Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

I just got back from riding in a cab wherein the taxi driver was asking me if I'm a student. I told him I'm a teacher at a hagwon, and he asked me how much I make. I was like, well, that's a personal question, so I would only say that I make enough. He smiled and said that he thinks 5 million a month is enough, too.

At that point, I had to tell him how much I really make, and I pointed out that the average foreign teacher salary here is around 2 - 2.5 million, sometimes less. This dude flipped out. He went off on a tangent, and at one point completely stopped the car in the middle of the road to turn around and demand that he was right.

He was almost shouting at me and talking at hyperspeed, so I couldn't make out the details enough to piece together what he was telling me. He did say something about privates, but I told him I don't do those. He said even without privates, foreigners can make as much as 5 mil a month working at a hagwon. I was just like.. man, I wish!

So I'm really curious where this rumor comes from. I get the impression from his reaction that he was given this information by someone whose word he trusts authoritatively.

Anyone else heard about this?

Q.

[tanklor1]

I just pulled this from the newest job offers.

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/index.cgi?read=19969
#3 Looking for 1 teacher

1. Location: Jong Ro, Nice Area( http://jongno.seoul.go.kr/ )
2. The year founded: 2004
3. School Type: Private Language Institute
4. Number of foreign teachers /Korean teacher: 5/60
5. Teaching Target: Adults
6. Class size: 10 per class
7. Starting Date: September
8. Working Hours: 5~6 hours a day
9. Teaching hours: 30 hours a week
10. Working days: Monday to Friday
11 Monthly Salary:2.5~5.0 million won (depending on your qualification)

[vlcupper]

[Qinella]

[Hyeon Een]

Maybe he read that thread Real Reality started about foreigners making 10m a month or whatever it was =) I guess that came from a newspaper article somewhere.

Anyway he is probably worried about you "stealing" his(country's) money. As A Henry Savage Landor said in 1895 "to [let] gold... go out of the country amounts to the same thing as willingly trying to impoverish the fatherland of the treasures it possesses"

[own_king]

God doesn't make 5 million a month here, at least not legally. And if they tell, you they do they're full of s**t.

[Hyeon Een]

[Ya-ta Boy]

Maybe he's figuring in the cost of the apartment. It still wouldn't come out to W5 million, but housing is expensive and should be considered when figuring our salaries. And throw in free plane tickets.

[suadente]

Although it's not common, it is possible. The place that I work at tops out just under 8,000,000 per month. However, that would be 7 days a week, with good qualifications. Currently, most teachers are making 3.5-5. With additional morning classes during summer vacation, we're making 4-7.

I have heard of teachers making up to 10, though I've never met one, so I can't verify. However, my coworkers have bought apartments cash, and one guy drives 5 Series BMW (a couple of years old.)

If you're finishing your contract, look around. If you want a comfortable job with low hours, then the pay will be low also. If you don't mind 36 hours of teaching a week, send me a private message, and I'd be happy to pass your resume along to the appropriate people.

I think a long time ago, when only the wealthy could afford a foreign English teacher, the salaries were high in relation to what the average Korean made. Now, even though most teachers don't earn that much, they may still think that we all earn more than the average Korean does. And, as Korean media gets more and more nationalistic, they focus a lot on the 'foreigners' inside of Korea, so that report probably didn't mention those teachers that are still making 1.9, living in a crap apartment, with a boss that completely disregards the contract and labor laws.

[Captain Corea]

Yup, you work more - ya make more.

[mole]

Long ago, I made my 1.8 mil salary on vacation plus 1.2 teaching teachers at the Education Departement plus privates.
Shortly after got my severance pay, and compensation for a plane ticket home. A lot of cash in a short time.
He's just misinformed if he thinks that happens often.

[Guri Guy]

Of course this is really irrelevent as it doesn't matter what the average Korean thinks of us. I mean who really cares if they think we are rich playboys that are here illegally with zero qualifications and are all child molesters. Am I wrong?

[TheUrbanMyth]

[flotsam]

At my previous job I made between 4-6 million a month: all above board, all legal.

Worked A LOT.

[periwinkle]

Maybe the taxi driver is a conspiracy theorist. Ever chat with one of those? No matter what you say, what credentials or experience you have, you can't change their mind. Like talking to a brick wall. I think there are a lot of wacko taxi drivers out there, and you're bound to run into them from time to time if you take taxis often enough (he stopped in the middle of traffic to argue? ).