Korean Job Discussion Forums

[itaewonguy]

[IconsFanatic]

-Don't assume anything; confirm everything.

If your boss says he's got a furnished flat for you, ask what exactly "furnished" entails, and make sure it's ALL in the contract. My flat was decent, but had no washing machine. The boss refused to pay for a washer, claiming that he went out of his way by getting me a TV. Meanwhile the other waygook upstairs was given a TV/VCR/DVD combo player in addition to a washer/dryer by his chain franchise school....

Another one: when I leave here, I'll only have taken 7 vacation days. The reason being that my boss believes that my first actual day of work is the beginning of the "one year", as opposed to when I arrived. Perhaps true, but since immigration only lets us stay here for 365 days at a time, how am I supposed to get 365 days of work in, given we're only here for 364 full days, and that we don't always start work the day we get off the airplane?

To add insult to injury, I arrived on a Friday, and was suckered into going to "a party" at the school the very next day (a Saturday), which turned out to be little more than throwing me into a room with two high-schoolers. Sounds more like a free class to me. But yet, that doesn't count as my first day of work, because that was only "a party"....

You usually hear about bosses withholding pay on this board... but there's a million other little indirect ways they can try to screw you over if they're true slime. So, the more you iron out before you come here, the better.

Perhaps some potential bosses might be put off if you try to include everything in your contract... but there's lots of potential bosses out there, so don't worry about it. It's not worth putting your blind trust in some guy you've never met.

-Don't be bullied.

Soon after I arrived, my boss told me I'd be working Saturdays, despite my contract stating "Monday - Friday" in capitalized, bold print. Not sure if he is evil and planned it before I signed on, or (since the school was brand-new) instead goofed by not realizing he'd need a weekend waygook before offering me a M-F contract. Either way, I was not impressed, and told him as such.

-Get what you deserve.

My boss is so cheap, he tried to talk me out of getting health insurance, just so he wouldn't have to pay his 50%. Sure I can understand the financial pressures of starting up a school and having loans to re-pay, but trying to withhold health insurance from someone in Korea for the first time is pretty darn slimy. Sure, it's not Africa, but it sure ain't what I'd call a "clean" country, either!

18 days left....

[TheUrbanMyth]

[The Man known as The Man]

Why do kiwis have such *funky accents?







*eupemistically yours

[shawner88]

[Derrek]

I'm with Itaewon guy. Although different people are different, and I've been friends with some Korean teachers -- don't trust anyone.

I mean, you can be friendly, but just don't be stupid and volunteer any special information they don't need to know. This goes for other FOREIGNERS you work with, as well. Not just koreans.

Don't tell anyone more than they need to know. They might not rat you out, but you can bet if they happen to mention it to someone else, there might be someone along the grapevine who will.

Although this story is about a manager at the school, it is one of my favorites: A friend was told by the manager when he started, "You'll have evenings free, so you can do lots of privates if you want." As time went on, he was sometimes asked in a friendly manner, "Have you been able to find some good privates? I might know some people if you are interested..."

Well, contract-renewal time comes around, and they wanted to increase all of the foreign teacher hours. This same guy tells the manager that he doesn't want to work past 6pm. What is this manager's response?

"You aren't working any privates, are you!? You know, privates are illegal in Korea, and you can be fired for that and deported."

Welcome to the Korean mind.

[Skippy]

Skippy Rules of Life # Unknown
Cops are not your friends, but they are not your enemy.

The same with your fellow teachers. You can be friendly and even be friends to a degree (going lover takes things to a whole new level) but do not trust them completely. The only teacher you can really trust is the one who is quitting or fired.

I have read this rule on the board over and over again do not tell your fellow korean teachers you do privates. Do not take privates offered to you by them. It could work in your favour but it could easily blow up in your face. You could easily find yourself at month 11 and finding your are fired for doing privates.

Careful even telling them about your troubles in class. I lost my temper with a kid and kicked his desk making his books fly all over (not the student the desk). I commented on this to a korean teacher (I was feeling a little guilty for lossing my temper). Later that day I am dragged in by the head teacher /manager . I was told not to hit the children (Well duh). I am positive the student said nothing but my telling that to the teacher got me in trouble. Later it was used against me to get me fired.

So careful with the trust. The teacher could report directly to the hire ups or could just use it to spread gossip.

Skippy the Evil Twin

[igotthisguitar]

[mindmetoo]

[just because]

[wylde]