Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yesanman]

I know that there are a few foreigners in Korea who have opened their own language schools. I also know that to do that involves navigating a difficult, convoluted process.
So what I was wondering is has anyone ever bought a hakwon? It seems that buying a previously existing hakwon would be easier that trying to set up your own.
Does anyone out there have any info about buying hakwons? Has anyone tried to do it? Is it even possible?

[Mashimaro]

dealing with korean mums and their gripes all day every day?
not enough money in the world!

[Juregen]

[Cohiba]

DON'T buy a hagwon unless you are prepared to put
upwards of 100,000,000 to 200,000,000 won into it.
This business is extremely competitive and profit margins
are exceedingly thin. Just having a whitey is no guarantee
of anything. You also must have attractive decor, cameras
etc., etc.

An "ex-friend" and I put 30,000,000 won into a place and
we were bankrupt within 6 months. We couldn't compete
with the big name advertising blitzes and bus fleets of the
big name schools.

Anyways, why not just teach privates? No overhead, no taxes,
no hassles. Work half the hours for double the money!
I've been doing that for years now - MUCH BETTER!

[Cohiba]

DON'T buy a hagwon unless you are prepared to put
upwards of 100,000,000 to 200,000,000 won into it.
This business is extremely competitive and profit margins
are exceedingly thin. Just having a whitey is no guarantee
of anything. You also must have attractive decor, cameras
etc., etc.

An "ex-friend" and I put 30,000,000 won into a place and
we were bankrupt within 6 months. We couldn't compete
with the big name advertising blitzes and bus fleets of the
big name schools.

Anyways, why not just teach privates? No overhead, no taxes,
no hassles. Work half the hours for double the money!
I've been doing that for years now - MUCH BETTER!

[Demophobe]

I was offered to take ownership of an established hagwon while the current owner goes to Canada for 2 years. No money down, an established student base...no strings attatched.

I wisely turned it down. It was going to be an all-consuming headache and I don't want to deal with parents; this is the real deal-breaker for me. That and it's a monthly roll of the dice. Koreans have no real loyalty to hagwons, save a few 'famous' names.

Being an owner strikes me as hand-tomouth living, something I cannot accept right now. I would rather get a fixed salary and do my homeschool...at least I can count on a certain amount of money coming in each month.