Korean Job Discussion Forums

[SOOHWA101]

There seems to be a common theme in this forum of schools that give crappy apartments, delayed pay, xenophobic indifference, and alot of SHAFTING.

My question is this "Are you people in small towns?" I was wondering if this is also indicative to large citys like Seoul. Is it safer in larger citys?

Does anyone have any advice on the safest way to hit Korea from North America. Recruiters...BAD. So is this just a role of the dice.....a shot in the dark that we won't get screwed when we get over there. Why are people in the other forums not complaining about the same things that ya'll are?

[jinju]

I doubt it really makes a diffreence. One of the most corrupt and blacklisted schools, Kids Club Mokdong is right in Seoul. Its a roll of the dice.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[antoniothegreat]

i live in a small town and my school is awesome, i have athree bedroom apartment (used to rent out one room) they gave me a laptop, vacation identical to korean teachers, paid me for vacation classes... havent seen much better for a middle school.

he he he, it's good to be me...

[Ya-ta Boy]

Where did you get the idea the posts you are seeing come from us country folks? The overwhelming majority of posters are the big city folks, and most of them are from Seoul.

Could it be that the big city folks are coming across like hicks

[fatpat]

I could be wrong, but I think the worse treatment is more likely to be in the big cities as the directors may be a bit more jaded with foriegners. Also, It's more difficult to attract teachers to the country-side, where as foriegners are two a penny in Seoul. My boss has had trouble trying to get somebody to replace me when I leave in 2 weeks. My friends and I have all been treated very well in Namchang and all have very decent apartments.

[inspector gadget]

I am also in a small town, wait a small village and I am happy with my employer, middle school girls and there is nothing wrong with my apartment its big enough and is clean and came with all the amenities.

[Homer]

Bad schools are to be found everywhere. Not in one specific area.

Thats just why you need to take a few simple steps (or if you will use basic common sense) to minize the chance you end up in one of these schools.

Da steps:

1- Call the school and talk to the Director (if you can).

2- Call the school and talk to other Foreign teachers on staff.

3- Read your contract...all of it...not just the how much do I make clause

4- If you have a good recruiter (yes they exist) ask him or her questions.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Notice, except for Mr. Homer, there is not a city slicker who has posted.

That says something about those big city boys. THEY know they are in the heart of the dens of corruption and iniquity.

PS: Wondering if fatpat and antoniothegreat could add anything to the 'Size Does Matter' thread.

[peppermint]

Homer's right, except for one thing. Try to contact the foreign teachers either by e-mail or on a home phone. If you talk to them at work, there's a chance the director is standing behind them to make sure they say good things.

[margaret]

I also work in a small city and love my school and my apartment. My director is very kind.
Margaret

[happygirl]

[Homer]

Good point peppermint!

Better to call them at home or via email.

[just because]

It is a crapshoot but i think you will find the majority of horror stories do come from the big city...this is two fold..

1)As the vast majority of hagwons are in the big cities then more than likely the vast majority of horror stories come from there to

2) Hagwons in the deep country find it hard to get foreigners to start with so to make them angry would not do them much good at all as they are very hard to replace whereas in the city foreigners can be more expendable and are easier to attract..

I live in the relative country(pop 500 000) and have worked at 3 different schools and all of them have been great, there are a few bad ones here out of about 50 so just have to be careful but on the whole i think most people are happy here.

[SOOHWA101]