Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pumpkinott]

This is the position being offered to me. Is this reasonable for a teaching institute in Bundang?

2.3 Mil won/month
live with a host family
6-50 min. classes five days a week
roundtrip flight
no health or stated bonus

Thanks ahead of time for your comments.

Hans

[crazylemongirl]

salary is nice
I wouldn't want to live a host family. 'Host family' may turn out to be the director!
When are the classes?
roundtrip paid upfront? on arrival? half now, half later?
Health and bonus not mentioned probably means not paid
also what about pension.

Major red flags but you may want to check it out mroe.

[pumpkinott]

This is a 3 to 10 pm type teaching job. yeah didn't know about the flight, now or later thing. Didn't plan on ins. how big of a deal is it? How much will it cost me in the end?

Is bun-dang nice?

Thanks for the resonse and time.

[crazylemongirl]

most schools will either provide private accomdation or a housing allowance. I think that this homestay thing is a major red flag.

From what I've heard bundang is nice. Do a search and you should find some threads.

[Thunndarr]

I agree with CLG. Homestay is a big no-no. Unless of course you are bound and determined to come here right away, I'd say you should wait around until you find a place that offers the standard package and single housing. Good luck in your search, btw.

[peppermint]

I did homestay for two weeks when I arrived, and they were hellish. Everytime I went out after class they thought I'd done a runner and stuff.

AS well, no health or severance bonus are huge red flags since those are part of the Korean labour laws.

[Thunndarr]

I'd say hold out for the standard contract...by which I mean...

2.0 million (+ or - depending)
Single housing
2-10 schedule (varies, but this should be the max hours)
10 days vacation
50% Health
Pension
1 month bonus
Round trip airfare (in writing, paid in advance if possible)

And then, of course, you can be a bit choosy about location, but this is not as important if you don't care about how close to the center of Seoul you live. I notice there are a lot of jobs in Bundang and down south on line 4 that seem pretty decent. Anyway, once again, good luck on your job search.

[sadsac]

Fully agree with the other posters, stay away from a homestay situation. I have not heard of a positive instance of a homestay being anything but intrusive and oppressive. There are better options out there.

[J.B. Clamence]

Reasons to avoid homestay:

1. You will be staying with a family that has regular waking times, meal times, and bed times, and you will most likely be pressured to conform to them. Unless you are a monk, you will not feel free in this situation at all.
2. Your host family will probably be spying on you on behalf of your employer. They will report your whereabouts, activities, financial spending, packing, travelling, etc. to your boss.
3. You may be expected to provide free English lessons to your host family, especially their children. In fact, this is probably the family's main incentive to hosting you (in fact, your boss might not be giving them as much money to support you, and may tell them that your teaching them will count instead of some of the support payment, which will make it more difficult to get out of). So you go to work and teach for six hours, and then come home and have to teach the brats at your house, too.
4. Living in Korea is alienating enough. At least at home, we can escape Korea through DVD movies, TV shows on English channels, internet, etc. Not for you. You will be very much in Korea-mode 24/7. No escape.

Say no to homestay. I wouldn't imagine that anything good at all would come out of it.

[I_Am_Wrong]

homestay...

my friend lived in a homestay while he was in Korea working for the ministry of agriculture last year and loved it. You'll learn the language quicker, experience the culture more fully, and quite possibly meet people easier. You of course would have to be respectful of their customs and values to a degree but most homestays that would offer to a westerner would probably also understand that you come from a very different culture. At a homestay you would have to be very open-minded, whereas, if you live on your own you can get by and be very close-minded about the country you're living in. Personally, I grew up in Canada with homestay students from Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, South America, and Europe always around in my home and as a child I think this was a fascinating experience. The college students who had homestays always learned better english than their counterparts that didn't. If I were a homestay I think I would jump at the opportunity.

Also, that salary is quite good. The average standard contract is offering 1.9 million but I was shown some that are as low as 1.7. Medical insurance isn't very much

edit:: I would also like to add that you shouldn't agree to any homestay unless you are given information about the family (how they live, who they are, etc.) and they are given information about you.

[OiGirl]

I would not accept a homestay as your employer-provided housing on a long-term basis. No way!

But I did once have a lovely two-month homestay arranged by a friend. It was a great experience. The family spoke a little English, and I never felt like I was giving them free English lessons. It was more like we took turns negotiating things in the two languages, and my Korean improved quite a bit. There were no little kids in this family! I love kids, but I don't want to live with other people's kids 24/7.

I had Internet access and some English cable channels, though I rarely watch TV. I would watch Friends re-runs with my homestay family. I was welcome to join the family for any meals if I was home and awake. There would sometimes be special Western treats for me, but I far preferred their Korean food!

I think not every homestay experience is automatically awful. For a short time, it was a great cultural experience, but again, I would never accept it as permanent housing!

[canuckistan]

If the school doesn't want to enroll you in the gov't health plan, chances are the school may not be paying their half of your pension contributions (sometimes while still deducting them from you) since enrollment in the health plan leads to an automatic notification to the pension office.

[Grotto]

I have just finished a one month homestay, the school did not have my apartment ready for me so they put me in with the school custodian and his wife. Great people. After 2 weeks I really wanted my own apartment...after 3 weeks I was going to school and ranting to my co-teacher asking why things werent done?! Where was my furniture?! After 4 weeks I told them if they didnt have everything done by the next day I would leave the school. viola.

Point being as nice as your host family is you will always be a guest in their home...THEIR HOME...you cant walk around in your underwear..you cant watch TV whenever you want...all your stuff is crammed into one bedroom....do it for a year? NO WAY!

[oneiros]

They're cutting corners. No apartment, no medical. Always a bad sign. If they're cutting corners now, what's going to happen when they owe you overtime, or when it's time to give you your return flight?

There's much better jobs in Bundang out there.

[I_Am_Wrong]

I wouldn't dismiss homestay as cutting corners. It has the potential to be a very positive experience. It could be bad....but that's why you should find out as much about it as you can before excepting anything. Personally, I would far prefer to live with a family in a half-decent sized home than the lame assed studio apartments they give to ex-pats.