Korean Job Discussion Forums

own_king · Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Location: here

A couple things . . . this whole thread, although interesting, began from something that a hakwon director alluded to, probably on a rant. I've heard a lot of garbage come from hakwon dirtectors that need to be taken with a grain of salt.

I don't think anybody with any real teaching ability will pay to come to Korea. I mean, come on, really. Where do you think we are? This isn't Thailand or Japan or some other desirable place. And with a lack of white faces in the front of the classroom, a lot of hakwons will experience a mass exodus of students. This idea would kill the need or use for hakwons in Korea.

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Bee Positive · Joined: 27 Oct 2005

Demand will fall off because the birth rate here is crashing. Lots and lots of hakwons are bound to fail for this reason alone, and the jobs will go with them.

And yes, SOME will choose Chinese over English, but let's not overestimate. English is truly, for better or worse, a WORLD language, serving as a means of communication just about everywhere on earth, whereas Chinese is quite limited in geographical scope. Just try ordering a cup of coffee in Chinese the next time you're in Amsterdam, or Stockholm, or Berlin, Rome, Moscow, Santiago de Chile, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Calcutta. English, almost anywhere you go on this planet, is a heck of a lot more likely to prove serviceable as a working lingua franca.

Just my two cents' worth.

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Hmmm, I've gotten a flight paid 2 out of 4 jobs so far.

The second year, they bought me a return ticket to Canada after I finished the year.

Last year.........well, there's always one. Confused

This year they have promised to pay it when I finish the contract.

So it doesn't seem too bad yet.

And I do not feel guilty for asking for it. Come on! We are in Korea, there has to be some incentive for coming here.

If they stop doing it, I will stop coming........ I think? Confused

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

JongnoGuru · Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep

The following is a bit off-topic, but it all falls under the same broad heading of "Koreans Need/Want Whitey Teacher Too Much to Pull Something Like That!"

Although posters here regularly advise newbies against accepting less than 2.1 mil. won (2.3 mil.?) per month, which I guess is the standard minimum salary, aren't there many people currently working for less than 2.0 million? (I don't mean "many" as in "half of all teachers" or some huge proportion, but merely as in "the hundreds" or "the thousands".) You might say these teachers were breaking rank by accepting less than the recommended minimum (though I'm sure many wouldn't even know or care about what "the rank" says -- their own personal situation matters most).

And aren't there also many teachers who've handed over their diplomas to their employers, against all the shrill warnings in their heads and on the boards here at Dave's?

And then there is this not-too-well-understood (by ME) practise of having foreign teachers set up a separate bank account and immediately hand over the bankbook, PIN and cash card to their.... employer? recruiter? director? who? some Korean or another. And once again, posters here will advise against this, but doubtless there are those teachers who, despite knowing in their gut that this is screwy, see no alternative to total capitulation.

Who knows what the real reality (heh!) is, but let's assume no more than one teacher in 10 can afford to pay their way to Korea. If I'm the typical greedy hagwon owner, I don't care if 900 prospective candidates don't reply to my no-airfare job offering -- I'll choose from the 100 or 75 or 50 who do.

bellum99 · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: don't need to know

They run a business like most people run businesses. In Canada I had some really bad bosses and I mean greedy and evil. People are people everywhere....including teachers. We all say that if we had a school we would be different..but I doubt it. If we were different then we would probibly fail. Just because we don't see the reasons for the decisions doesn't mean that there isn't any reason.
I will do what I have to succeed in life....just like most people.

antoniothegreat · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Location: Yangpyeong

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

As an aside, I can see that what we write or don't write on this forum has very little effect in the broader scheme of things.

I blacklisted my last haggie for non-payment and I thought they would have trouble finding a new teacher........................................................................................

Not so! There are always countless hoards of "neophytes" willing to take the plunge without doing any background checks or even asking
on this forum.

For this reason alone, things in this industry will never improve.

Cheers

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Homer · Guest

Well..it was bound to happen at some point.

It is their money..they can do what they want and the paid ticket is not required by law...it was an employer offered perk. They want to cut cost, so be it.

If they pull it, such is life.

Might hurt the inflow of teachers initially but that will solve itself soon enough.