Korean Job Discussion Forums

[isitts]

[isitts]

[Namja111]

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.

[TruthTella]

I never went to the mandatory dinners or gatherings...they gave me shit about it but Edible needed me so I knew there was no chance of getting fired. People ask why posts are so detailed. Until you work at ICEV which I hope you never do, you won't understand. They are detailed for the benefit of others contemplating working at this school not for the sole purpose of complaining.

[isitts]

[TruthTella]

Why are you even commenting on a school you want and had nothing to do with? Unless you've taught there, then you'd know which I'm assuming maybe you did and had a different experience. Adding more recent posts were to let others know the school has not changed for the better. In interviews they will persuade you into thinking otherwise, its just a clear warning not to believe the lies.

[Namja111]

[Keeper]

[Weigookin74]

[Namja111]