Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Snowkr]

Hi all

Just wanted to take some time to vent.
I teach preschool each morning at a little hogwon that I really like. Up until this month... I had excellent kids. Now I have a new group of 10 children... 5 who are very advanced and 5 who can do the work but either are younger, slower or just poorly disciplined.
In any case, this challenging class has been relatively good and surpassed my expectations all month. ENTER... our new teacher. My class went crazy this morning while she observed.
Somehow, I managed to stay very calm and I didn't even feel that frustrated. I only have 16 weeks left in Korea.

I guess I'm slowly learning that no matter where you go... or how good you have it in any teaching situation, kids will always just be kids!
I certainly don't like them all... but I do LOVE them.

Is anyone else counting down the days until the end of their contract? Just curious...

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Nope, only counting the days til contract renewal.

[laogaiguk]

[Snowkr]

good for you.

I also get a free ticket home but that doesn't excite me as much as going home.

I really admire you people who sign on for more than one year here. I like Korea a lot but one year is more than enough!

[Lizara]

I'm in my second year, very likely returning for a third, and I work at a fairly decent school and generally like what I do. I'm counting down anyway (coincidentally, I too have sixteen weeks minus a day or two) just because I'm getting burnt out and don't have any more big holidays left and I'm looking forward to having some time off and traveling.

[butter808fly]

I have 22 weeks left... totally counting the days. I love aspects of my job and love kids, but I just cant stand the stares anymore and working with people who dont speak my language or dont care about my country.

Im outta here........woohooo! (2 years is plenty...)

[jinju]

Im counting the days till my month and a half summer vacation. Contract renewal will coincide with 2 month winter break...assa

[jinju]

[butter808fly]

I hate when ppl just ignore that something was said in cyberspace so I will acknowledge you but seriously not interested in getting into it. Have a nice night and a new contract! For me, Im outta here! HOORAY!

[Snowkr]

Maybe it's normal to count down at a certain point whether you're staying or going.
For me, I'm anxious to get back to the states. I feel a bit over being here but you know what they say... the grass is always greener

perhaps I'll be home for a month and start wishing I'd renewed.
Kind of doubt it though. I have a good job too but the best job in the world wouldn't make me stay in the land of kimchi and banana/cheese nachos.

[VanIslander]

I've been at the same hagwon since 2002 and, sniff sniff, I'll miss them all.



17 days,... 12 shifts,... 67 classes left.

Not that I counted, before now.

[Homer]

Counted the days during my first contract....

Don't do that anymore as I am not seeing my stay here as a temporary thing. I do keep track of renewal time however.

[lastat06513]

I just left Korea and I had alot of gripes that were genuine when I was there.

I am taught in Kuwait and I can tell you, I would prefer to be in Korea compared to that mud bucket- really!

And what makes the situation worse is that I worked for a school that looks abit like the wost hakwon you can possibly find in Korea.

I worked for a company that was doing a joint venture with the Kuwaiti ministry of defense. So not only was I being supervised by the company staff, but by military staff as well and who would fire teachers at a drop of a hat and have installed cameras in the classroom to "observe" the class, although the angle seems to suspect that they intend in supervise the teachers more.

The staff was unreliable and unhelping compared to the staff in Korea. At least in Korea, they would try to help rather than turn people away. And the teaching supervisor who tried to cover her own mistakes rather than admit them (and she herself is a westerner).

And there was an air of suspicion and mistrust between the native speakers and the Arabic speaking English teachers. At least, the tension between the korean staff and foreign staff was kept at a minimal to try to keep the school going and try not to show the school the friction between the teachers.

And the students....omg!!
They were the most spoiled and the most arrogant people I have ever taught in my life. They treated the teacher as a person who would clean the toilet or something, they totally disregarded the teachers lessons and later blamed the teacher for incompetence. And what made the situation worse was that the administration would back the students case and blame the teacher.

And forget about getting a visa from that company! What would take other schools about a month to do, it took them almost a year to do and they constantly made excuses in regards to it. And they would hold the passports and the degree certificates until the end of the contract to ensure the teacher stays and taught.

When one of the teachers wrote about it on this site, the boss threatened to hire a hacker and TO ATTACK THIS SITE to prevent anyone from posting anything negative about them on the net...


Yeah, I counted the days until I left that place and if anyone was to ask about this place, I would strongly tell them to think twice before taking a job there.
I miss Korea and having been there, I would jump at the chance to go there again.






now.....switch the past tense for the present tense..........

[dandoeskorea]

Three and a half weeks and my second contract will be finished. Counting the days. Two years ain't the end of me though. I'll be back.

[Lizara]

I forgot to mention that at my first contract I knew exactly how many days I had left from about the last 100. I was not too sorry to leave that school.