Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Jocamo]

OK guys. I have accepted a job in Cheolsan in Gwangmyeong, Seoul. I spoke with two guys on the phone. One, said he was the head English teacher, the other just a teacher. They were both American, sounded like normal cool guys. They both seemed to be very happy about working at the place. I have been offered 2.1 including utilities and internet. I have even been offered free lunch on work days.
My only concerns are that the contact hours seem long, they are about 7 per day 4 days per week. and 6 hours on the 5th day.
Also 6 of these hours are relatively consecutive. There�s a 20 minute break in there, a 15 minute break, and maybe 5 minutes bet. each class.
The deal is I have 1 class from 11am to 12, then 2 hours off. The I have that 6 hour stint in the afternoon, from 2 to 8. So I am second guessing whether or not these hours are reasonable. I don't want to be absolutely exhausted all the time.
My second concern is that, I understand that it is pretty hard to meet foreigners in Gwangmyeong. I think I might like to be closer to Itaewan, just in case I get out there and really have the desire to meet more Anglophones.
The guys who work at my school, of which there are 4, sound pretty cool. But I would hate to get out there, and feel hopeless about meeting new friends, especially in the case that I end up not getting along that well with my coworkers.
At any rate, thank you for listening, or reading rather. Please, all and any input would be greatly appreciated. I think I am mostly concerned with the schedule at this point. Thanks again.

[the eye]

Doesn't sound too harsh, although that morning hour is probably kindergarten. That may tire you if you don't like singing, or little kids, for that matter.

[ttompatz]

[Jocamo]

It comes out to a 34 hour week. Plus, I have been told that I will not beexpected to come in early for prep ever. So that comes out to 236 per month. But this is strange becuase the contract stipulates overtime pay past 120 hours. Perhaps they'l pay the over time.
I would love to find a job where I could work 25-30 per week and get payed the same rate, but I have been uncomfortable on the phone with every school I spoke with cept for these guys.
I feel like putting in 4 extra hours per week might be worth headinging over to a place where I feel more comfortable going to.
Reading posts on this website has really scared the s--t out of me about heading on over there, so many horror storys of excesive mistreatment. So the fact that I spoke with two happy sounding Americans on the phone, is holding a lot of weight in this situation.
Yeah, the morning class is kindy, and the first hour of the afternoon is split up of two 1/2 hour kindy classes. The rest are older.

[ttompatz]

[Jocamo]

I checked with the guy at the school. He guaranteed me that our schedule always comes out to less than 30 contact hours per week with no mandatory prep time. You're right, I am a big boy. Thanks for the reminder. I like the way my coworkers sound, and I have a good intuitive feeling about this job. I'm going to go with it. I thank you very much for your thoughtful input. This discussion was just what I needed. Thanks again, to both of you.

[ttompatz]