Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RachaelRoo]

Help! I'm a total newbie, still in Canada, and I have been offered a position. I am a female, 24, with B.A. and no teaching experience. I have no idea what to think about this contract - I noticed that training time is not paid. Are there any other problems with this that I missed? Do you think I should accept this job?

Employer and employee agree as follows:
1. Employee accepts employment from employer to teach the English language
under the conditions set forth here in this agreement for a period of twelve full and
consecutive teaching sessions.

2. Duties
2.1 During the term of this agreement, the employee is required to prepare for, teach, and carry out all required administrative duties connected with classes assigned by the employer. The minimum teaching requirement is 120hrs per month.
Monday through Friday are teaching days except for scheduled public holidays and vacation days.
2.2 The employer will have the authority to required the employee to perform teaching duties in excess of the minimum teaching requirement, Total teaching
periods in excess of the minimum requirement is calculated on a monthly basis.
2.3 No regular schedule of work hours can be guaranteed to employee.
Payment made for assigned teaching periods is inclusive of payment for
preparation and administrative duties connected with those assigned classes.
Employee agrees to attend meetings and training workshops scheduled by
employer. The purpose of meeting and workshops is to inform employee of matters relating to employee's professional development. No payment in excess of or in addition to employee's monthly salary will be made for attending meetings or workshops scheduled by employer.
2.4 At all during the term of this agreement, employee will directly will adhere to and follow all the rules and regulations that have bee, or may hereafter be established, by employer for the conduct of employee or generally for the conduct of instructors at the place of employment.

3. Compensation and Other Treatment of Employee
3.1 Transportation : Employer will provide for employee an economy class ticket for passage to Korea from an international airport which is mutually agreed to by employer and employee
(henceforth the referred to as point of departure). On completion of the full contract period, employee will provide for the employee an economy class ticket for passage from Korea to point of departure. The return
air ticket will be provided at the time of completion of the subsequent contract period(s). Air tickets provided cannot be exchanged for cash equivalents or transferred to persons other than the employee, air
ticket not used by employee cannot be reimbursed in cash or otherwise.

3.2 Orientation and Training : Shortly after arrival in Korea, employee will require to undertake orientation and training before commencing teaching. The period of training and orientation will usually be one week but employer reserves the right to reduce that period in cases where employee arrives in Korea less than one week before the commencement of a scheduled teaching session.
3.3 Salary : Except for the period of orientation and training, employer will pay employee for the minimum teaching requirement the amount of 1.9 million Won (to be determined) for each month of this
agreement, In addition to the minimum teaching requirement, employer may give employee extra teaching period per month. Payment for the minimum teaching requirement plus overtime is 17,000 Won /
teaching periods.
Teaching salary will commence from the first day of teaching. Korea income taxes
Approx .5% and Korean National Pension Scheme deductions will be withheld.

3.4 Housing
3.4.1 Employer will elect and provide furnished living accommodation for employee.
A single housing will be provided. A kitchen table and chairs, a two-burner gas hotplate, a refrigerator, a telephone and a washing machine. Furnishings provided to each employee include: A bed,
a wardrobe, and a fan. During any period of sole occupancy employee will be responsible for all utility
and telephone charges.

3.5 End of Contract Bonus : Upon completion of at least one full year of employment with employer, employee will be entitle to end of contract bonus. The bonus will be made as a cash
payment, the amount will be the same as one month salary.

3.6 Holidays and Vacation : Employee will be entitled to observe public holidays and receive vacation days during the contract term according to a yearly schedule provided by employer before
the commencement of the year to which the schedule refers. There are at least seven(7) vacation days in each calendar year(January - December)

3.7 Absence from Duties : Salary is not maintained when employee is absent from teaching
duties. Employee will have 3 days paid sick she had to submit doctor's note

3.8 Emergency Leave : event of death or serious illness in employee's immediate family. Such emergency leave will
be granted at the sole discretion of employer.

3.9 Medical Insurance : Employee will be covered by medical benefits under the Korean
Medical Insurance Union, a Government Health Organization. The costs of this coverage will be
borne half by employer and half by employee. Payment will be made monthly deduction from
employee's salary, at present 1.5%, and a like amount contributed by employer. Full medical coverage is
optional.

3.10 Accident Compensation : In the event that employee sustains injuries from an accident or mishap which occurs outside the course of normal work duties ; employee understands and agrees that employer will have no responsibility or obligation to pay, medical and hospital costs which are in excess of those.

4. Dismissal or Voluntary Resignation
4.1 Employer will have the right to dismiss employee for unwillingness or inability to meet conditions of employment as set out under this agreement, for conduct seriously jeopardizing any student
or staff person, or for criminal activity.

4.2 In the event that the employee is dismissed, or in the event that the employee voluntarily resigns prior to the termination of the term of this agreement, employer will pay salary due to date of termination. Employer will not pay the cost of return transportation to point of departure for
employee, nor will employer pay any bonus pay. Further, employer will be entitled to withhold an amount less than or equivalent to, but not exceeding, the cost relocation allowance given on arrival in Korea
and the cost of air fare provided for travel to Korea.

5. Covenants
5.1 Employee hereby agrees, covenants, and undertakes that he/she will not undertake any teaching duties or employment with any persons or organization other than the employer. To undertake such employment is a breach of korea Immigration law and can have serious consequences.

5.2 The employee understands and accepts that the right to use, sale, distribution, or
publication of all original material produced by the employee during the course of employee's employment,
and for which the employee is compensated as either regular pay, as overtime, or in an agreed-upon lump sum, shall remain the sole property of employer.

6. Jurisdiction : The agreement will be interpreted according to the internal(domestic) laws of the Republic of Korea. A competent count in the Republic of Korea will have jurisdiction in regard to any dispute or claim arising out of, or in connection with, this agreement.

[RachaelRoo]

oh, ignore the to be determined beside the salary

[Gopher]

[RachaelRoo]

This is at a hagwon. I spoke with a foreign teacher at the school and she said it was a great place to work.
My situation in Canada is being unemployed and living in my parents basement.

[Gopher]

[RachaelRoo]

Well, the problem with Taiwan or Japan would be the lack of start up capital. I have some money, but not enough to set up in one of those countries. I also don't want to go to Mexico or Indonesia because I want to save some $.

[Gopher]

We all make our own decisions...good luck in whatever you decide.

[Freezer Burn]

The housing could be something to worry about, the school sounds cheap, and they will give you a fan, instead of AC.
Minimum teaching hours are 120 hours, thats 40 hours a week, the word minimum I would be worried about, and its a monthly teaching schedule which is usual but they have added a clause that says they can make you catch up, whether they do it or not is unlikely but if you have to work 50 hours in a week to make it up, that would suck.
The orientation you have to do for free.
1.9 mil is to be determined, meaning they can change it when you get there.
Tax is 3.5% NOT 5%.
You can medical in a lump sum through AIG it cost me one payment for 12 months of 100,000 won and i get mostly full coverage.
If you get fired before the end of the contract you wont get a ticket back to canada
AVOID this contract keep looking,
and guys this was useless advice for this person.

[Gopher]

[Freezer Burn]

Well you basically said choose somewhere else, like another country.
If she was to come to this country, this contract would be trouble.

[Freezer Burn]

We could give her advice of what to look for in a contract rather than a blanket "dont take this job"

[Gopher]

And I took her question one step back to expose the real issue she is dealing with, even though she may not know it.

So many people in Canada -- based on what I've read on this site -- seem to have a dismal employment outlook in Canada and apparently judge that Korea is their only hope.

But are you sure that that's true? Why does it have to be Korea? And should it be a hogwon under any circumstances, especially for an innocent "newbie"? I agree that we should give her useful advice...and that would include advising her that her decision to escape her parents' basement and unemployment by taking a job in a Korean hogwon may not be her best option. She has other alternatives...

and, just to clarify, I'm addressing you but I'm still talking to her, by the way.

[JongnoGuru]

This may be worthless advice, as I'm not in the profession. But I've read enough on Dave's by posters like Gopher and plenty of others to know that I'd never, ever, EVER take a job at a hagwon from overseas.

I'd take a job with a school. If that were impossible, I'd do whatever it took to scrape up the funds to fly here, look around for a few weeks, and then be extremely careful and selective before taking a hagwon job. Not all hagwons are lousy, but the risks of picking a bad one are too high. Even higher when you're drawing "blind".

And it's not simply two flavours -- "this job is good, that one is bad". "Bad" when it comes to hagwons can, by all accounts, be far worse than any "bad" job you could imagine in your own country. In Korea I've had bad times, bad years, bad working/living conditions, and even a bad boss or two. But in a sense I created those situations for myself... couldn't find enough work, couldn't get enough pay, had to wrangle every situation and salary out of nothing, with no playbook, no industry standard, no precedent, no yardstick.

But at least I was never locked into something and held there because of plane tickets, housing that wasn't in my name, or the "Letter of Release" whiphand hovering over my head. Coming to work here as a teacher, though, that's a whole different story. Hell is a lot easier place to live when it's of your own making than when it's being forced on you by your hagwon-jang.

[Freezer Burn]

You have to pay your dues at a hagwon to get the experience to move to a school, a school is not going to take you if you have zero classroom experience.
A hagwon can be a good experience albeit a little demanding compared to a public school, if you get the contract right and you know what to look for in a hagwon.
Gopher is correct, Korea is a hell of a place to start, but no worse than China, and for someone living in a basement of their parents house a steady wage and an oversea's experience looks inviting.
Working for a hagwon does one thing, its gives you something to learn from for your next contract, or it makes you run screaming from the hills back to Canada hopefully with a little money in the bank and a stamp in the passport.

[Grotto]

Employer and employee agree as follows:
1. Employee accepts employment from employer to teach the English language
under the conditions set forth here in this agreement for a period of twelve full and
consecutive teaching sessions.

2. Duties
2.1 During the term of this agreement, the employee is required to prepare for, teach, and carry out all required administrative duties connected with classes assigned by the employer. The minimum teaching requirement is 120hrs per month.

Mon through Friday is 30 hours a week. There should be specified times. 2-8, 3-9 etc. Never sign up for hours per week! Tell them that you will accept up to 30 fifty minute classes a week. Some places will make you work every second of those 60 minutes.

Monday through Friday are teaching days except for scheduled public holidays and vacation days.
2.2 The employer will have the authority to required the employee to perform teaching duties in excess of the minimum teaching requirement, Total teaching
periods in excess of the minimum requirement is calculated on a monthly basis.

They cannot force you to work more than the minimum requirement! Forced overtime is illegal.

2.3 No regular schedule of work hours can be guaranteed to employee.
Payment made for assigned teaching periods is inclusive of payment for
preparation and administrative duties connected with those assigned classes. Employee agrees to attend meetings and training workshops scheduled by employer. The purpose of meeting and workshops is to inform employee of matters relating to employee's professional development. No payment in excess of or in addition to employee's monthly salary will be made for attending meetings or workshops scheduled by employer.

I really dont like this section! It allows them to make you work split shifts, you dont get paid for prep or administrative duties(whatever they include in that category). Meetings and workshops how often? How long?

2.4 At all during the term of this agreement, employee will directly will adhere to and follow all the rules and regulations that have bee, or may hereafter be established, by employer for the conduct of employee or generally for the conduct of instructors at the place of employment.

Yeah right! No way! You should never agree to the bolded. The contract should be clear and concise and if they want to alter it in the future it requires your permission. Bullcrap clause!

3. Compensation and Other Treatment of Employee
3.1 Transportation : Employer will provide for employee an economy class ticket for passage to Korea from an international airport which is mutually agreed to by employer and employee
(henceforth the referred to as point of departure). On completion of the full contract period, employee will provide for the employee an economy class ticket for passage from Korea to point of departure. The return
air ticket will be provided at the time of completion of the subsequent contract period(s). Air tickets provided cannot be exchanged for cash equivalents or transferred to persons other than the employee, air
ticket not used by employee cannot be reimbursed in cash or otherwise.

Why not? You are entitled to a ticket home, what difference does it make to them if you stop off in Thailand first?

3.2 Orientation and Training : Shortly after arrival in Korea, employee will require to undertake orientation and training before commencing teaching. The period of training and orientation will usually be one week but employer reserves the right to reduce that period in cases where employee arrives in Korea less than one week before the commencement of a scheduled teaching session.
3.3 Salary : Except for the period of orientation and training, employer will pay employee for the minimum teaching requirement the amount of 1.9 million Won (to be determined) for each month of this
agreement, In addition to the minimum teaching requirement, employer may give employee extra teaching period per month. Payment for the minimum teaching requirement plus overtime is 17,000 Won /
teaching periods.

Dont settle for less than 2.0 minimum!

Teaching salary will commence from the first day of teaching. Korea income taxes
Approx .5% and Korean National Pension Scheme deductions will be withheld.

LOL that would be nice .5%=1/2 of 1%. In reality your taxes on 1.9 shoud come out to about 26,000 won a month. Dont ever let them say 3.5 or 5% thats bullcrap!

3.4 Housing
3.4.1 Employer will elect and provide furnished living accommodation for employee.
A single housing will be provided. A kitchen table and chairs, a two-burner gas hotplate, a refrigerator, a telephone and a washing machine. Furnishings provided to each employee include: A bed,
a wardrobe, and a fan. During any period of sole occupancy employee will be responsible for all utility and telephone charges.

Demand air con. Unless you are from somewhere hot and humid the summers here will kill you!

3.5 End of Contract Bonus : Upon completion of at least one full year of employment with employer, employee will be entitle to end of contract bonus. The bonus will be made as a cash payment, the amount will be the same as one month salary.

3.6 Holidays and Vacation : Employee will be entitled to observe public holidays and receive vacation days during the contract term according to a yearly schedule provided by employer before
the commencement of the year to which the schedule refers. There are at least seven(7) vacation days in each calendar year(January - December)


Dont settle for less than 10 paid vacation days+public holidays!

3.7 Absence from Duties : Salary is not maintained when employee is absent from teaching duties. Employee will have 3 days paid sick she had to submit doctor's note


3.8 Emergency Leave : event of death or serious illness in employee's immediate family. Such emergency leave will
be granted at the sole discretion of employer.

3.9 Medical Insurance : Employee will be covered by medical benefits under the Korean
Medical Insurance Union, a Government Health Organization. The costs of this coverage will be
borne half by employer and half by employee. Payment will be made monthly deduction from
employee's salary, at present 1.5%, and a like amount contributed by employer. Full medical coverage is
optional.

3.10 Accident Compensation : In the event that employee sustains injuries from an accident or mishap which occurs outside the course of normal work duties ; employee understands and agrees that employer will have no responsibility or obligation to pay, medical and hospital costs which are in excess of those.

4. Dismissal or Voluntary Resignation
4.1 Employer will have the right to dismiss employee for unwillingness or inability to meet conditions of employment as set out under this agreement, for conduct seriously jeopardizing any student
or staff person, or for criminal activity.

4.2 In the event that the employee is dismissed, or in the event that the employee voluntarily resigns prior to the termination of the term of this agreement, employer will pay salary due to date of termination. Employer will not pay the cost of return transportation to point of departure for
employee, nor will employer pay any bonus pay. Further, employer will be entitled to withhold an amount less than or equivalent to, but not exceeding, the cost relocation allowance given on arrival in Korea
and the cost of air fare provided for travel to Korea.

After 6 months you should not have to pay airfare back!

5. Covenants
5.1 Employee hereby agrees, covenants, and undertakes that he/she will not undertake any teaching duties or employment with any persons or organization other than the employer. To undertake such employment is a breach of korea Immigration law and can have serious consequences.

It is not a breach of immigration law if you have permission!

5.2 The employee understands and accepts that the right to use, sale, distribution, or
publication of all original material produced by the employee during the course of employee's employment,
and for which the employee is compensated as either regular pay, as overtime, or in an agreed-upon lump sum, shall remain the sole property of employer.

6. Jurisdiction : The agreement will be interpreted according to the internal(domestic) laws of the Republic of Korea. A competent count in the Republic of Korea will have jurisdiction in regard to any dispute or claim arising out of, or in connection with, this agreement.

Not a horrible contract but not a very good one. I am somewhat concerned that any problems will be dealt with through a count seeing as Korea doesnt really have a royal family as per say I would be leary of anyone they said was a count