Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Always Curious]

I took the good advice of the helpful board members and decided to continue my job search, and received this contract which I'd happily sign, however the lack of training period and any mention of continuous work assessment are major turn-offs. Do you think I would be able to negotiate to get such clauses inserted in the contract as I think they would be very helpful for me.

The school is called ESI and is located in Busan near Gwangan subway station, so I'm told. Is Busan worth teaching in?

Anyway, sensible comments and advice please?

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TEACHING CONTRACT

DESCRIPTION : This document describes a contractual agreement between English Success International (hereafter called "the Institute") and ________________________ (hereafter called "the Teacher") who agrees to teach for a period of no less than one year between the dates of _____________________ and _________________________________.


1. Duration of contract
This contract is valid for one year, starting from _______________________________. The Teacher must inform the Institute on whether s/he would like to renew the contract not less than one (1) month prior to the end of the one (1) year of service and the contract may be renewed by mutual agreement. The Institute will ensure to give notice not less than two (2) months prior to the end of the one (1) year of service if a new contract will not be offered.

2. Payment
Monthly payment shall be 2,100,000 won in Korean currency, with pay day falling on the tenth (10th) day of each month. The Teacher will receive the full severance pay at the end of the year on successful completion of the one (1) year contract. The Teacher will be paid 20,000won/hour as an overtime teaching payment if s/he teaches more than twenty-five (25) hours in one week, however overtime classes are voluntary and will not be scheduled until full consultation between the Institute and the Teacher has taken place.

3. Work Schedule
The Teacher is contracted to teach a maximum of twenty-five (25) hours per week, split evenly with a maximum of five (5) hours per day. The Teacher is contracted to be scheduled at any time between the hours of 11am and 5pm, Monday to Friday with no Saturday scheduling. The teacher will work according to the institute's schedule and should follow any schedule changes which may occur, although the Institute will endeavor to give as much advance notice as possible of changes to scheduled classes within these stated work hours.

4. Travel expenses and living accommodations
The institute will provide the Teacher with a single furnished apartment, and pay for the cost of round trip air ticket to the Teacher��s home country.
Furnishings include: bed, TV, video recorder, refrigerator, gas range & oven, washing machine, pots & pans, cooking & eating utensils, sofa, clothes closet, kitchen table & chairs, bed linen etc.

5. Holiday and Vacation
Ten (10) days paid holidays per year shall be given to the Teacher as well as all regular Korean national holidays. Holidays are typically given as one (1) week in summer and one (1) week in winter. The Institute will endeavor to give as much advance notice as possible of the actual dates of holidays.

6. Teaching
The Teacher will accept the lawful instructions of the academic director of the Institute, and will carry out all teaching duties to the best of his/her ability.

The two parties have read, understood, and agreed to the above stated terms and conditions on the date signed below.

DATE:__________________ Teacher��s signature: _______________________________________

DATE:__________________ Academic Director��s signature: _____________________________________

[PaperTiger]

Will they provide materials? How much work do you have to do outside of class? What is it? Do you have to do phone testing and will you paid overtime for it? How many pyeong is my apartment? Will I have to share it (get a single, trust me)? Do I have to pay "key money"? How much and for how long? What is your policy on sick days?

The lack of details in this contract are appalling. You should definately ask for more details. I can't begin to tell you all the details you should ask about...I've got a meeting. Good luck.

[kprrok]

[Freezer Burn]

It looks ok, not a lot of info on there though.

[Homer]

Seems like a standard contract. No big problems with it.

What you need to do instead of posting it on a discussion board is to call the school yourself, yes yourself, and talk to other westerners who teach there.

This is the only way you will really know about the school. Posting your contract on here might get you some feedback but you really have to ask yourself how useful that feedback is.

Also, I wonder why would you ask if Busan was worth teaching in??

Strange way to word the question. Worth it how? As opposed to what?

[denverdeath]

As others have mentioned, the new contract looks quite good. It's a hell of a lot better than that last one. The schedule is excellent even if you're teaching kids. You should really be able to enjoy your first year here with a schedule like that. Pay's good...a bit better than std in Boo-sahn. No Nazi-control clauses. You might want to ask about health insurance. That, and no mention of taxes or pension, seems to be one of the noticeable absences. When it comes to evaluations and training, be careful what you wish for as you just might get it. Some places evaluate you up, down, left, right, center, coming, going, and whatever other way they can think of. Most places like that can manipulate those evaluations to use against you if they so wish. Yes, it is nice to get some feedback; however, if your boss and students aren't complaining too much, then you must be doing things at least half-right. You won't be working in a call centre and be subjected to "professional training and development" which is actually, more times than not, a load of hogwash. Think of this as good. You will get experience through exposure, failures, and successes. You will like teaching and continue to do so, or you will realize it's just not for you. Anyway, don't sweat those things.

Boo-sahn's pretty good. Your school is near one of the beaches and maybe your apartment will be, too. You may see this as a good thing if you're into beaches and raw fish. If you like skating(ice), the Guek-dong Ice Rink is also very near there. If you're more into the "foreigner" scene of drinking and dancing or whatever, the Kyung-sung/Bu-kyung University area is only (*edit*)three stops away from Gwahng-ahn-li. You're also not very far from the downtown area(s) that include(s) Suh-myuhn(shopping, restaurants, movie theatres), Nampo(PIFF site, restaurants, fish/foreign goods markets), and Joong-ahng(Russian district, immigration, ferry terminal). It's a little less busy and polluted than Seoul, and you can find most things you need here if you're willing to put in a bit of an effort to explore.

Good points by Homer.

[schwa]

Some nicely informative responses here.
Before you guys spend much time typing though, do know the OP isnt real.

--Moe

[Always Curious]

Thanks for all the detailed advice above... really appreciate the advice.

[sheba]

Yes Seoul is huge, but Busan still has a population of almost 4 million... not exactly small!

[neandergirl]

I liked Birmingham.

[Wangja]

[Always Curious]

So about this contract, yea or nea???

[zappadelta]

About the contract, there's a hell of a lot of stuff missing. But, what's there sounds prettty good. I would try to contact a foreigner there or two for more info.