Korean Job Discussion Forums

HamuHamu · Joined: 01 May 2003 Location: Seoul

For me what a lot of it comes down to is the lack of vacation time....

Before you come, you're told you have 10 days plus National Holidays....you think "No problem, that's 2 weeks....that's all I get at home, too...."

You get here, and all the National Holidays fall on a weekend, and unlike "back home," you don't get Monday off to make up for it. And, "Ten days" means, a few days here, a few days there....and all when the hagwan director decides, and all at a time when all other Koreans are travelling, too, so you can't get out of the country (or if you can, it's an entire paycheck for one short holiday...) And you maybe kinda forget that the week at Christmas you get back home in addition to your 2 weeks, is nonexistent here...

Teaching 8 hours a day 50 weeks of the year = BURNOUT!!!!!! You can't take a sick day, you can't take an unpaid week off because you really feel the need to go home for whatever reason, you can't even beg off work an hour early for what-ever important reason you may have.....

I think that is a big reason why foreign students here may not be as "grumpy" as teachers are...at least forme, if every day, every week, every month wasn't THE SAME OLD THING I wouldn't be as fed-up...

Add in the fact that a lot of hagwan contracts say you will work say 100 hours, with everything else being overtime, Western way of thinking means that is 100 hours. Arrive here and find out that you HAVE to teach 115 hours (or whatever) and you have no choice....forced overtime..not a concept that I can relate to being from Canada....I assumed overtime was MY CHOICE.

And factor in the fact that so many of us feel "trapped" by our contracts, that we have that feeling of "I CAN'T leave, even if I want too..."

For me, if I didn't feel that I HAD to stick it out for a year, and I could get a little more "free time," Korea wouldn't be so bad......

sistersarah · Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Location: hiding out

SuperHero · Joined: 10 Dec 2003 Location: Superhero Hideout

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

Do I feel bitter sometimes? Are teachers bitter?
Heck yah!
If you want to start loading up on things to be bitter about there's no lack of real annoyances, injustices, bla bla bla.
There are so real and unjust they will drive one bonkers, and curl one into a twisted, and bitter individual.
So it's there.
Go around it. Drop it. Put it all down.
And do the opposite, create. Get the creativity thing going so there's enough self-esteem and magic to make these big, bad, REAL factors 'unimportant'.
They'll uplift you when the going get rough and you look around. There's some nitwit racists everywhere calling you a pabo, they're everywhere, and I'm here in this school and the kids don't respect me, bla bla bla.
It's garbage, low self-esteem thinking but it can get very real at times.
Kids test you sometimes. Some Koreans test you sometimes. Everybody seems to be coming at you sometimes, testing you.
And bitterness isn't a strength that's going to back you up in those moments. It'll just make you militant with some kind of conspiracy theory and ready to go ballistic, kamikaze, and boot on home.
Yes, I'm bitter about stuff. But harbouring and cultivating it isn't an asset or going to get me anywhere. Just under somebody's thumb, with me their squirming pet.
I'd rather be light footed and fancy free. It's my mind and I can make it shine with the happiness that is my 'home' and right.

Pyongshin Sangja · Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Location: I love baby!

She's right.

Good post.

Dudes, broaden that horizon.

kiwiboy_nz_99 · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Location: ...Enlightenment...

rawiri · Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.

yep.....sage advice....takes a lot of work to break out of the negativity cycle though...actuallt thats where EXERCISE plays such a huge part...i can't stress that enough.

"Emanciapte yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds".

kiwiboy_nz_99 · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Location: ...Enlightenment...