Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bixlerscott]

What English institutes in ROK are large and financially secure schools with good professional management practices? Well, I do not want just good, I need excellent professional business management practices, proper fair treatment, adequate facilities, no pay worries, no worries of a business finance failure, knowing the business is operated in a legal and sane manner, and a mutual positive 2-way communication employer/employee relationship in place for synergistic success. I know all people and places have problems or shortcomings, but it's how we collaborate in solving inadequacies is what�s important. With that said, a brand new fancy school can be fraught with fear, intimidation, and lack of ability to manage if they are not honest with themselves and to their employees or the case could be a small hole in the wall school might be an excellent place to work on account of excellent management and relationship functioning between management, teachers, and the local community. Dizzying arrays of possibilities exist.

I know I am talking about business here rather than education, but the 2 are synonymous and must come together in a synergistic manner in the case of private institutes in order to be a successful smash hit with locals and foreign English teachers alike. I also want an employer who will help me with any shortcomings to improve upon and to ensure success, not just bitch at me and treat me like dirt. I need an employer who can trust me to do nothing less than an excellent job with little or no supervision, but with an open door policy while honoring the contract in a fair manner. One example situation would be, "If changes are necessary, negotiate a new agreement with me; not dictate what I will do such as telling me to work 12 hours a day and Saturdays too, when the contract might state 2pm to 9pm Monday through Friday with weekends and holidays off." I do realize the 2 weeks of vacation are preset, but we can still fly somewhere like Bali or Tokyo or Beijing and enjoy ourselves during these 2 preset 1 week periods off. Well, 2 nice international trips, plus a nice long way home trip after a 1 year contract is awesome, perhaps a stop in Europe to backpack around on a Eurail pass for a month or a tour of the southern Pacific rim or both. This can be done, I believe, on as little as $1000 per month of vacation time spent if we do not go in business class style (i.e. hotels with marble floors and chandeliers and 1st class jet rides with plush leather seats), but in a casual everyday basic style like they often do on the Globe Trekker shows. We must ask the school to not send us directly back to the U.S. upon completion, but just pay us some money to buy our own airline tickets so we can go places and take the long 2 month travel route back home to the U.S.A. Sound selfish? Hardly not, we will have earned it in order to learn and appreciate what this most awesome and gorgeous Earth is all about.

If they do in fact need us that bad on Saturdays, during holidays, or even deny our vacation time, then they must offer large amounts of the profit generated to compensate us for miserable quality of life afforded or we run and all interested parties lose financially. We need bosses to not just scoff at us, stare at us, act like we are a lower life form, and avoid intelligible meetings with us like the plague when we have a question about anything; particularly, a problem on their part that needs to be corrected in a mutual, respectful, and considerate manner or even us just asking for help on doing something the right way.

The responsibility of success falls on both employer and employee alike and must function in a yin/yang manner.

We all serious minded folks need the afore mentioned employment situation!!!!!
I know that there are ECC's, Ding Ding Dongs, Alice in Wonderlands, YBM/sisa, and the strict BCM suit and tie franchise chain schools all over ROK, but these do not count as they are still small businesses, often ran unprofessionally, which could suck us into precarious financial and legal situations on account of poor management and business planning, despite our lengthy research and planning for success.

In search of a truly good professional modern language and culture institute, surely we will not get suckered into the trap of an unprofessional director or entrepreneur who could harm us out of his/her shortcomings.

Surely someone willing to bring us to the other side of this Earth for a 1 year cultural exchange is not out to hurt us and do us over, but just do not believe this out of naivety. I would still require to speak with who is going to be the manager, director, or executive in charge to test her/him on her/his ability of 2 way open minded mutual communication, her/his level of professionalism, honest moral character, what her/his policies and expectations are, and hope the individuals of interest are not 2 faced bastards trying to suck us into their miserable trap of a mismanaged business!!! If no English spoken or other excuse given, move on to the next offer.

Now I know that all kinds of people exist globally (Korea has both bad and good business people just as all countries do), regardless of language, culture, and geography. With that said, we can find livable, workable, and valid life/work situations almost anywhere if possessing the right knowledge. These are just a few of my thoughts on top of the question: What companies or institute locations are truly professionally ran with modern facilities, have fair policies, realistic expectations, and happy customers?
* Recruiters, you must present the schools management staff, policies, honest actual contracts, home or cell phone #'s of current English teachers, and employer expectations to aspiring young adult professionals looking to make this multicultural exchange or placements will fail, you will lose money, and all 3 parties lose in the deal. Lets get this right for the sake of our sanities, and be proud we did righteously no less than excellent in our endeavors.

[Gamecock]

Um...ok...good luck with that. Have you ever lived in Korea? Or anywhere in Asia for that matter? What you expressed is a noble ideal and you even threw in "Ying-Yang" to make it sound as if you are hip on the Asian mind. However, your sentiments are VERY Western and culturally biased. That is not to say they are wrong per se, but just that some of the ideas are very foreign and even ridiculous to the Korean way of thinking. What you are about to take on is a VERY ingrained Confucian system of thought that is nothing like the environment you grew up in. It is very old, and it is not going away soon. You can try to fight it if you wish- good luck with that. If you are going to find happiness and success working in Korea I would suggest choosing your battles, standing firm when necessary, and learning the skillful art of compromise. You're not going to change the way people think here...Or maybe you'll start the revolution. Let me know how it turns out for ya.

[dzeisons]

I always wondered what a brainfart was. Now I know. Thanks for that.

[Son Deureo!]

I'm not sure, but when you find out, please let me know.

You might try Wonderland, I hear they're hiring right now.

[bixlerscott]

Gamecock has some very valid points there. I understand Confucious ideology to follow the lines of the following paragraph? Confucious rituals are said to be too complex to describe in English so I suppose we need to go to Asia to find out what these are.

"Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously." (Analects II, 3)

Confucian seems to also center around ethics of honesty, adherance to norms, and playing the prescribed role you have been chosen for in a functional proper manner. Can anyone furthur clarify?

OK, I am really having a brain fart. LMAO This must be clearly understood by everyone considering to work in Asia or who already are. I have never lived in Asia, but have experience of Asian international business professors and self study for years on the topic of, "Doing business in Asia."

[ttompatz]

[babtangee]

[Banana Bender]

Just a short reply.

Good luck in finding your dream job. I think you will be doing a lot of travelling.

BB

[dimnd]

dream on but...good luck
lol

[Roch]

[bixlerscott]

Ttompatz, not smokin anything, just using my head in making the critically important decision on where to work and who to work for as this vitally important to my success as well as most other candidates. I will just have to continue interviewing until I find something worth moving to the other side of the world on a whim to committ to. I will take a few extra months if necessary to dig it out of the hat; I know good hagwons surely must exist as in all business industries; you have good, the bad, and the ugly.

Since you are basically saying that no hagwon is a good place to work for, my question is. Why are you working for them and why did you choose to work in a hagwon in ROK if it is not a fair deal?

If anyone has anything to add on how you obtained your decent fair employment situation, then your welcome to add to this thread.


Of course, at home, myself and co-workers, and commuters on city Metro are talking about how companies are under paying us, screwing us around, not giving us weekends and holidays off, not paying any benefits; just paying a stagnated wage so low that it is barely enough to survive on with todays over inflated prices. Now it would be easy to say that all jobs in the service oriented American economy are crappy and low paying with greedy impersonal self centered egotystical dopehead bosses, but some service workers and their bosses do have a great time working, decent pay, benefits, and some holidays and weekends off. With that said, I am sure some hagwon teachers are treated horribly, while others are treated like gold. Do you think in some cultures, such as Korea, a work situation is either awesome or it's like shit in quality, but nothing in between?

It just depends on what kind of situation you fall into and how you deal with it. Flexibility is ideal coping strategy until you fall ill due to the mold, undue stress, and cold temps in your school and apartment; don't stand for it people as some are really that bad while other schools have nice warm, clean, and friendly facilities with intellegible directors. I will not accept or believe that goodness no longer exists...because it's a fact that in all societies the world over; excellence, good, bad, and the ugly are present and must be disseminated and dealt with appropriately.

[jajdude]

How about Thailand? The pay is low and the work is not great, but it is a nice place to live, friendly people, good food, interesting, women who like white guys....

Damn, I'm gonna book a flight soon!

[Roch]

[wylies99]

[hubba bubba]

I'm calling troll.

But just in case this guy is for real, I'll respond.


Um, better not come to Korea, dude. You will just birch and moan and use big words that nobody understands.

Maybe you are unclear about the whole employee/employer relationship. The employee (you) works for the employer (Korean guy). He owns the show. He is there to make money, you are there to do what he says. He is NOT there to make your life cozy.

If you want a "synergistic relationship", maybe you should consider a business partnership in a hogwon. Then you would have some sort of claim to equality in the relationship.

And why, exactly, should you be treated like gold? You are not gold. You are a foreigner. Do you think you are special because you're white, have a degree and speak English? Well honey, you aren't.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you probably won't find the situation anywhere if you are an employee.

Good luck tho.

Hubba