are too low you are asked to change them
-Allowing any student at any time during the year to come to the school as long as they pay no matter what level they are on even when there’ s supposed to be a certain level of understanding of the English language.
-No services for students with special needs and a lack of understanding that a student needs professional help.
-Lack of knowledge when it comes to running a school properly
-For a one day a week program the crazy amounts of work required
-They choose the themes and are strict about what you're teaching
-Lack of prep time to do that work
-Everything’s usually due at the same time
-Camera’s always around and someone constantly coming to the class to disrupt teaching to take pictures and talk with the students about nonsense
-When you go to your room to escape main program you are bombarded by -Edible managers during your break time to do them favors, like interviewing.
-You slowly become more negative as the year goes on, constantly complaining
-You can’t take a day off since its a one day a week program unless its family emergency...which often can ruin vacations.
-G-class will make you want to rip your hair out (online teaching with a few students at a time teaching the same thing up to 4 times, back to back) meanwhile kids are playing on the other end or parents are whispering answers. Solution: hangman and games
-Edible dinners are both good and bad...free food, you can get drunk for free but your hanging with all your managers that are fake and are your friend for about 3 hours.

The list can go on forever. If you are reading this and are thinking about working for ICEV or Edible please do yourself a favor and read all other reviews because I also agree with the others and didn’t want to repeat things. If you decide its what you want then may the force be with you because you’ll need it to get through the year. Korea has a lot to offer and I’ve heard of so many great schools where people are happy teaching. This school ruined my experience in Korea and I hope it won’t do the same for you. If you make the mistake of working for ICEV or Edible as I did, its never too late to walk away. Never hesitate to reach out I’m here to answer any questions.

[Namja111]

I posted this on another thread but when you google Incheon English Village it makes it seem as if that thread was last used in 2011 while it makes it seem like this thread was last used in 2014. Thus this thread would seem more relevant to any new teachers doing their research on ICEV. For this reason I am posting on this thread what I also posted on the other one:

I was not going to write a review of my personal experience of working at ICEV but I read through what have been written and I think a lot of things are not covered which people SHOULD know before accepting a job at ICEV.

First of all, I concur with pretty much everyone who wrote a review of ICEV so far. If you get offered a job at the place, run! Run as far as your legs can take you! I mean as if it wasn't bad enough having to work six days a week now they don't even pay you OT for it anymore? Are you kidding me? That extra money is the only thing that stopped us teachers from slitting our own wrists.

And then of course there is a certain Mr Lee. He is the owner of a company called Global Edu which in turn owns ICEV and a bunch of other schools. This Mr Lee one day just woke up and decided everyone should start calling him Dr Lee. He is quite the character. Last year Gloabl Edu had it's 25 year anniversary and it was MANDATORY for all teachers to attend the ceremony. So not only did they make you work on the Saturday but they also forced us to to give up our Sunday to go to a ceremony that did not celebrate the fact that Global Edu managed to somehow last 25 years as much as it celebrated "Dr" Lee. Some teachers were actually forced to go stand on the stage behind "Dr" Lee and hold posters with things written on them such as 'We love Dr Lee' and 'Dr Lee is great,' etc.

And then of course there is the famed potato festival that is held in "Dr" Lee's hometown. Once again attending this party of bulls**t is mandatory. Once again, even though they already robbed you of your Saturday, they also force to offer up your Sunday. What is this potato festival you wonder? Well, you are in for a treat. Basically it goes a little something like this. They come pick you up at around 7 in the morning on a SUNDAY and shove you into a bus and send you of on a 2 hour trip. Then once you get there you very quickly realise that the potato festival is, in fact, a dude's farm where you are then made to work and help him harvest his potatoes. That's right, "Dr" Lee, essentially, provide this dude with some free labour during harvest season. And how does management sweeten it all and try to convince you that this will be good? They tell you that once you are done "Dr" Lee will stick you to Korean BBQ at his home. Lucky us!!!!

Then of course there is the 'hiring ceremony.' Within your first two weeks of starting work you are expected to dress up and you are then given a certificate by "Dr" Lee. As if it is some kind of accomplishment or honour to have been hired by Global Edu. More like a death certificate. In fact, it should be given to you at the end of your contract cause that is a bloody accomplishment. You made it!!! One whole year and you still have a soul!

As for Edible, I didn't work it but I am going give my opinion anyway. Edible teachers were the most miserable human beings I have ever encountered. Ever. They were happy people when they started out there. Just saying. And the funny thing is that when I started out there Edible had a prerequisite that you must be a licensed teacher to work on the Edible program and at that time all Edible teachers were licensed. By the time I left only ONE of the Edible teachers working there was a licensed teacher. Why? Because they could not find sane enough licensed teachers to come work for them anymore so they just took anyone they could get their hands on. And the worst of all is the fact that Edible teachers aren't allowed to keep their contract or even a copy of it. As soon as it is signed it is taken away and locked away in a safe. Literally that is what they do.

Now for your coworkers. I am currently at my fourth school here in Korea. At every single school I have worked at so far there was a certain level of camaraderie between the teachers. Especially between the foreign teachers. We had to stand together if we wanted to stand a chance against management. Except for ICEV. I have NEVER worked at a place where people talk so much smack about each other. Constantly. Every day. Gossip gossip gossip. At the fore of this is a core group of teachers who have been at ICEV FOREVER. So that already tells you a lot about these people. A place that gets one horrible review after the other and had 3 runners in the space of 2 years and these people have already chosen to stay there for over 3 years? Gone all bonkers they have. And these people run around ICEV as if it is their own little fiefdom. They are the type of people who never made it into the cool group at high school and then for some reason left high school truly bothered by that fact. So now they found a place where they get to be the it boys and girls and they are holding onto it for dear life. And they think they need to do it by constantly talking smack about their coworkers.

The whole work environment at ICEV is completely and utterly poisonous. All the way from the top where "Dr" Lee lives in his lalaland, to all the way at the bottom where you find your real stand up coworkers.

But do not think it is only horrible at ICEV. I would not accept any job offered to you by Global Edu. Hence do not accept a job from any of the following schools:

ICEV/Edible, Global Education Center(GEC), Rila Kindergarten, Incheon Culture & Art College, Joongang Technical College(JAC), Kyeongmoon Institute of Vocational Education and Muju Global Education Center

If you think I don't know what it is like at the other schools you would be wrong. Some of the ICEV teachers are made to live in the dorms at GEC so we interacted with the GEC teachers on a regular basis. In the one year that I spent there GEC had 2 runners. One of them wasn't even there for 5 months before he dashed. So tells you a lot about Global Edu run schools if they had 5 people dash in the space of two years from 2 different schools.

[TruthTella]

Funny I never went to the mandatory dinners or anything lol...I had to have a meeting and discuss with them why I didn't go and all this stuff. It was funny! Anyway, great post!