Korean Job Discussion Forums

[livinginkorea]

It's been a while since I wrote anything down here but some of you might remember the problem that I had before with another teacher who was hitting on me and driving me to a company job.

Here is the previous post http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=35538&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=livinginkorea

Anyway things were not going well at my school (Global Language Institute in Suwon). Because I am there with my girlfriend they started using us big time. I guess that their attitude was that "one won't quit because the other one is there" but boy weren't they wrong!!!

They started giving too many classes. At first I told them I don't mind teaching an early morning company class and a lunch time company class and one junior class and then the 4 hagwon classes. So I was going 7 classes a day then which was fine with me. I was making about 2.3 from that and since I live in my girlfriends apartment I was getting an extra 300,000 won as well so 2.6 m per month is grand. They were happy days.

Then the question of the holiday came up. In the beginning when I started they promised that my gf and I would have our holiday together and that we would have 2 weeks and they agreed to it. We wanted to have our holiday at the same time (obvoiusly) and travel to Europe and Ireland (my home place) but they started humming and hawing about it. My contract says 10 days paid vacation not including the public holidays that we have so that is two weeks vacation to you and me. But not to them. It was a week and a half to them and I wanted to go on a Saturday and come back on a Saturday two weeks later. Of course I want to go on holidays for as long as possible. I don't want to come back on a Tuesday and teach the next day. Screw that crap. 10 days is 10 days in any language. It would be easier for them to get a replacement for two weeks rather then a week and a half but they couldn't see that. And since my girlfriend and I were making the most money for them (I know how much the company clases paid because the school gave me the bill to give to the school) and doing the most hours there. I taught 35 hours a week which is a lot more than any of the other foreign teachers (of which there are 6 others there) and I had more students than any other foreign teachers in the hagwon classes. Global has all different levels and I was the most popular (sorry for blowing my own trumpet). So they couldn't give us 10 days holidays like it says on the contract.

Then the whole issue of the Japanese teacher exploded. My girlfriend had a company class cancelled (given to another teacher for less money) so she went with me to my lunch time company class with the Japanese teacher driving. The Japanese teacher didn't like that at all. She barely talked to my girlfriend (who is a gyopo and speaks Korean) and when she did answer a question she just said yes or no. Very abrupt and rude. This went on for 2 days and then my girlfriend got a call from the boss saying that you can't go to that company class, that students have complained about it. She was not teaching there only going to the rest room and reading and preparing for her evening classes. My girlfriend said to the boss that she doesn't teach there or go near my class so why would they complain and he had no answer for that. So obviously the Japanese teacher said to the boss I don't want to drive my girlfriend.

That reallly ticked me off. Talk about acting like a child. The Japanese teacher used to drive my girlfriend to her morning class every morning so what was her major problem. Then the boss said that I have to teach a new class everyday and that it is two hours extra a day plus an hour of travel and I said that I can't do it. It's too much. Let's look at the new timetable that I would have...

6.00 wake up and get ready
6.40 get the bus to the morning company class (takes approx. 40 min)
7.30 start class
8.15 finish class and get the bus back to the hagown
8.50 arrive at the hagown and get driven to the new company class
9.10 start class for two hours
11.00 finish class and get driven to the lunch time class (takes approx. 40 min again)
12.00 start class
1.00 finish class and get driven back to Suwon
2.00 approx. arrive at my house and have lunch (or breakfast if I didn't have any)
4.30 get ready and get the bus to school
5.00 teach junior class
5.45 finish class and get ready for adult night classes
6.00 teach classes (6.30 on Tue and Thur) 10 mins break every hour between classes
10.00 finish for the night and go home
10.25 arrive at home - cook, eat dinner and try to relax
12.00 go to sleep

To hell with that!!! Who in their right mind does this? They were trying to use me. You might be able to do this for one month but then you would suffer from burnout. There is little or no time to relax. It's crazy and they wanted me to do it.

So I complained about the Japanese teacher and told her about everything that she said and did (again see the above and previous post for details). I told the boss that I wanted another driver to bring me to my lunch time class. I wanted nothing to do with that crazy teacher and I told him that. I love my girlfriend very much and I don't want some 40 year old single crazy ajumma to ruin it. They have 2 drivers at the school and they aren't that busy at lunch time as two of the foreign teachers have cars themselves so they could easily drive me from one class to another.

The boss then told the Japanese teacher everything saying that he didn't think it was fair that she didn't say her side of the story. That was pretty stupid I thought since she was going to try and defend herself and try not to make herself look like a desperate woman like she actually is. Even the other foreign teachers at the school have said that she is hitting on them. One of the teachers is even married but that doesn't stop her. When I told the first boss (there are two of them at Global) he totally understood me. I was very surprised and I thought that maybe something like that happened before? Anyway that's just me thinking. The other boss didn't understand me. He was the one who defended her and said that it was my mistake. I told him what about the website and then he said that it was my girlfriends mistake!!

So then the Japanese teacher wanted to explain herself to my girlfriend. She kept saying that she was misunderstood but I knew that she wanted to defend herself. Then the boss said to me that I was asking her strange questions!! So then it was my word against hers and things were out of hand. The other boss (the stupid one) said to my girlfriend that the Japanese teacher had a secert to tell her. This was totally stupid. My girlfriend didn't want to talk to her and hear all her bulls**t from her. We knew well that she would just make up some lies and say that we misunderstood and neither of us wanted to hear that. Then that stupid boss said that there is no secert and that it's all a misunderstanding. He was just making things worse and worse and I was getting more and more pi**ed off. They also wanted to talk to my gf alone and of course we didn't want that. We kept insisting that the both of us had to be there together.

So then durning a break we were talking together with another teacher who knew what was going on and the Japanese teacher came over to my girlfriend and started speaking to her. Things started to heat up and I and the other teacher couldn't understrand what was going on as they were speaking Korean but I could tell by the language that the Japanese teacher was very rude to my girlfriend. My girlfriend tried to explain to me what she was saying and then the Japanese teacher said to her "Speak Korean. You are Korean", and then my girlfriend said I don't want to talk to you and as she tried to turn she grabbed my girlfriend and started swearing at her. She complained to my girlfriend about the time that she used to drive my girlfriend to the morning class saying that "I am not your driver" and "You never thanked me for driving you". My gf wanted the school bus driver to drive her to the morning class before but the Japanese teacher wanted to drive her so that she could practice English and my gf said thak you everytime. My gf couldn't get a word in and tried to explain that maybe she doesn't understand Korean culture but the Japanese teacher cut her off and then pulled my girlfriend I was so annoyed, the other teacher was shocked and I was so close to pushing her back. I told her to stop that but she was so focused on giving out to my girlfriend, swearing at her and pulling her. My girlfriend was in tears and just ran out of the classroom to the office to the boss.

She told him what happened and he started giving out to her as well. I asked why did the Japanese teacher like that and he said that I just misunderstood. I misunderstood that crazy woman pushing my girlfriend around!! God when I look back at it now, it makes me really angry. What did they think would happen? That I would stay there and sit happily as my girlfriend was pushed around by a bully? At least the other teacher was there to see it.

Then as they were speaking in Korean for a while. Again my girlfriend tried to speak in English so that I could understand but the boss shouted at her to speak in Korean.

Then he said to me, "Don't you have class now? You should go to class"'.
I said, "I will go in a minute when this is finished" (my gf was still crying and there was no way I would be able to teach until I calmed down).
He then shouted at me, "I order you to go to class".
To which I responded, "You can't order Jack s**t".
To which he responded by throwing the computer on the floor and swearing at me. Everybody in the office was quiet and I just said to my gf, "let's go, I don't want to work here" and to the boss I said, "nice try".

We got our stuff and walked out. Luckly I got paid the day before I left and we ordered a ticket online and we went to Seoul to get the ticket the very next day and we went back to Ireland. The boss sent me a message saying, "Haha we will not make it so easy for you. Come back now, there is still time". I never responded and at immigrated I gave them my Visa card and said I quit my job and they said ok. Of course I didn't have to explain to them but I knew that they would ring the school afterwards to give them the bad news.

So I enjoyed a great holiday and I came back with my girlfriend yesterday. I don't know if I can start work straight away. I might have to wait for a couple of months but I know that the old school would have to report as finished as they would be paying tax for me and so after 15 days of me not working they have to report me saying that I'm finished. I might have a problem to get another job now but I can wait here as a tourist until I do. Maybe I should report the school? At least my gf can start work as soon as she wants so we won't be broke!!!

So a word of warning goes out to anybody who wants to work at Global in Suwon.

[Derrek]

Wow...


I don't know about everyone else, but I"m waiting for the paperback copy!

[livinginkorea]

[PolyChronic Time Girl]

I am a Global Language Institute "casualty" too!! I sensed big problems from the start and I was a big idiot for signing the contract. I worked at Global in Cheongju. It's now gone...the place closed down and the director of that branch took the teachers' and students' money (including mine) and is hiding now! What's worse is that administrators or whatnot are lying to the students, saying that the place is going to open "any day now" while they know the director stole their money and is Missing In Action...they are truly victims here.


This is what I should have known better before signing:

1) They were desperate for a teacher. They hired me when I send my on-line application! I said I wanted to check out the place first, talk to past teachers, talk to the director. They said they had many teachers wanting the job and I should take it....lie. I was the only one who probably applied.

2) He wanted me to start working without the proper E2 visa. I said "no. send me to Japan first" My director then said that I can get my E2 visa without going to Japan

3) I was the only foreign teacher there. The director couldn't speak any English.

4) He tried to have me work at illegal locations without immigration approval. Even the second school wanted me to get immigration approval but the director said no.

5) Student numbers were very low. Big danger sign there.

6) The korean teachers told me (after I signed of course) that they haven't been paid in months.

7) They made the students pay for 6 months-1year in advance. So you can imagine how much money some of these students are missing. Still no refund.

Finally, D-Day came. I went to work one day and was informed that all the Korean teachers quit, the director "left", and I no longer had a job.

9) Director is still missing. B*stard. His name is Kim Hyeon Chul, so if anyone has a run-in with him or he foolishly attempts to start opening a hagwon....don't trust him. He's a criminal.

***But I do want to add that I loved the students. They are great and we still keep in touch and eat lunch together/drink. Even my students said I was too good of a teacher for this Global. I feel more sorry for them because their money was stolen and all they wanted to do was learn English.

[Badmojo]

[PolyChronic Time Girl]

[JongnoGuru]

[Ya-ta Boy]

Great story. It must have been miserable to live through. Now that it's over it will make an entertaining contribution to hakwon heck war stories at the bar.

Hope you have better luck next time.

[livinginkorea]

[livinginkorea]

[tzechuk]

I am just wondering...... didn't someone say that if you do a runner from the school, the school will report you to the ministry of education and blacklist you?

I hope not, so that you can get another job. Just thought I remember someone saying something like that.

Good luck anyway.

[FUBAR]

[captain kirk]

Smashing story! I especially liked the part where the boss throws the computer on the floor. And that Japanese teacher; what a twister! What's her problem, anyway? This school sounds like, from it's atmosphere, it's smack dab in the middle of the DMZ

[just because]

Good you had the guts to walk out together and stick it straight up his clacker...he would have been in a lot of trouble..

[livinginkorea]