Korean Job Discussion Forums

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

I plan on heading to Korea in Sept. and have a few questions for any interested in providing answers for me. I have a B.Ed from Ontario and have about one year of teaching experience (not ESL) in elementary schools in Canada - My question is if a school is offering me the standard 1.8-2.0mil, what can I reasonably getting away with asking for? (Assuming I am asking for more than the offered *jk*)

I also have questions regarding teaching privates with an E-2 LEGALLY. Iknow the F-visa is ok, but you have to register and declare income for taxes (at least some of it) - Is it the same procedure for E-2? I should mention that I plan on my contract rewrite to include something like 'school gives permission to teacher to give private tutoring as long as the clients are not students in the school'. Not interested in "Everybody does it. Don't worry you won't get caught replies".

Also, I am going to be requesting that I have my signed contract in my hand before I fly - just to ensure it does change while I am in the air. Will I get much resistence from employers over this? Also expecting to have major revisions before signing anything.

PM replies are OK or just post them.

Thanks,
WannabeNewbie

ChopChaeJoe · Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Location: Seoul

Your salary seems about typical. You can look for a better deal once you get here, if you want the trouble of breaking your contract and making a visa run to japan. Better is to finish the contract and use the expeience and your creds to get a better job next time.

That seems to be how it works.

It's a good idea to have a signed contract with you. The contracts are mostly whitewash, but if something really bothers you, you can refuse to budge on the terms of the contract. Use that option sparingly.

You may not tutor legally. If your employer doesn't mind, i doubt there will be any problems. But it os not legal.

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

http://www.geocities.com/victoryolife/contractkr

* NEWS: Dec. 2005: Latest news from Korea: Recently the government declared teaching private classes by foreign teachers as LEGAL in Korea. So, the only thing that could kick you out of Korea if you ever got caught teaching private classes IS A BAD CONTRACT that conditions your private teachings to the employer's approval.

The first is a link to a samle contract with advice and the second part is an excerpt from that page that raised my question about teaching privates legally.

Can anyone verify this with a link or paste of the actual law - whether it proves or disproves it? Please don't just say it's illegal with providing evidence.

Jeonnam Jinx · Joined: 06 Oct 2005 Location: Jeonnam

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

ChopChaeJoe: Thanks for the reply regarding the contract. I didn't expect that there would be much wiggle room on salary offers and that being an experienced licensed professional teacher doesn't get much credit there in terms of wages for an ESL position. Guess I won't bother to push for more money and save revision request for things they might actually change.

Jeonnam Jinx: Yes. I am serious. If I trusted the geocities site I linked, I would not have asked the question. I am asking for a link or direction to a legal source because after doing my own research and reviewing posts on this and other websites it is still unclear to me since I can't find find the up-to-date legislation that specifically addresses it. Also, since this is a relatively new potential change to law, many of the kind posters may not yet be aware that it may have been changed or it may not yet be available online. I just don't know. Helpful advice, such as yours, has about as much credibility to me as the good/bad testimonials of various schools, recruiters, or Korean experiences from people that I have seen posted. There's always another group that contradicts the first. I don't know you and all I asked for was direction to the source. Your opinions are not what I am looking for or requested - as valid and important your opinion is to you, I can't take it as fact. Maybe you've just been 'too openminded' for a little too long now.........

So I guess I'll rephrase my question - Could someone post a link to the specific law that prohibits or allows for private tutoring under an E-2 visa? It would also need to be a recent version since the rumored changes occurred only seven months ago.

Jeonnam Jinx · Joined: 06 Oct 2005 Location: Jeonnam

Okay, then, don't trust anyone else here. Go directly to the Ministry of Labor website and ask them.

http://english.molab.go.kr/

denverdeath · Joined: 21 May 2005 Location: Boo-sahn

You can also go here:

http://www.immigration.go.kr/indeximmeng.html

Take a look at what there is in the FAQ and Q&A sections. Maybe you can post your exact question to the immi people in the Q&A section and they can help you. I think you have to register though. If you don't have a foreign registration number, it might be a little difficult.

ucfvgirl · Joined: 28 Sep 2005 Location: Bundang

As for salary: I think it really depends on where you are working. I am working at a public middle school in Seongnam City and our salaries are set. We cannot negotiate for more as everyone that works for this city's school district gets paid the same, as set in our contracts.

If you worked at a Hagwon, where each one is different, I think you would have a much better chance at getting more. I have never worked at a Hagwon, but considering they are individually owned, there is more freedom for discussion about wage.

Good luck!