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Are hagwons finally doomed?
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Gopher

Joined: 04 Jun 2005

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:37 pm Post subject:

[deleted] Last edited by Gopher on Thu Jun 15, 2006 3:03 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ya-ta Boy

Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:43 pm Post subject:

Quote:

And that's what surprises me. Since Koreans place such a high premium on youth, hair/eye colour, and feminine gender, I'm sure hagwons must be offering very attractive salary packages for teachers who satisfy those desired attributes, right? So attractive, I bet, that there must be an inexhaustible supply of available 24-year-old blonde chicks all pining to come and live here, right?

No? You mean Korea isn't an absolute non-stop, high-paying paradise and fun-filled adventure for 24-yr-old blonde chicks either? Hmm... Then I must be mistaken.

You mistaken? That couldn't possibly be.

rapier

Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:44 pm Post subject: Re: Are hagwons finally doomed?

Captain Corea wrote:

hari seldon wrote:

or defaulted on student loans.

Actually, I don't think I would be able to get mine either. I owe a fair chunk to the library in late charges. They said i could not get anything released till I pay up Embarassed

How can defaulting on student loans affect your ability to get transcripts from your uni? Student loans come from independent companies, not from the unis themselves.
Nobody at British universities gets loans from their university.

Badmojo

Joined: 07 Mar 2004
Location: I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:48 pm Post subject:

Yata, I got a job for you in Jeomchon, mid-August start. Take it before someone else does.

Gopher

Joined: 04 Jun 2005

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:49 pm Post subject:

[deleted] Last edited by Gopher on Thu Jun 15, 2006 3:03 pm; edited 1 time in total

rapier

Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 8:24 pm Post subject:

It would make no sense for Universities to revoke degrees for non-payment of student loans. By doing that, they ensure the defaulter cannot find a job and thus cannot pay them back.

Paji eh Wong

Joined: 03 Jun 2003

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:29 am Post subject: Re: Are hagwons finally doomed?

rapier wrote:

I know someone jobhunting at the moment..says that recruiters are wringing their hands, unable to find anybody to fill hagwon positions any more.
It seems that the increasing intake into govt. schools is beginning to swallow up all available teachers..
If anybody still wants to work in hagwons, i'd say you could probably write your own contract pretty much now- but be ready for the place to fold in the near future, if not start employing Bangladeshi English teachers out of sheer desperation..

-Just look at the sheer number of vacant hagwon jobs being posted.. A lot are facing ruination, I reckon. Or is it just a temporary/ seasonal thing?

I think it has more to do than market maturation than anything else. Starting salaries have been stagnant at 2.0 for a couple of years, while inflation has been holding at about 5%. Cost of living will continue to eat into real wages a la Japan, and Korea will be a less attractive place to live.

And lets face it. There are too many hogwons anyways. This place could use a good market correction.

Quote:

My impression of the recruiters is that they are fundamentally deceptive and dishonest.

Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Recruiters are not to be taken seriously, kids.

Homer
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 2:20 am Post subject:

Rapier, they said the same thing in 1997 when the currency meltdown hit Korea and asia. The hakwon industry goes through cycles much like any other field of work.

JongnoGuru

Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 2:35 am Post subject:

Ya-ta Boy wrote:

Quote:

You mistaken? That couldn't possibly be.

However you may have intended that remark, I'm taking it as a compliment from an esteemed fellow old-timer. Wink

Homer wrote:

Rapier, they said the same thing in 1997 when the currency meltdown hit Korea and asia.

The hakwon industry goes through cycles much like any other field of work.

I was just thinking precisely of the posts you've made where you detailed how your (or the average teaching salary) increased since the mid-/late 1990s. So, you're seeing today and the past few years as a period of general wage stagnation. This is an industry in transition, so where do you see it heading? What factors are driving it, positive & negative? And if you had to guess, where do you see average starting salaries in one, two, or three years from now?

Ya-ta Boy

Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:08 am Post subject:

Quote:

I'm taking it as a compliment from an esteemed fellow old-timer

How else COULD it have been intended?

Paji eh Wong

Joined: 03 Jun 2003

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:29 am Post subject:

Homer wrote:

Rapier, they said the same thing in 1997 when the currency meltdown hit Korea and asia.

The hakwon industry goes through cycles much like any other field of work.

I agree that the hagwon industry goes through cycles, like the rest of the economy, but I think the writting is on the wall as far as EFL as a growth market is concerned.

Take a look at Japan. The economy has been stagnant for 10 - 15 years. Teachers salaries have stagnated as well. Most starting jobs advertise 250 000 yen, and have for years. Most of the jobs advertised involve long hours and traveling to different locations. So basically, the Japanese EFL market is starting to look like the rest of the world. That is, long days and lots of travel time for money that will just get you by. And Korea is falling into the same hole. It'll take a while, but we'll get there.

On the bright side, China is shaping up to be monstrous.

TheUrbanMyth

Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:52 am Post subject:

Gopher wrote:

JongnoGuru wrote:

"Here" means where? Your hagwon, or Korea as a whole? If it means the latter, that's one hell of a statement, given the audience. Isn't it? Isn't it worthy of an entire thread?

I've asked this before, but I'm asking again -- What's stopping people (young blonde chicks & seasoned professionals alike) from considering Japan? Or any other country where employers might be less nasty, and where government & public sentiment is less ambiguous about foreigners just being there in the first place? Is it just the money, basically?

Given my experiences at my hogwon, and given the information I've seen on this site and also at EFL-Law, I'm gonna go ahead and pick "Korea as a whole." "The money," for me, is less than what I make at home.

What's stopping me from going to Japan? Interesting question that I just didn't consider. Where exactly does one find good information on finding work and moving there? (must sound like a very naive question; but I've spent most of my time abroad in Latin America, Korea is my first venture into the Far East)

What's stopping you from going home?

Gopher

Joined: 04 Jun 2005

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:04 am Post subject:

[deleted] Last edited by Gopher on Thu Jun 15, 2006 3:10 pm; edited 1 time in total

rapier

Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:28 am Post subject:

Gopher wrote:

Timing.

You missed your flight? hahaha Laughing

jajdude

Joined: 18 Jan 2003

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:06 am Post subject:

It's easy to criticise them but hagwons are helping students.

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