Korean Job Discussion Forums

Ilsanman · Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea

I think on average, we make double what they do.

Badmojo · Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 3:29 pm Post subject: Re: yes

fidel · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Location: North Shore NZ

One teacher at my school mentioned in passing that he was making 55 million a year and from some of the apartments I've visited and the cars they drive I have no reason not to believe him. Becoming a high school teacher is not just a case of getting a degree, you have to sit an arduous public exam that thousands fail every year and the job market is limited as teachers tend to get tenure for life.

Teaching privates is expressly forbidden and few teachers would put their jobs on the line to do so.

A few teachers have left in the past few years to become hogwan teachers at exclusive kangnam institutes, staffed solely by koreans and where they can make in excess of 6 million per month. lucky sods.

ghostshadow · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul

Korean teachers get much less. If you find someone that makes more then you then most likely they have been there for a very long time. Most teachers also get housing already paid for as well. You think the school will pay for your airfare and pay you the same as the Korean teachers? The one great thing about Korean teachers in public school is that they get paid on the winter and summer school vacations.

Kain067 · Joined: 21 May 2004

Now to turn the debate a little (since you have all so thoughtfully provided me with the answer):

Is this fair?

Do we deserve to be paid more than our Korean counterparts?

I cannot decide myself. As I touched on in my original post, I see many reasons for both yes and for no. Yes: we have completely uprooted ourselves - family, friends, language, culture, everything - for this job. Of course we are not doing it strictly for the job but it could theoretically be interpreted that way. Also, we cannot communicate on any real basis with our students which I thinks makes teaching infinitely harder. We also have to create and figure out all kinds of things as we go along regarding teaching in general and the specific culture as well. Many times we do not have a textbook or only loosely follow one so a lot of creativity is required. A separate reason the pay should be higher, maybe, is that the exchange rate and costs of living vary from where we are working.

No: the Korean teachers typically do much more work than us - weekends, holidays, "make up" days, etc. Also, they are teaching a subject that is not native to them so it is like us trying to teach science or advanced math or something. Many times the Korean teachers have to do all kinds of extra work for the institution or hagwan, including parent phone calls, party setup, make up classes, etc.

I guess the question could be simplified like this: do we deserve to make more than, say, elementary science teachers back home (when adjusted for exchange rates and living costs)?

fidel · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Location: North Shore NZ

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

FUBAR wrote,
"I saw a payslip from an English teacher (Korean), they were around 3 million after taxes."

Professor's Salary/Month: US$ 5,511
http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/features/salaries/2000/popups/content/21prof.html

Most Korean educators, especially university educators, are well compensated. Foreign educators are not well compensated. Foreign educators are not encouraged to stay in one place too long.

FUBAR · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: The Y.C.

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

FUBAR wrote,
"This was at a Public School, not a university."

Public school teachers and university professors are educators. Generally, Korean educators are compensated better than foreign educators at public schools and universities.

Wishmaster · Joined: 06 Feb 2003

I'm sick of this existential moralism...for god's sake, people back home made more money than me. Now, it's my turn. If the Korean teachers don't like it, I really don't give a damn. That's life. I would wager that they probably haven't experienced a tithe of the crap that I've had to go through in my life. They don't mean anything to me. You gotta think of yourself here...you've got to look out for number one. They've been nice and safe in their little Korean bubble and they are probably still getting allowances from their mommies and daddies. They don't like that I make more than they do...tough titty, kitty.

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

Income Gap Between Rich, Poor Widens to 7.3 Times
The top 20 percent income bracket made 6.19 million won per month, while the bottom 20 percent bracket earned 1.16 million won.

In the meantime, the national average household income jumped 7.3 percent to 2.88 million won per month in the third quarter from a year ago, thanks largely to rises in income earned by 6.5 percent and transfer income by 20 percent. The national average for per household expenditure expanded 6.8 percent to 2.33 million won per month in the third quarter of the year from a year earlier.
By Lee Hyo-sik, Korea Times (November 30, 2004)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200411/kt2004113015483410220.htm

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

The respondents were grouped into three different categories;
low income families earning less than 3 million won ($2,850) per month,
middle-class families earning between 3-5 million won per month and
high income families earning over 5 million won. Regardless of monthly income, over 90 percent of respondents agreed that the income gap is serious.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200502/kt2005021617270310440.htm

And, remember that many Korean women do not work after marriage or after having a baby.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

All these high figures being banded about...I'm on 2.1 a month. If you belive what people write on these threads, everyone else is on 7 million... yeah, right..

hellofaniceguy · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: On your computer screen!

A foreign teacher SHOULD be paid more than the KT's for teaching English. For the obvious reasons. If the KT was back home teaching korean...they too would be paid more then the non native speaking korean.
But still..it's the fault of KT's for working for peanuts! Why they like to be used and abused?
Hakwon owners don't care about FT's...it's a necessary evil. No Ft's...no students. Most hakwons don't want FT's..but...business is business. KT's should ALL QUIT hakwons...the school owners would have no choice but to up the wages for them. Get a life KT's! Be leaders instead of followers!
Gesh...koreans are always protesting over some B.S....protest over wages and make it stick!