Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BigBlackEquus]

If you are following what is going to be happening to university positions in the next 2 years, you really need to go see what the EFL-Law guy is saying after his recent meetings with university higher-ups.

http://efl-law.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1401

Plans are for required hagwon classes, reduced vacations to 4 weeks, foreigners on tenure fired outright, wages below 2.0, etc.

I gather Paul over there says this is a trend that will overtake the industry here.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Forcing instructors to teach hogwan classes is the surest way for them to make sure they can't get good, experienced people.

[crazylemongirl]

The topic has dissappeared but is anyone at all suprised by this? Look around at the offers that make up the public school positions (a few years ago those were reasonably good positions) crap pay, crap vacations and crap hours. Yet there are still people happy to sign these contract as it's better than what they have already. The gravy train in Korea seems to be coming to a stop, I'm upping my qualifications in the next year or so, so that I can get out of Korea.

[BigBlackEquus]

Yeah, I hear you CLG.

Amazing how this nation actually seems to be moving backwards instead of forward with education.

The big money for us will be making contacts and setting up schools in our own countries so the kids can go overseas to learn there. The mass exodus from schools here will only get worse. We may as well take advantage.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[weatherman]

This process has been going on for years now. The industry is consolidating around a number of big franchises, bigger university programs, and year round English villages, (camps). The days are numbered for independent hogwons; and universities programs that offer light schedules and long holidays. There is a ton of money to be made, and the better organizations with deep pockets are using their know-how to really vacuum up the market away from the independents. That is the way I see, and I have been watching the industry for a long time, it isn��t all doom and gloom for the teachers, but different rules for getting what you want out of the system.

[denverdeath]

[Auswan]

I have to agree with both of you, my Korean wife and I have been watching the situation here for some time. The decision we had to make was open our own school here or go back to Australia and start one there, plus offer homestay. Now that my uni has now made a 40hr work week with no increase in pay, the decision was rather easy . Sure you have to go through a lot of red tape, but believe me it is worth it . My contract ends in Feb and we are heading for warmer regions--since we made this decision we have been spreading the word of our school and homestay options---and BUGGER WE HAVE BEEN SWAMPED WITH REQUESTS---we have more students than we can handle. So am going back with 6 students in tow and have to organise homestay arrangements for 27 more until we get the dormitory built. The richer Korean families are starting to realise that EDUCATION HERE DOES NOT WORK , so guys GO FOR IT. International education is the new wave especially since all major companies are now requiring that new employees have a good command of English. I am 53 and was considering retiring, but now given the response that we have received--NO WAY ---we can make 10x the money in Australia by offering the above than we can make here in Korea. All I can say people is if you have the drive and can see past the immediate the $'s, then take your experience and contacts AND GO HOME AND START YOUR OWN SCHOOL--leave the Korean teaching experience to the younger generation that want to experience the exotic way of life . I will keep you posted on our progress if you are interested---feel free to email at any time [email protected] ---by the way we are registered teachers in our home countries and yes to start a school costs $'s, I am fortunate in that I have a residual income from book royalties, but DO NOT LET A LACK OF $'S STOP YOU, BEG OR BORROW THE NECESSARY TO GET YOU STARTED---YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT! For any newbies reading this post, to make this work you must have 5+ years of experience---and that's not bullshit ---it takes that long to get the necessary experience and build the trust you need to make this idea work. If anyone wants more info pm me. So CLG AND BBE, jump on the band wagon and GO FOR IT.

[indytrucks]

Just had a quick read through different threads in the university forum and man, there are some haughty blowhard tossers posting there. Makes me wonder, with all the moaning they do, why they're even working here, wasting their time with their MAs and PhDs in the first place.

[bluelake]