Korean Job Discussion Forums

[captain kirk]

Yesterday I more or less got one month's notice from the boss after working seven months on a ten month contract. So I'm writing this to initiate the thread 'WANTED; stories about you and your boss'.

My boss looks like a wet cat. He's very skinny with a face like a wrenched up lemon when he's irate. Or he has a placid Confucian mask which he wears simply standing around in his skinny body waiting for a wind to knock him over (luckily our school is indoors). I mean NO EXPRESSION, just totally looking. It's kind of impressive. He is, apparently, gentle and mild-mannered with his wife and spoilt daughter telling him what to do. 'Apparently' because that just makes him repressed as an angry viper, and self-righteous as a holy cow. When i first met him the whites of his eyes were red from stress; he looked like he'd been in a car wreck without the bruises/was experiencing a cerebral haemorage. I mean the whites of his eyes were RED.

Because the first foreign teacher he ever had was on the way out, and he had been looking for a replacement for a couple of weeks already. She was from Melboourne, very stuck-up and prissy/know-it-all-ish. I say this because during teacher training she said to me, 'if you have any brains at all'(you'll bla bla bla). She was under stress on the way out, but it came out of the blue like a freaky falling object, a plague of frogs. I've since heard, about Melbourne, that it's a cultural Mecca and there are a lot of extemely cultured loafers from there with liberal arts degrees. The boss let her go at seven months into a one year contract because she couldn't control the students and was reduced to teaching the board while they played behind her back like monkeys at a zoo. The boss said, 'look', and there it was on the tv class monitor. She also, said the boss, told some students that she 'isn't really qualified/trained to be a teacher', but is infact a liberal arts degree holder. And since then, said the boss, the students didn't respect her. The boss looked extremely stressed (red whites of eyes) and didn't want to talk about her then, or since. She was given short notice, not a full month. He mailed her money owed some months later, by then she was back in Melbourne. She didn't leave this little city once during seven months, except to go to a seaside yogwan during a three day weekend, an hour away. Very uptight. So i came upon the unspoken, fuming, repressed evidence of a huge turmoil/overhaul in progress; very Confucian.

Before she left I discovered she was getting 200,000 more than I was offered and already signed for, and for the same classload. So before the first payday I confronted the boss about this and he exploded. He said, 'I will make it so that you NEVER work in Korea!'. But he bumped up my pay to what the inexperienced teacher was getting and didn't talk to me for a week. However, this and that the visa turned out to be a ten month instead of a year as I signed for got me 'suspicious'. He didn't just look like a weasel! He said that immigration just delivered it that way, and besides, it could be 'easily extended'. So there i was in Fukuoka looking at a ten month visa like, 'huh?'. I know that he asked for this, but so what, if he's foxy like this from the start would he pay severance later? I don't care about severance, anyway. Check out EFL Law, anyway. If a school has less than four employees/teachers, the usual laws just don't apply, so beware.

The school is barely screeching along like a deadweight on skids without enough grease. That's why the boss looks like a prune on a stick. The books the foreign teacher was using were subsidiary to the korean teacher's show. Not only were the students getting overkill/overly simplistic material, it was inappropriate; no wonder the Melbourne teacher was teaching the wall. So after huffing and puffing with conviction the boss gave the foreign teacher's class its own books; New Parade. Did panthermodern's 'butts-in-seats factor' come into play in my favour? Up went enrollment, but then it dipped. Then it went up a little, then sagged. Then it went up! For five months the boss blew on it, hoping the graph would stabilize 'up there'. I shared his inexpressible frustration and disappointment and the whites of my eyes turned red overnight, so i stopped. Nice sentiment, though. The reason is, unless the next teacher is an incredibly gifted edutainer with an aura like a boddhsatva, there are too many hogwans on the street/in the trough. If i was the boss I'd sell the bus, the school (he was trying) and buy an old convertible and head for Las Vegas.

Then the trouble started. One night, after work, I was entering the monthly schedule in advance onto the computer. Hollered for the boss for help. The Korean female teacher, 25, had set it up. But the grid kept collapsing upon itself and not holding information. To my amazement, he stood there red-faced, fists clenched, shouting, 'do your job!'. It turned out that he himself didn't know how to do it, but couldn't admit that and lose face. Instead, he had to make me look/feel stupid. Finally, that became 'clear'. But before that he was going on about how I should be able to do this since it was part of my job, it's an international system (but the program is in hangul), etc. So there we are, both standing up at ten o'clock at night, twirling around like red-eyed, enraged dipsticks. This was at month four or so.

In the meantime I turned the kids around, and there was some fierce resistance. At first they were a united front of yahoos, in formation with key leaders. Then only the key leaders remained, identified and in the spotlight and only after a confrontation between titans did they relent and hand me the keys. Now we're cruising right along. Some of the key leaders eventually quit, moving on to raise heck at some other hagwon after a short recharge, like Rambo at the buddhist temple.

The thing about the boss, and working in Korea generally is that the boss never says anything good, but it comes down like an anvil when something's 'wrong'. Like when it's wrong it's just so wrong, apparently, lol. You've heard the one where the boss and the Korean teacher don't tell the foreign teacher the schedule. So i come back from wandering around Lotte Mart, etc., and voila, there's an irate bossman in the vicinity. Red-faced, fists clenched, spit dribbling from his chin; 'why did youmiss the class with hairball? did you forget?!'. All his frustration and disappointment condensed and refined to the purest essence, and with great subtlety presented at highest volume. Not long after that there was a problem with the air con out of which came a hideous smell. The boss walked in and said, 'I'm sorry, but it's your dirty socks'. So I stood up and told him the offensive odour was his responsibility.

I have to tell you here I love kids. About the best thing I like about this job is the job. I like kids. I like horsing around and kids are a spontaneous gas, a kick; they aren't dead and aren't about to be bored. They haven't learned to be dull. They are bright, entertaining little jokesters. And a running class is a reparte between comedians, teacher included.

About the only thing the boss has left going for him is being the despot. He let the previous teacher go at seven months on a 12. I go at month 8.5 on a ten month contract. I had to practically extract the info that I was being let go. It was when I offered to get another teacher later. And he said, 'I'm getting another teacher now!'. He wasn't going to tell me; it was going to be a surprise I'm sure. Because when I told him about one month notice by law, or in lieu of that one month's wages he simply smirked and slowly shook his head. But signed a paper as I asked outlining one month notice. On the paper he wrote this; 'with this teacher I have had much tribulation. Parents and children are scared in spite of his attempts to teach the students'. The facts, behind the megalomaniacal mutterings of a despot, are i was dealing with a bunch of yahoos who owned the farm for a few months until they got in line. And his 'tribulation' was that I refused to be pushed around (the next teacher will be a 'freshman', he says). His wife and daughter and the mothers tell him what to do. So I'm supposed to be his venting bag, and I refused to play that role/saw it coming and from the start dropped the approaching arrows mid-flight with a look (those are the superpowers I summoned to deal with this villain). Miserable folk in a tight little can, the management. Teacher too, BESIDES the kids/students. When i arrived the Korean teacher was, like me, working on squiggling free from his wrenching totalitarian little fish. And there was fierce talk where she flailed like a mongoose at the stern, but inwardly twitching/flinching, stance of the cobra. She has disengaged herself from a lot of extra, nonsensical 'responsbilities'.

[canuckistan]

My very married boss wanted to have an affair. I shut him down on the spot. He hated me after that. I can't believe someone actually married him. YUCK!

[mongrel]

My (now former) boss looked liked a bullfrog. He was a "church goer", but he also liked to dabble in insurance fraud, and he loves his booze. I wanted to leave after a month. It wasn't a hagwan, it was a 'send the teacher to a Korean school'. So, nice idea, but it's a bit difficult to teach 20-40 students without any resources, just me and the blackboard. Also the students were all the same age, but their English levels were obviously different. Gave him my 30 days notice, and he then immediately informed me that I was a terrible teacher, etc. Payed back everything, airfare etc., to get the release letter. He then refuses to go to immigration so that I can get a new job. Then, my new employer calls him to see what's going on. Of course he proceeds to tell them that I'm a *beep*. They then inform me that they don't want a *beep* working for them. 90% sure I'm leaving Korea. Tired of everything about this place.

[whatthefunk]

A recent picture of my boss...

[kateinkorea]

Okay...maybe I really need to vent...
Maybe I also need to know if I am in a bad situation or if this is really typical.

First the lies or the half truths.

I am told I will be close to Seoul, 40 minutes, as I have made contacts there.

I am in Dongducheon...actually outside of Dongducheon...which is about two hours from Seoul.

I was told I was a twenty minute walk and ten minute drive from my work place.

I walk it and it takes me 45 minutes....I am worried about winter once the weather forces me to pay transportation costs daily and the time.

I still don't have my E-2 visa and i have been here for six weeks.

I was told there was a curriculum and therefore no class prep time.

There are a ton of books here....figure out what to teach the kids. In some cases there is a book he insists I use for a particular class that is very inappropriate. If the students like te book they might work in it too fast so he likes hard ones that are way above their capabilities...
I am at my school for 49 hours per week and have hardly any time that I am not preparing for classes.

I told my boss that I had no training teaching...I am a biologist. He said he would have a curriculum and I would be told exactly what to do.

That training took all of 15 minutes before I "taught" my first class. My job is more like an entertainer, as I can't speak Korean and my children mostly can't understand English. I just need to keep them from being bored.

I was told there was another Korean teacher at the school and one more English teacher to be hired right after me.

I am the only teacher and a part time one has just been hired.

On the plus side....my classes are small. But....how the hell can you teach kids when you don't know the language and there is not any help from any Korean for discipline. The kids just refuse to listen. My boss is trying to increase the class sizes,a s this is a new school. I shudder to think.

My boss asked me if I would do an overtime shift...just two students. My overtime rate by the way is less than my hourly wage. I said yes... now there are five students and it is growing.

Okay now the other things that are not lies but dissapointments.

My apartment....
I thought it was nice at first even though it took me about 30 hours of cleaning it to feel okay. It is more spacious than I had expected but my boss has said now that he will be moving me t who knows what in a few months...something smaller i guess. But my initial impressions were that I liked my aprtment....
Mostly becuase I did not know that the area I live in is about the worst area in all of Korea according to a few. It is a prostitute haven. I am probably about the only coccasion person in the area that is not a prostitute. I get propositioned in Russian constantly. None of my neighbours speak any English or care to talk to me at all. this area is at the mouth of one of the military camps and is supposed to house the raunchiest of the night club acts. That is mostly what is in this area si night clubs.

I get almost no help in disciplining the kids who have a really bad attitude about listening to a foreigner woman. My new colleague seems to fair a lot better than I as he is much stronger in personality than I and yes a lot more charasmatic. I did not sign on to be a clown.

My boss has not helped me with any of the things that a person needs to settle in. I finally got a bank account when his wife, after a month of me being here was concerned I would not have a place to put my checque so she took me to the bank. I want a cell phone but have ahd a hard time trying to figure it out. I have noone to ask for help and these are things that I was told my boss should help with.

I am an older woman, 44, and have raised two kids. I have some experience with children and know how to handle them in most situations. I find it impossible when the kids in this situation know that they have more power than me. If they feel like throwing their book acorss the room and saying "no work" to make all the other kids laugh... I have no recourse, as my boss acts like he is scared of the children and evne more scared of losing their business.

So tell me if I am just whining here or should I bail :( on this job. does it get any better...does it get much worse??? I don't hav emy visa yet so this is the time to go if I am going to.

There si a lot more that i haven't said but I am really stressed about htis job.

Anybody know of any good jobs????

[The Den]

Hello Kate. If I were you since you do not even have your visa yet I would bail. From what you have said it is my opinion that it will not get any better. The discipline issue alone is reason enough to leave. Just my 2 cents. Did they pay your airfare? If you came to Pusan I could reccomend the recruiter who got me my job. Anyway in my opinion no job will be perfect. I do not think you can find a job with similar standards as back home. I guess that is why so many people come here for their year (or less) and head off someplace else. I have been where you are and I feel for you. Good luck!!

[Skarp]

Bail if you can.

With no visa you should be able to do this easily but get some advice from EFL-LAW first.

If they have taken passport or certificates to process your visa then it can be tricky but still the best bet to get out.

If you're not succeeding in class , then getting improvements in conditions will probably be quite difficult to achieve.


Teaching kids seems to throw up horror stories like this often. The main issue seems to be that you can't entertain them and I agree that is not really the role of a teacher. Some people find they can just switch off at work and play along with the boss, but if you feel that you want to actually achieve something at work you really need to be teaching adults. There are probably issues with this as well, but at least you have direct contact with the customers. With kids your customers are the parents and they deal with the director, not you.

Basically - kiddy hogwons seem like a no win situation for teachers like me.

I hope you can move on and find a better situation.


Skarp

[ulsanchris]

Kate sounds like you are at one of the many bad schools in korea. IF you bail and plan to get a new job or even stay at your current one i suggest you start reading some books on how to teach. they will help you a lot. it will help sovle a lot of your classroom problems. One book i suggest is TEaching Enlish to children in Asia by David Paul, longman Press.
unfortunately this won't help you with your boss much.

[Alias]

Never saw my boss. He just stayed in his office and counted his money. Never bothered the teachers so you could say that we had a happy relationship.

[Corporal]

Kateinkorea, hate to pull a Gord on you, but you're whining a bit.

Obviously, you shouldn't have to put up with lies about training, no curriculum, promises unkept re: hours, distances, apartment etc. That's BS.

However, that said, once you enter the classroom--as a mature, professional, competent individual--you should be able to put all that behind you and COMMAND the respect of your students. There will always be the exceptions that won't listen; but that's maybe 5 or 10% of your students. The rest, the second you walk in the door, should look at you and understand, this is not someone to be trifled with.

When I first walked into a classroom I was 22, two months out of university and had never done anything remotely related to teaching before in my life. Heck, I'd barely even babysat. I'm also female.

Know what? That didn't matter...because the second I saw some kids thinking this might be someone they were gonna try to push around, I nailed the little suckers. Within the first couple of weeks I became known as the "soldier teacher" that didn't put up with any BS. Were a few kids scared of me? Probably, even though I didn't have to resort to physical intimidation (much). So what if they're scared initially? It's all about image. Once you have established your image, you can lighten up a bit, relax, even smile occasionally.

You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Don't say you don't have a forceful personality. If you weren't prepared to think on your feet and do what you have to do to get the job done, you should never have gotten on the plane.

[Homer]

Good post Corporal,

It is indeed all about classroom attittude and showing the students where the line is.
You can however smile more often than not and still get the little ones to pay attention.
I find that to make my students laugh often is a great tool for keeping them interested and relaxed.

[BTM]

I love you captainkirk, you know, in a manly* kind of way.







*not gay**




**not that there's anything wrong with that.

[half_pint]

Okay, to make a long story somewhat shorter....

Three weeks ago I found out that my father is not well and he certainly won't be around once I am done my stint in Korea. I have one-week of emergency leave in my contract that is meant for a funeral but I arranged with my boss to take that leave, along with Chuseok and three unpaid days so I could go to Canada and visit for two weeks (I would rather have done this than used the time later for the funeral). My boss wasn't totally happy with this but he did agree to it. I even found someone to work for me when I was gone, the short term replacement obviously wasn't legal but I found someone and gave my boss the option, and he did use the replacement. I just got back to Korea tonight and learned from a foreign co-worker (and good friend) that the first day I wasn't at work my boss put up a notice, in Korean, explaining that I was not there because my father was dead. (I just saw him, he isn't dead yet, and my boss knew he wasn't dead...) When some students told my friend what the notice said she asked my boss to take it down. My boss told her that he needed an explaination for my absence and that someone in my family being sick wouldn't be a good enough reason to go home according to the parents. He also threw in something about death not being important in Korean culture, which a Korean friend has told me is flat out not true.
My boss did end up changing the notice so it just said that I have a family emergency, but not until at least half the kids that I teach had already seen it. Before I left I told my students that I was going home for two weeks to visit my family and that I would for sure be coming back, and they were all totally satisfied with that....I really didn't want to talk about details with my students at all, and now I get to go back to work tomorrow and face questions and comments about my father's supposed death from some students, and questions about what the family emergency is from others....

The thing I don't get at all is the logic - did he really think I would just go along with this explanation when I got back? Isn't it worse to confuse students and parents with different stories? I just got back tonight so I haven't talked to my boss yet but when I get to work tomorrow he is going to hear it from me....wish me luck.

[paul]

Hey Kate....get out of that school! I was faced with almost the same situation at my first school ( I was in Seoul for two years, three months with kids and the rest with adults.)

I am just not a kid person. I love kids, but I won't teach them. If you don't like what's going on, move on! Now that you are actually in Korea, you can have your choice of the jobs that are not advertised overseas, but that you have to be in Seoul to get the interview.

Depending on how long you have been here, getting your release is very easy: Put in your 30-day notice and start looking for greener pastures. You may have to pay for your flight (or part of it), but it's worth it!

When you find a job you like, tell the director of that school what happened. If he is worth his salt ( and there are good Korean directors), then he will ignore what your present boss says and hire you. Your present school with then release you from your contract.

Sometimes it's a little more complicated, but if the school and the area is as bad as you say, then get out. There's lots of happy teachers in Seoul because there's a lot of good schools in Korea. You'll just have to find one. I recommend YBM-Sisa in Chongno,. they are always hiring and work hard to get your release. Plus the director is British and the school manager speakes flawless English.

If not, then try some of the other franchise schools and ask the teachers what it's like. Try to choose a school with at least six to 10 teachers, then you'll have people to party with and hang out.

Good luck!

[dogbert]