Korean Job Discussion Forums

chaz47 · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

i am trying to get a potential employer to send me pix of the apartment and neighborhood and the representative i have been talking with via email about it makes it sound like an oddball request... is this a sure sign of a slum?

it is with Direct English, they claim to have small but clean and modern apartments for their instructors, which is cool i can do that... so long as it is what they claim...

also anyone have any good information on Direct English Samsung, i am talking with the main branch(?) and the Samsung branch...

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

I've been there.. it's in a decent area. The office is newer and quite modern. Housing is definately NOT in the same location, and could be anything, though... where is it at? Got a location name?

Honestly, I wouldn't work there. The pay sucks, and there have been a lot of negative posts on here. They seemed to have long hours for very little cash.

One which springs to mind is that if a student misses a class, you don't get paid for the time you're waiting.

Hey... just did a search on posts, and found you've been asking about these guys for months. You've read all of the horror stories, and you still want to work there?

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=38049&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=direct+english

chaz47 · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

derrek,

i dunno, i guess i didn't find the posts to discouraging... plus i am anti-kids at the moment...

i seem to remember a post saying that it was an easy gig but not to lucrative... a minimum of 2 million won though is what i was told... that's not to shabby for a newbie teaching adults... is it?

if you have any advice i am here at my PC feel free to PM me

thanks

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

chaz47 · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

ya... that is me... i am on a study abroad that ends this coming Friday...
and i am unsure about how to go about landing and finding a job, originally i wanted to search locally and see the places before hand but i am now somewhat anxious about laying out the cash for the venture...

i do remember a poster saying that is was easy but not to lucrative...

when did you last interview there? is it possible that things have changed?

if they have a Samsung branch would that be somewhat indicative of a good business

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

chaz47 · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

derrek,

so help me with a game plan for landing and looking for work... i would really sincerely appreciate it... point at some threads even

thanks

chaz47 · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

the job in question is with English Channel, not Direct English... any information on this company?

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

My bad.. I got them confused. But what I've read about English Channel hasn't been great either. I think they work you to death there, but you should do a search to find out. Check out this link:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=34428&highlight=English+Channel

Here is a link about landing in Korea and searching for work. Actually, the paragraph of links you want is down a ways, but this page is from FAQ, and has a lot of good stuff...

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=20656

chaz47 · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

actually it IS my bad, i got the two confused awhile back... i have been doing some searching on dave's now and have yet to find

chaz47 · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

(sorry for that the computer has a Japanese language pack that i accidentally hit the button for)

...anything to bad about them, i did have the two confused in my OP for this thread...

thanks for the links

what did it cost you to land and find work?

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Well, I did it in a sort of non-traditional way, compared to most teachers.

I was actually planning on Japan, and happened upon a message on a Japan chat board about teaching in Korea. Somehow, I found a link to Dave's old board. I also started chatting with some Koreans in Yahoo chat. I am still good friends with one ajumma I chatted with way back then. She was an immense help to me early on -- giving me ideas about locations for jobs, etc. She used to live up near Nowon.

I was working in a media job at the time, and decided to fly here on vacation and check out Korea and Japan (I had an online friend in Japan, too). Back then, a round-trip ticket was about $800 from Iowa to South Korea, but I had to pay a bit more for the layover in Japan. I ended up staying homestay with a Korean family for a week, and interviewed with three schools while on vacation. This is also very non-traditional, because all three of the employers were thinking 3 months out (I had a house/car to sell back home before I came back).

About 3 1/2 months later, I returned to Korea (the school paid my ticket using their credit card before I came) to start work.

And here I am.

chaz47 · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

ya that is pretty non-traditional... sounds like you lucked out a lot... having friends already in country must have really helped a lot too...

you are teaching at a public elementary now, is that right?

how long have you been in Korea?

how much of the language do you know? i am currently studying Japanese and i think it is quite difficult, what with the 3 alphabets (4 if you count Romaji) and the numerous counting systems... i have heard that Korean grammar is similar but they have that fantastic alphabet...

anyway, back to the job research...

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

I am currently teaching at a girls' high school. I've studied a little Korean, and hope to resume studies this fall after my TESL certification program.