Korean Job Discussion Forums

Vision · Joined: 26 Aug 2004

There are so many jobs out there that it is difficult to know what to pick. I want to go to South Korea in the v near future and therefore think I will use a recruiter to find me a suitable hagwon. Maybe it would be better just to go directly to the school, I am not sure?

Also, if you sign a contract, can you back out of it? I'm not a bad person and would only do it if I discovered something was not right about it.

Please reply with whatever advice you may have. Thanks!!!

prosodic · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Location: ��

Read the FAQs

Us in DC · Joined: 22 Jul 2004

I am a newbie myself and just signed my contract so I am by no means an afficianado but I will tell you the things that people have told me on this site.

First, do a search on this site and read all the things those threads say.

Then there is this template contract posted up on a website somewhere. You can find it if you do that search. I also believe it is a sticky somewhere on this site.

The things I have found to beware of the most are split-shifts. I think you should have something in your contract that says "a consecutive eight hour shift." Also, you should be paying any sort of housing deposit whatsoever. Make sure the housing is single-housing, no roomate. That you will only be working at one location only.

I have posted my contracts as a thread and gotton really good feedback. You misht want to consider doing that before you sign. Good Luck.

Vision · Joined: 26 Aug 2004

Thanks for your help Comic Guy, hope the year works out well for you. I am sure your advice on the contract template will be invaluble.

cacheSurfer · Joined: 07 Dec 2003

Homer · Guest

The housing deposit is not an un-reasonable clause.

There is logic and business sense behind it as the accomodations are provided by the school, hence paid for by the schol. This means they are responsible for the condition of the place.
A teacher that wrecks the place and then leaves puts the school in a bind.

The deposit is like many landords who ask for a security deposit when they rent their appartments.

You give back the appartment in the same condition it was given to you and no worries.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

a housing deposit is reasonable as long as it is not excessive or applied all at once.

a 600,000 won deposit withheld at a rate of 200,000 won a month is acceptable.

anything over that amount I would not accept and any greater reduction a month could seriously screw up your finances when you first get here.

I have no problem with the schools protecting themselves from excessively dirty apartments, damage or unpaid bills.

I also try to look at it as some extra savings I get back at the end of the contract.

Falstaff · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Location: Ansan

I'll second (or is it third now?) the housing deposit thing. I think that's reasonable from the school's standpoint. Avoid split shifts. And read the FAQs. There really is good info in there.

prosodic · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Location: ��

My feeling about deposits is that it's ok as long as you get it back in a reasonable time-frame. I've seen contracts that say you get it back 2, 3, or more months after you leave. A few weeks would be reasonable.

chronicpride · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Canucksaram · Joined: 29 Apr 2003

Aisling, some things to keep in mind:

Once you sign a contract it's a legally binding document, just as in your home country.

Don't sign anything you can't, or won't, honor (providing that you are not knowingly breaking the law). As far as I know, any benefits or protections afforded by the laws of the country the contract is governed by, even if you are unaware of such laws, automatically "import" into your contract.[Edited by the OP, thanks to Prosodisc's excellent follow-up point, below]

Don't sign a contract to work in EFL unless there is a provision in it that allows you to terminate the contract with "proper notice" (as defined in the contract; typically 30 days' written notice in Korean. So yes, you can back out, as long as you respect the terms of the contract you sign.

Legally, if you sign a contract and then leave it before a 3 or 6 month period (I forget which), you can may be liable to repay the airfare your school paid to fly you over. Check www.efl-law.com and www.efl-law.org for more info on this matter. They are GREAT online resources.

Never sign a contract if there is a clause that asks you to repay any recruitment fees the employer paid to hire you. If the contract is otherwise good, negotiate to strike out that clause. It's unfair and unreasonable, in my opinion.

Recruiters have no power to compel either you or your boss. They can only try to mediate if there is trouble. If mediation fails, a recruiter that cares about you will help you contact the appropriate authorities (i.e., the Ministry of Labor, Immigration, etc.)

Remember that while we most often hear about bad schools and shady recruiters, there are good ones out there.

Not meant as a comment about you, but if you look up some of Chronicpride's posts about "bad teachers" you'll quickly realized that each recruiting horror story, there's a flipside. (Chronicpride is a poster on these forums with previous recruiting experience.)

Let me state, for the record:

1. I have done consulting work for various recruiters, but my suggestions on image improvement and trust building were rarely, if ever, put to use.

2. I cannot offer names for "good recruiters" because of a confilct of interest, so ask others, or do some digging on the internet.

3. I acknowledge that there ARE good schools and good recruiters, but, generally speaking, I have a pro-teacher, anti-recruiter/anti-school prejudice. I've heard far to many stories of unfair contracts and abuse of power on the part of hagwon bosses, and I have little to no faith in their ability to reform themselves because of their too-frequent "pro-Korean/anti-foreigner" mentality which, most of the time, they don't even know is "on." THIS IS JUST MY OPINION, so please, no flames.

Good luck.

Aisling wrote:

There are so many jobs out there that it is difficult to know what to pick. I want to go to South Korea in the v near future and therefore think I will use a recruiter to find me a suitable hagwon. Maybe it would be better just to go directly to the school, I am not sure?

Also, if you sign a contract, can you back out of it? I'm not a bad person and would only do it if I discovered something was not right about it.

Please reply with whatever advice you may have. Thanks!!!

prosodic · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Location: ��