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Silverblue
Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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 Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:13 pm Post subject: Help out a Newbie! Thanks! |
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Hi guyz I just got offered a position in Suji with YES Youngdo anyone have any experiences with the company??? Or the area??
How far is Suji from Seoul? What's the transportation like?
Cheers! Any help would be great. Thankz |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Suji?? Think of a billion apartment buildings with nothing else. It is about an hour from Seoul by bus probably. I don't know about the school, sorry. |
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Silverblue
Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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Uhmmm....are there any towns close to it that's going to keep me entertained???  |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Silverblue wrote: |
| Uhmmm....are there any towns close to it that's going to keep me entertained??? |
30 minutes by bus or 10 minutes by taxi to Yeongtong (Kyung Hee University).
Same to Bundang.
YES on the other hand is another story. As a chain it has a less than stellar reputation. I can't speak about that particular hakwon.
here's my 2 cents worth.
If you are seriously looking at a contract and a school then may I suggest your consideration of the following (quoted from an embassy website):
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Nature of Contracts in Korea
Koreans see business less as a legally based interaction than a relationship. Consequently, there is a much weaker sense of law in Korean business relations than in international business. For many Koreans, a contract is part of the symbolism involved in beginning a relationship, and "beginning" is the important word. The contract thus is only as binding as the personal connection. It is not surprising, therefore, that foreign instructors in Korea occasionally have contract disputes with their employers. The employer may, indeed, consider the contract a simple working agreement, subject to change, depending upon the circumstances ���� and usually after the foreigner has arrived in Korea. Most Koreans do not view deviations from a contract as a "breach," and few Koreans would consider taking an employer to court over a contract dispute.
Instead, Koreans tend to view contracts as infinitely flexible and subject to further negotiation. Furthermore, the written contract is not the real contract; rather, the unwritten, oral agreement with an employer is the real contract. You should bear these factors in mind when you sign a contract.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The portion that I highlighted is so very, very true. I can attest to this first hand on more than one occasion.
The contract is ONLY as good as the school you are in.
A well written contract is only a piece of paper. A bad school will still ignore even a well written contract and you are usually in no position to fight.
A good school (even with a bad contract) will make your time here so enjoyable that you may end up staying for more than one year and will never even look at the contract for the entire time.
TALK to the teachers at the school. Talk to MORE than one. Get their e-mail addressses so you can ask questions when the boss is NOT looking over their shoulder. If the boss / recruiter is unable or unwilling to provide this, then move along to the next one.
No reference means trouble for a newbie. Either it is a bad school and cannot /will not provide a reference OR it is a new school.
new school + newbie teacher in Korea = receipe for disaster
Ask specific questions about:
a) Salary (on-time, deductions),
b) overtime (do they actually pay it?),
c) pension and medical (are they subscribed to the national plans or does the employer just avoid it?),
d) how many classes (per day/week/month), how long are the classes,
e) What is the class schedule like (blocks 2-9?, kindy/elementary 10-7? am/pm splits 6-9am and 6 - 10pm?),
f) housing - what is it really like, what do they live in?
g) vacations (when, how, blocks or scattered days?)
h) anything else that may be important to you in terms of quality of life or employment.
When YOU are satisfied that the conditions offered by a particular school are acceptable to you then sign the contract based on that.
Grand negotiations from abroad are for the most part useless.
They will either ignore you and move on to the next candidate because they see you as difficult to deal with.
OR
They will promise you the world to get your signature on the contract and your butt on the plane and then NOT deliver after you have arrived.
(this was my circumstance with Kangdong SLP for example).
That's my nickels worth of free advice on the subject of contracts. |
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Silverblue
Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:26 am Post subject: |
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| Thankz ttompatz. Great advice I will definitely check out some of the things your mentioned! |
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Homer
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:36 am Post subject: |
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If you want relevant and reliable information on your school....call some of the foreign teachers (I sugges talking to more than one and to get their home numbers as opposed to the school number) there and ask your questions.
They have:
a) Concrete experience working there.
b) Concrete experience living in the city where the school is.
c) Actual information about real live work conditions at the school that no one else can provide. They can also talk to you about the contract clauses you may have questions about.
What you get here (online) can be useful but at best it is heresay when it comes to your particular school (unless you actually get info from someone who works or has worked at your particular school). |
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seoulsista
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
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| Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:14 am Post subject: |
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I had a good friend at that branch last year. The city in and of itself doesn't have a whole lot going on but that's all relative. You will find plenty of bars and places to hang out with people if you want to. There is at least one Wa-Bar where all the foreigners hang out. You are a 45-60 minute bus ride to Seoul. If you wanted to go out to Seoul on a weekend that would be a bit more difficult because a taxi would be about 45,000 won.
My friend really liked working at that Youngdo until they fired her five weeks before her contract was up. They fired her at 4:00 by 11:00 they had already moved another teacher into her apartment. Of course they fired her a few days before pay day. She lost 2 mil on the month's pay, 2 mil severance and had to pay 1.8 for a ticket home. |
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Silverblue
Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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| hey seoulsista that is disturbing to hear. What was the reason they fired her on? Is this something they do often?? |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Is this something they do often?? |
To avoid paying last salary, severance, and return air ticket....unfortunately yes some hagwons do.
Totally illegal, but most teachers don't stick around to fight it out at the labour board. |
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Silverblue
Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:20 am Post subject: |
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| So basically the contract is worthless. They can just fire you with no real reason? Any tips on what do if that happens? |
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Tiberious aka Sparkles
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:44 am Post subject: |
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| Silverblue wrote: |
| Thankz ttompatz. Great advice I will definitely check out some of the things your mentioned! |
Here's your grain of salt:
| ttompatz wrote: |
| most Koreans don't bathe or shower in their apartments |
_*_ |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:57 am Post subject: |
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| Tiberious aka Sparkles wrote: |
| Silverblue wrote: |
| Thankz ttompatz. Great advice I will definitely check out some of the things your mentioned! |
Here's your grain of salt:
| ttompatz wrote: |
| most Koreans don't bathe or shower in their apartments |
_*_ |
That was taken out of context.... and most don't. They will wash in their apartment and bathe in the nearest SAUNA or Jimjilbang... |
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Tiberious aka Sparkles
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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Makes me wonder why so many Korean bathrooms I've visited are stocked with Shampoo, body wash, etc.
I mean, 'cause they don't shower at home and all.
_*_ |
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flotsam
Joined: 28 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| Tiberious aka Sparkles wrote: |
| Silverblue wrote: |
| Thankz ttompatz. Great advice I will definitely check out some of the things your mentioned! |
Here's your grain of salt:
| ttompatz wrote: |
| most Koreans don't bathe or shower in their apartments |
_*_ |
That was taken out of context.... and most don't. They will wash in their apartment and bathe in the nearest SAUNA or Jimjilbang... |
It's true that this obervation is dated, everybody showers at home now except for students in old fashioned yeo-in-suk and the very, very poor. If a family has an apartment and is doing well, the sauna is seen as beneath them--the parents probably had to use them as kids, and seem them as a sign of less affluent past. They will still head off to a posh jjim-jil-bang for a fun overnighter, but day-to-day ablutions are performed in le hwaj de chateau. |
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ShaneM
Joined: 03 Feb 2005
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Not much to do in Suji but if you can handle taking a bus from nearby Bundang every day (25min) its good living IMO. |
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