Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Holden]

I've been sitting here reviewing job posts and am shocked to see things like:

6 50 minute classes/day (50 minutes is eternity with little kids)

36 teaching hours/ week, less than 2mill pay?)

working hours between 9 and 11 at night or 9-6 blocks?

pay as low as 1.8 and not much more than 2.

no vacation other than holidays or 3 days when the school is closed...

no airfare???

Female only...

What I want to know is what is going on here and who are the stupid people taking these jobs and perpetuating the situation? If people were more picky, the job offers would have to get better.

[Michelle]

I was shocked lately, too. I don't think people really think out the hours. 30 is quite enough for me and I'd want at least 2 million.

I would never do 36 and overtime on 30 is hell.

Let people know the basic expectation and I guess they are a little less likely to get suckers.

[chronicpride]

[marista99]

Yeah...a lot of people don't do their research first. When I was considering teaching ESL in Europe, none of the jobs there offered housing or airfare, and the pay was comparatively really bad. Then I started researching Korea and found out they give you all these extra benefits and I was totally surprised. I can definitely see someone taking a job in Korea with less than decent contract conditions, simply because they didn't know how incredibly better the benefits are in Asia (esp. Korea) than in Europe or other locations.

Of course these people are going to be seriously kicking themselves when they get there and realize that the other foreign teachers were given airfare, housing, and way better salaries than they settled for...but the people who are going to be accepting these bad conditions are obviously not reading this discussion board, so there ain't much we can do about it

[VanIslander]

When I was deciding on contract offers back in 2002 I was surprised that there were many 1.6 and 1.8 mill. with split shifts, Saturdays and expected overtime.

Especially because there were many more with 2.0 mill. and no splits, no weekends, no overtime.

Perhaps there's a large range of contracts but the supply's high enough to find comparable ones.

(BTW, Holden, we differ on the value of short classes. I do 50-minute classes and I love the length. If a student or two shows up late, or if there's a need to review the previous lesson before jumping into a new one, an extra few minutes is handy; besides, I usually use the last ten minutes of class to fun review and practice exercises that the students call "games" but really aren't, except for the fact that the "winners" who know more get a treat before the others do.)

[ladyandthetramp]

Maybe a lot of people see 32 hours a week and think it's decent. They don't realize that they need to add, well, in my case, about 8 hours to that. Maybe I was lucky, too.

I'm more careful, nowadays.

[Grotto]

Hey if you are stupid enough to bend over grease your ass up and ask them to screw you...Then you deserve what you get.

I dont think anyone should accept less than 2.mil a month a standard should be 2.2-2.5 anything less is an insult

stand up for your self right off the bat

[MixtecaMike]

Don't forget that what's crappy for teachers in Korea is probably a very good deal for teachers coming from other places. The reason most of the people where I live have family members working crap jobs in the US for substandard conditions is that it's a much better deal than they get back home in Mexico.

In both cases it pushes down wages for the bottom of the barrel jobs, but I would be surprised if the good teachers with experience in Korea are even looking at these minimum wage opportunities, likewise the average American worker probably doesn't want to go fruit picking or dishwashing.

Ahh, the beauty of capitalism and the free market.

[TECO]

I've met lots of teachers with no degrees, no ELT training and teachers who will accept 'any offer.'

The scabs and those who don't do their research drive the prices and work conditions down.

And the business owners here in Asia are shysters.

So, between the dumb TEFL'ers and the crooked business owners, it makes for quite a flakey 'profession' doesn't it.

[marista99]

[prosodic]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Wishmaster]

You would have to be bloody insane to pay your airfare to Korea and then sign up working for split-shifts or 1.8 million! The haggie owners are laughing all the way to the bank. The day that Korea doesn't pay my airfare...I don't come over. The day that I pay for my apartment is the day that I head back home. There is too much BS here as it is and if you take away the free apartment...C-ya. Lesson: Demand a bit more because these hagwon owner don't give a shit about you and they'll fire you anytime because the contract is in their favor.

[Real Reality]

Wishmaster wrote,
"Lesson: Demand a bit more because these hagwon owner don't give a *beep* about you and they'll fire you anytime because the contract is in their favor."

Arthur Fonzerelli wrote,
"Salaries should be increasing to match the increasing cost of living in Korea, but our salaries seem to remain the same..."
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=19687

Some salaries seem to be staying the same and some are decreasing.
Some of the university positions have very low salaries.
For example,
Monthly Salary: 1,700,000 won
Starting monthly salary of 1.8 million won
Salary range: 1.9 to 2.1 million a month
Yearly salary range of 23.4 - 31.1 million won

Korean Price Increases Among the World's Fastest
It turns out that the increase rate of Korea's consumer prices for the first quarter of this year has been among the world's highest, with the exception of some developing countries. This increase seems like it will persist as the price of commodities such as flour, noodles, and beverage rise due to the price increase of raw material. It is also highly likely that public utilities charges, including bus, subway and taxi fares, will rise in the second half, making the price more unstable.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200404/200404260031.html

Rising utility charges
Charges for public transportation, tap water and postal parcel deliveries are set to rise sharply next month. But the service charge increases are ill-timed, to say the least, as they arrive when the nation's economic performance is seen to be worsening.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/06/26/200406260012.asp

[Real Reality]

from a university job announcement (Date: January 3, 2006)
The salary is around 1.7 million Korean won with 12 hours teaching and additional 6 hours will be paid overtime (26,000 won).
from the Korean Job Board http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea

1,700,000 + 156,000 = 1,856,000 won per month
1,856,000 x 12 = 22,272,000 won per year (in what year 2006?)

12% Increase of Professors' Salary Last Year, but Part-Time Lecturers' Were Decreased
According to the 2001 College Education Advancement Index' which the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) announced on the 13th, full-time professors' average monthly wage (before taxation) last April was 4,914,000 won, which is 12.2 percent higher than the previous year 4,379,000 won. Also, deputy professors, assistant professors, and full-time lecturers had similar increases in their salaries.
Donga.com (February 14, 2002)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2002021400798

4,914,000 x 12 = 58,968,000 won per year (in what year 2001?)