Korean Job Discussion Forums

[stevemcgarrett]

Encountered these points of concern when scouting out two large, relatively longstanding language centers:

Woosong (WLI)

2 of 3 teachers posted to their website to contact turned out to have finished employment 15 and 20 months ago. The staff prides itself on organizational acumen, so this came as a bit of a surprise.

Any reaction to this out there or to WLI in general will be appreciated.

Pagoda

Received reply email within 2 days of applying online. Still waiting on answers to my housing questions. Was told that--get this--the job entails a split shift teaching 6-8 hours 5 days a week for 2.3 mil won. Dunno 'bout that. No siree, Bob.

Also, any further scuttlebutt on EPIK out there will get a big mahalo, bruddahs.

[Angelus]

I don't about the former school, but I have heard horror stories about Pagoda. Split shifts, a lot of extra non-teaching related work, low pay, meetings everytime you turn around, etc. Mind you these are 3 different branches in different cities, but all with similar complaints.

[Milwaukiedave]

There is one thing I know about Pagoda (and the same is true for YBM as well), which is they have minions combing the boards for comments about their organizations.

Big brother is watching....

[stevemcgarrett]

And here I hoped Pagoda was in South Korea.

what a difference an adjective makes

[tzechuk]

There is only one way to describe Woosong - it's a glorified hagwon. They call it university, but they pay you less than a hagwon and try to work you to death!!

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Didn't Pagoda change it's name? Or was that Direct English.

I was offered a job with Pagoda but turned it down after getting some warnings from credible people on this site (it seems some of their branches are much better than others, but upper management is very unreasonable and likes to do purges). One of my students last year went to Pagoda in Daegu and just loved it, as she got treated like an adult who wanted to learn and not a hogwan kid who had to be drilled.

[Milwaukiedave]

Steve, your right. I'd compare them more to Iran though.

[peppermint]

[hogwonguy1979]

[Southern Drawl]

Personally I don't know what tzechuk and hogwonguy are talking about. I've worked at WooSong for years. Every semester I have worked at WooSong not one teacher has ever been forced to work over 20 hours per week. And the average is usually 18 or 19. Last winter session there were many teachers who averaged 10 hours per week. If this is what you call working "to death" well I just don't know what to tell you. There are some teachers who are working over 20 hours this semester but that is because they wanted to make more money and volunteered for overtime, which WooSong pays at 20,000 per hour. Any work over 20 hours is considered overtime.

The starting salary with a B.A. is 1,850,000 per month with 5 weeks of vacation. Sure the salary is lower than most hogwons but you only work on average 18 hours per week vs. the 30 at a hogwon and you get 5 weeks vacation vs. 10 days from a hogwon. And you always get paid.

Take your pick.

And yes, I am well aware that there are better university jobs out there. But it seems silly to suggest that WooSong is just like working at a hogwon. It's quite a laid back job. But of course, not without it's problems.

[stevemcgarrett]

Chin, check with your connections down in Chinatown
Kimo, ask around on Leeward coast about it
Danny, find out how this is playing in Kahala.

Now, then, aloha bruddahs, here's what HPD has been able to figure out:

1. Pagoda is a drag.
2. Woosong is a toss-up. I only want 20 hours or less so no big deal there.
Like living on this Rock, it's the housing I'm most concerned about.
3. Walk, heck, I run the beach past Diamond Head every morning before the hula girls and the tourists start to rub their eyes.
4. Sounds like Woosong might be playing my song unless you gentlemen having any other take on them. Glorified hagwon--yep, maybe so. But do they click, that's what I'm after.

Mahalo.

[Karabeara]

Yes, stay away from Pagoda.

They tried to "bait-and-switch" a friend of mine by getting him to sign a contract for full time hours that was attached to the part time schedule. Luckily, he caught it before he signed. Had he signed, they would have owned him at two locations from 8am to 10pm six days a week!

[hogwonguy1979]

[Southern Drawl]

Blackbear, funny...

Hogwonguy, either your friends have very short legs or don't have a good sense of time. Most teachers live within a 10 to 15 minute walk from their classes. But, there are some newer apartments that might require about a 20 minute walk to the top of the university on the hill. Most people who have classes there have them there only once per day. Not what I would call a "traveling demand".

Mrs. Yom hasn't been directly in charge for the past few years. "Mr. Schwedersky"...funny...I guess you're joking?? Never heard of him.

All in all, I agree with you about the salary. And yes, many do stay for a short time and then transition to a higher paying job. Those who do stay don't stay for the incredible salary we get it's usually for other reasons. Considering that there are usually over 40 teachers employed every semester the turnover rate is not that high.

[skdragon]

Woosong has always had a very bad reputation, but slowly improving (over the last decade).
Conditions at the institute late 90s were some of the worst in Korea.

In recent years, since change of directors/management, it has been trying to do the right thing by teachers. What they advertise is what you get. For the most part they are what they are, a hakwon attached to a university. I've heard you get base pay on time, but have to beg for any overtime pay that is owed. Come on, if you have to beg for any pay in Korea these days (over time or not) you are better off taking a job at another place.

Personally, I'd stay away due to two reasons:
1. HOUSING ISSUES. Part of which relates to some housing being on city gas, and some being on LPG. If you get stuck with the LPG housing god help you. A winter bill can run you between w200,000 to w500,000 per month!!! That's half your salary on utilities after taxes.
2. REFUSE TO RELEASE. This doesn't matter if you don't sign more than a year contract at a time. However, if you sign a two year contract and want out to another job you'll be a prisoner.

It's a good job if you have a BA and coming out of a hakwon elsewhere, and want to stay 6 months and do a runner or commit to a year and hunt down better uni jobs.

They also offer some professional development (Masters courses) that many people might find valuable, but probably not valuable enough to overcome the other problems Woosong makes for itself and foreign teachers.