Korean Job Discussion Forums

[K-in-C]

[quote="wylies99"] Oh, and I was fired this morning after I presented a letter requesting documentation of all financial charges and the letter of release./quote]

I hear you loud and clear. One of my former directors refused to give me the bills/photo copies for my utilities and phone. I tried to explain to her that I needed some form of documentation to show the Canadian government when tax time came along as to where some of my income was going.

She spazed out, told me I needed psychiatric help, and that if I did not leave the school she was going to call the police and report me to immigration. She said she gave immigration a negative note to keep on file.

I felt like telling her that working in many of the hagwons showed that others like myself needed psychiatric help.

Best wishes,

K

[wylies99]

The hogwan gave us lists of students/parents with their home phone numbers, to do unpaid phone teaching. Can we legally contact parents to let them know about problems we are having at the school?
BTW, I do have two friends who speak Korean who are ready to help me.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[braunshade]

Thats a good idea. I will have to store that one in my memory bank!

Why are Koreans so dishonest??????????????????????????/

[kermo]

Threads like these are discouraging. I've seen a lot of bad behaviour from both schools and teachers in my time here. I've wrangled and dealt with some snakes,and from what I've gathered, the best way to handle a school who is not giving you your due is to keep calm, and have a game plan.

--Keep valuables close to you. Never surrender your passport or original degree to your school. They may wheedle and beg and threaten, but calmly tell them that you refuse. They may enter your apartment to get it, so hide/secure it well. The less leverage they have on you, the better.

--Know your contract. Check out what you are entitled to, and don't count on getting more. If you want more, be prepared to offer something in return.

--Realize that although that they may not openly appreciate you or treat you like an asset, you are of great value to their organization. You are holding a lot of the cards. You're expensive to replace, and you can affect the school's reputation.

--Realize that "higher authorities" like the Labour Board or upper administration have their own agenda, and may not be of much help to you. Go to them as a last resort, with a back-up plan just in case.

--Behave with integrity. Don't lie, or let your teaching suffer as a result of your conflicts with admin. No matter what happens, you want to be able to walk out of there proud of the job you did.

--Be prepared to make threats and follow through. For example, if your paycheque is late (I might give a three day grace period, unless it was emergency): "I need my paycheque by the start of class tomorrow. If I don't get it, I'm not going to teach." I've seen this work. He sat at the front desk, arms folded, and twenty minutes after the start of classes, he had his money. (Sadly, he pulled a runner that night, which left a mess for his co-workers to clean up.)

--Treat others with the same respect that you would hope for. Don't yell, say malicious things, or fly off the handle. Speak in a low, calm voice, and you'll help to create a reasonable atmosphere.



Hopefully, by being respectful, resourceful and prudent, you'll be able to cope with the shadier side of teaching in Korea.

[wylies99]

Good ideas- now we're getting someplace. Parents WILL get calls, since the owner refuses to even discuss any of the issues.


Labor hearing is set for next week.

The school keeps telling the labor investigator that they are trying to get hold of me and work something out but they "can't reach me."

I'm still in their apartment, and they know it- they had the phone shut off. The Director has tried to forcibly evict me, and threatened to involve the police. We've had shouting matches through that funky "singing apartment phone" POS. He keeps yelling "You not home here, go home." Plus, he yells that I've been fired, but when I answer "Then give it to me, in writing"- he refuses.
They still haven't given ANYTHING to me in writing- except pay stubs.
They didn't pay me for July or early August and won't even discuss any letter of release.
The hogwan owner and director are as low as people get. They've tried every dirty trick in the book.
Oh, and it all started with a lowlife recruiter named Chris Lee who happens to either be best pals or related to THE DIRECTOR-
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=63799&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=3a073759efca1a412ead39d395d838e1

[dmbfan]

Wow.......I'm sorry this has happened to you.

Hang in there, and do what you think is best.


Good luck.

DMBFAN

[wylies99]

For the hearing- we have A LOT of documentation, and they know it. Simply- we have no idea why they want to avoid a settlement and go to a hearing. Anybody have any ideas about this?

[wylies99]

[kermo]

Way to be wily! This sounds pretty traumatic, but I'm sure you'll get through even wiser and tougher than you already are.

[Grotto]

Real Reality has a nice set of posts about Korea being the nation of liars. Very informative and accurate!

[wylies99]

Thanks- the legal advice from a couple posters (mainly through PMs) has helped a great deal. My lawyer has helped, too. I am confident that we will make a very good case at the hearing.

I'm not that confident in the Korean labor legal system, but we'll see.