Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Blue Flower]

Thanks - thats a great idea. I have heard stories about people being taken straight from the plane to school, and then teaching classes. I suffer quite badly from Jetlag, so hopefully my room-mate won't be too freaky, and he/she will show me where to get food from, and then let me sleep after i get in. Teaching classes before I've had a chance to see the curriculum and plan lessons is not what I would call a good thing. I at least want a good look at the curriculum. I've taken some photo's of farm animals - cows, pigs, sheep, my uncle with his farm dogs, just to show the kids what it's like where I come from, and I intend taking some photos of the beautiful scenery where I live. If you're ever in New Zealand, come spend some time in the Bay of Plenty, particularly Mount Maunganui. It's just gorgeous. I've just been to the pub, and am quite rotten, so am also impressed with how well i am typing at the mo. Cheers everyone for all yoru help, i am really looking forward to this opportunity. Nic.

[Tiger Beer]

[The Bobster]

[Canadian Teacher]

Let's talk about contracts in Korea. A contract is a way of getting you a visa and on the plane. Once you are here, it means nothing, especially in a hagwan. Vacation days? Hahahaha, if you get one it will be a miracle. Sick days? In a hagwan, you will be expected to "teach" if you are lugging your oxygen tank around with you.

Korea has lots of progressive labour law but it is not enforced. Decisions of the labour board are not binding or enforcable.

Any job a head hunter gets for you is a COMPLETE shot in the dark. The head hunter is being paid to find a warm body white a white. If the face is FEMALE, more money. If it is female, young and pretty, BIG BONUS!

Also remember that hagwans that use head hunters almost always have a managent that cannot speak English. This can lead to some real cultural problems. You see in Korea, the boss is God and the waygook is lower than the cockroach under the sink.

[ChuQi]

whoa, canadian teacher, that is one very large dose of cynisism you've got there.

I've found that contracts are very important, they have protected some friends of mine from being badly screwed, wave it at the boss and threaten to go to immigration that they're breaking the contract. even if the imigration dept doesn't do anything or can't do anything, it still gives a shock to the owners.

A friend of mine, through his own fault, had a traffic accident, laid up in the hospital for 2 weeks before going home, and the boss even paid for the ticket home. before that he had a few sick days from having a bad back. no problems there, in fact i've never heard of a teacher being forced to work when sick.

I have only met one teacher whose boss doesn't speak english, and most of the others were "head hunted".

you must have had some really bad experiences to develop those views.


As for the kiwi accent thing, every other kiwi i have met have had thier accents changed in someway. Yes, when talking to other expats, i talk with the usual kiwi flavour, but whenever i am talking to a korean, the fake north american accent clicks on. can't help it. A friend from NZ came over to visit, and they thought it was funny as hell whenever i spoke to a korean, in class and out.

What about British, Irish, SA or Australian accents? have people found thier accents changed too?

The Mount is a great place, Blue flower. I used to live there too, one of the best places in the country. I look forward to visiting it again when i get back home, jump off leisure island again.

good to have you here, hope you enjoy your time.

[Zyzyfer]

[waterbaby]

I'm an Aussie but I've found that I've picked up a bit of a North American "twang"... my family wants to know what's going on with this weird accent I've got brewin'... I can't quite seem to shake it after class.

It started on day one when my Aussie accent wasn't going down to well in my first class. Now, my accent isn't terribly broad to begin with, but the kids and I were having a wee bit of a communication problem.

Aussies have a habit of not pronouncing the letter R, especially if it's at the end of a word. For ex. water is pronounced "War-tuhhh" And we also speak sentences? Like they're questions? Like this? And we add extra syllables into words that just should be there... ex. "he-yah" instead of "here."

Anyway... my first day... taking attendence:

Me: Pe-tuuhh? (Peter)
Students: Silence
Me: Pe-tuuhh???
Students: Giggle
Me: Oh, PeteRRRR
Peter: Here!
Me: Oh dearrrrr.

Then came John (Jaaahn)... etc etc

I've just found that when Koreans don't understand my English, I slip into a North American accent and then they often do understand me , as it appears to be what they are most exposed to and most used to. Personally, I think people should be exposed to many different accents. My kids ended up with a very hybrid accent, putting the Australian extra syllable into words but strongly pronouncing their "R's". It was kind of cute.

At my current school, the students and parents are under the impression that I am from England, 'cos my director thinks that since I'm not Canadian or American, they'd probably prefer that I was from England and not drop out in great hordes... as long as I deny my Australian origins. Actually, I found that rather amusing. Kooky directors, eh? (Oh dear, was that "eh" a bit of Canadian creeping in???) Damn!

[rapier]

Oh dear you poor new teachers, I feel for you, I really do. Rule no.1) Korean contracts aren't worth the paper they're printed on. They always change the conditions later to suit themselves anyway..2)don't appear desperate and take your time to negotiate. All contracts can generally be changed to your advantage if you know how to waste time, etc and angle for your own way. They're the needy ones, not you.3) I admire your enthusiasm but if its culture you want, forget Korea and head to Thailand and neighboring countries. At least there you'll have a great time teaching people who are keen to learn!

[Blue Flower]

Howdy - well I am not only in the country, but I have also taught my first classes. What an eye opener. they were nothing like what i expected. the poor kiddies. they all looked so tired, and my classroom was the last place they wanted to be. they were all so terribly excited to see me, it was bizarre. everyone wanted to say "hi teacher", and then they would run away giggling, also - the girls are the loud, boisterous ones, i'm used to the boys being little *beeps*, so it is quite different. So far my boss, well shes one of them, has been very nice, bought me a new t.v, video, and all sorts of stuff for my wee, very wee, little room/house/life. but yes, she doesn't speak english. and i thought there would be lots of other foreign english speakers at my school, but im the only one which is pretty freaky. So here I am, all alone in this totally bizarre place. Im not that good with isolation. I never realised how difficult it would be to live in a place were you cannot communicate with anyone. This elderly man stopped and talked to me in perfect english, and I almost cried!! how sad is that. anyway, thanks for all the discussion, fingers crossed it turns out well in the end. Nic.

[Zyzyfer]

Interesting. Well, if the isolation gets to be too much, you could always meet up with somebody from the board.

[Tiger Beer]

[babtangee]