Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mack the knife]

Here's the skinny:

1) GEPIK, EPIK and SMOE are the government agencies which employ public school teachers. Generally speaking, you MUST go through one of them to secure a contract at a public school anywhere in Korea.

2) The principal of your school, your coworkers, and even your recruiter may all be wonderful people. But they have little or no say over the policies of the aforementioned government organizations. Which means that when GEPIK says jump, you say "How high?" End of story.

3) A lucky few have secured contracts outside of the three govt. agencies. Trust me. I have been here for a long time. You (the noob) will not be so lucky, unless you're willing to a) learn Korean before you come to Korea b) do a lot of footwork on your own dime once you're here and c) work in the boondocks.

4) Private elementary/middle/high schools are a whole different monster. You cannot compare them to public schools. At all. Generally speaking, the terms are more favorable.

5) Some Korean teachers get the entire vacation off. Some of them have to attend seminars. Some of them have to continue teaching (music teachers, P.E. coaches, etc.). Apparently, negotiating with your school (totally under the table) for more vacation days is still a possibility. But you should not count on it. Bottom line: Don't expect anything beyond your standard contract vacation days.

6) Most of the teachers in GEPIK who I was in contact with (most of the GEPIK teachers belonged to a private Yahoo group) got a raise after the first year, regardless of their levels. After the second year, a few renewed with no raise, a few argued and got a raise, and the rest bailed. Raises should be mandatory (and so should teacher evaluations). End of story. If they like you enough to keep you around for another year, you deserve a raise. But that's not how these organizations work. At a hogwon you will get a raise after one year, unless you're a moron.

7) You have a lot of down-time at public schools and it's not all fun and games. In fact, many teachers quit because they were simply bored out of their minds (or freezing, or burning hot) because they had to sit around at their schools all day during the winter and summer breaks with nothing to do and no heat or A/C. Think that's not a big deal? Wait 'till you've lived through a sleepless Korean summer with no A/C, when the smog is so thick you can bottle it and sell it to high school students for W1500 a pop...

So as not to end on a sour note, I must say with all sincerity that until the final slap in the face which happened at the end of my second year ("Ahhhh, so sorry but no raise and now you must work more hours..."), I thoroughly enjoyed my public school experience.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Yeah, that's really too bad. My school district did the same thing. Only three out of the original nine high school teachers they recruited renewed. The three of us have made seperate arrangements with our schools. Basically the school district is saying that we don't care what whitey is working at what school in the district so long as we keep getting our grants. However, this may be coming from higher up. I'd have loved to have given the system my finger and say I won't work for someone who has no appreciation, but I love my school too much and I'd only be hurting them.

What an education ministry. They have no idea how to attract and retain experienced people but keep droning on about effectively they're using us, thinking that control must be the ultimate key.

[laogaiguk]

[mack the knife]

[dulouz]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[mack the knife]

[dulouz]

[mack the knife]

[jinju]

[mack the knife]

[PRagic]

Mack, might be a good idea to scrap that fancy quote you have riding at the bottom of your posts. Doesn't seem to suit your take on life.

[rawiri]

[quote="mack the knife"][Unfortunately, what they don't tell you (and there's no fine print) is that you'll be sitting in an unheated, unairconditioned room [i]by yourself[/i] for eight hours for at least two months of the year. That. Sucks. When you can see your own breath in your classroom, you're getting screwed. End of story.

.[/quote]


Bwhahahaha, maybe it's just because they didn't like you.

[xox]

hmm start an MA? How can I start one?!

[laogaiguk]