Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Vision]

Hi All,

I feel like I have been looking for a job in Korea for ages, I am leaving my current administration job soon & I would really like to find a good school to work in. Any school I apply for seems to be blacklisted or else has to few teachers to be sure about it's financial stabilty.

Is there anyway you can look for good schools directly? Would another country be worth considering? (Not one where you die of smog though)

Thanks for your help.

[Wangja]

[Us in DC]

Why don't you try a public school. From what I hear they are less likely to screw you. You might want to focus on the large chains as well. But then again, there are always franchises of the larger chains that may be iffy.

Further, I would be cautious about relying too much on the blacklists. I read them as well. But one bad experience can be said about every school. If you saw two or three about the same school... well that's a different story. Have you tried running searches on this cite to find what other's here have said about a given school? I did that and it was really helpful.

[Toby]

[kangnamdragon]

Are there any good schools out there?

I think the question needs to be more specific so people know what you consider a good school to be. What are your requirements? What do you have to contribute to Korean society?

[hellofaniceguy]

It's NOT a question of "any good schools." The question should and ALWAYS be..any good school owners in korea. It is NOT the schools that are bad...it's the person who owns the school. MOST...and I'll state my life on this...MOST hakwon owners...90% are idiots, uneducated, selfish, con artists, talk crap, etc. who are NOT running a school...they are running a business. And they only care about ont thing....MONEY and how much the teachers can make for them and how little they have to pay teachers, skimp on materials, cheat on airfare, severance, give dumpy housing, want robots for teachers who can teach 6/7/8 classes a day. In general...hakwon owners want teachers who take a screwing and not complain.
Now...it is a two way street...some bad teachers. But..when the posts on this site and other ESL sites are mainly complaints about koreans and korean hakwon owners and the complaints are from teachers from all over the world...then it seems to me that the problem is hakwon owners who don't care about quality education or the future of their country. It's only MONEY and how much can I make.
You will find a few hakwon owners who are fair..few. And out of those few..some will treat you great, etc. but still talk crap about you behind your back. I have know a number of teachers who signed on at hakwons, got paid decent, decent wages, had a great relationship with the owner, signed on for additional years only to be screwed over at the last minute over severance and airfare. And these teachers thought their boss was the greatest!
And I have know some teachers who did have great bosses and still do. But...far and few between. It all comes down to personalities...yours and the owners. You can work at a school where every teacher was screwed over and yet...you love the place and are treated well!
Many koreans are backstabbing two faced talking if you ask me. And it's a shame. I know of some really great koreans who also say that koreans are bad!

[FUBAR]

[Son Deureo!]

[some waygug-in]

Whatever you do, don't rush into a job without checking it out . It's not always easy to do, as a lot of smaller schools are not so keen to be giving out information about themselves.

A good question to ask is, "How many students do you have?"

Followed by, "How many foreign teachers are there?"

And then,"Can I contact some of your current or previous teachers?"


It's amazing how many potential jobs these 3 questions will eliminate right off the bat. Not that what's left will be that much better, but at least you will be on the right track.

[Us in DC]

I am not instructing the OP on how to perform a blood transfusion because I am not a doctor. Nor am I instructing him on how to land a plane because I am not a pilot.

The OP is asking for information on how to find good schools and what techniques to use in order to decipher between which ones are legit and which are not.

This requires no more skill or background than simply having done extensive reseach into the subject (8 months to be precise) and having accomplished the goal at hand: landing a decent job. Which I have successfully done. How do I know this? Because I did reseach on the school, interviewed three of it's teachers by phone and e-mail and spoke to the director, which is all I can do from this point. Not to mention the school got positive reviews in a number of threads I found on this cite. No I cannot predict that the school absolutely will never screw me. By the same token nothing you tell the poster (based on your years of experience) will guarantee him that if he follows that advice he won't get screwed.

Further, I am doing nothing more than passing on information which has been given to me from poster's who have been in Korea for many years when I asked simliar questions in previous threads. No one jumped on those posters to denounce them as giving bad advice.

I posted information because all the poster had to go on was criticisms about his grammar. Having been in a simliar position I was happy to pass on information given to me.

Being in Korea for many years unforutnately does not give you the authority to regulate what others are and are not allowed to say on a public forum. If you don't like my posts: don't read them.

HAND (oops - am I allowed to use that?)

[FUBAR]

Come back and give some advice when you have finished your contract. Instead, post a link to the thread, that would be more helpful than giving your person advice. You have been here, what? Two weeks????

But, you are right. I won't be reading your posts. You sound a person who gets worked up over the very little things in life. If you took my post that seriously, wait until the director tells you that you look fat today.

Grow some thick skin and relax. Now back to topic.

[Us in DC]

Funny, you sound like a loser who has nothing better to do that try to belittle total strangers on a public forum.

I have taught esl abroad before and had no problems. A director calling me fat? What are you even talking about? Why don't you try staying on topic. Find something better to do with your time.

NOTE: you are not even in Korea (or you wake up at 8:00 am and ruch to Dave's) so you come to this forum to...be lame?

[peppermint]

So, US in DC, signed a contract yet?

I sincerely doubt that anyone who's worked at a public school here would recommend a job at one to someone who's new to Korea and new to teaching. Class sizes are huge and ca be very difficult to control, and because there's usually only one foreigner, and the Korean teachier may or may not speak English, it is often very isolating.

[pecan]

Public school gigs in Korea are a piece of cake!

Obviously, if you need others to hold your hand, these jobs may not be for you. However, if you have an open mind, are flexible, and can remain positive, I do not see why one would want to avoid these positions.

Best case scenario, you work less than the twenty-two hours required, you do not have to remain at your school from 8:30-4:30 M-F, you get a new, fully-furnished, three bedroom apartment, and you enjoy three months or more of vacation.

Worst case scenario, you work more than the twenty-two hours required (but you get paid extra), you have to remain at the school from 8:30-4:30 M-F, you get an older, sparsely-furnished, one room, and you get your vacation exactly as it is written in your contract.

Nut

[peppermint]

Outside of th classroom stuff is mostly fine, but it's not a job for a slacker, for sure.