Korean Job Discussion Forums

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

how long is a "teaching hour"? one "clock" hour or something else? if a class period is 45 minutes does that equal one "teaching hour" or 3/4 of a teaching hour?

boyne11 · Joined: 08 Jul 2007

It all depends on where you work.

If you're working at a crapwon, one teaching hour is 60 minutes.

If you're working at a decent hagwon, one teaching hour is one class (40, 45, or 50 minutes).

So before you sign your life away, raise this question to your boss and have it specified in your contract.

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

yes. it is nice to know that "teaching hour" has a different meaning here than in taiwan and china. what was understood to be 100 "clock" hours of teaching now is 130 clock hours. nice increase for them, but same pay for me.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

yes, i am going over my contract as i watch this thread. alot of ambiguity. kinda irritating me. if they are gonna try this parsing of words when i am fresh and new i fear what will tricks will occur in three weeks when the honeymoon is over.

garykasparov · Joined: 27 May 2007

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

100 teaching hours (as i understand, that is 130 45 minute class sessions) at 2.2 mil won per month. holidays/vacations only as per school calendar.

still in the love motel after 2+ weeks when a kitted out apartment was specifically noted in contract.

garykasparov · Joined: 27 May 2007

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

i was cutting him some slack on the love motel. as i haven't yet signed the contract he is rightfully reluctant to put down for a year long lease for someone he doesn't "own" yet. my inept university took three weeks to send out the transcripts, and such has slowed everything to a crawl.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

garykasparov · Joined: 27 May 2007

Otherside · Joined: 06 Sep 2007

Yup, I just felt the burn of the "how long is a teaching hour" today.
During the interview I asked how long it was, They said between 45 and 50minutes depending on the school (it's a chain...I thought that was a good thing).
Today it turns out a teaching hour is 60minutes, ie 1.33 45minute classes.
Checked my contract and it failed to specify the length of a teaching hour.

I'm a real noob, my inexperience as been shown up, and I'm of the belief that a promise made is a promise kept. That being said I'm learning pretty fast about the real world at the college of hard knocks: korea branch.

I;m currently weighing up my options, If anyone has some advice on what I can/should do, please pm me.

syun79 · Joined: 12 Feb 2007

From what I have heard (and in my own experience), the best place to work is a public school. You can work anywhere in Korea that you please (I'm currently in Seoul and I worked in Ilsan/Gyong-gi Province last year). It's a really good gig, they don't rip you off, you get 3 weeks paid vacation your first year, and (as I'm preggo) 3 months maternity leave--two of the months are paid! LOL. As it's a government job, you'll have the best opportunities. Also, you get all the paid holidays as well (some hagwons don't pay you for holidays or you still have to work them). Oh, and teaching at a school gives you the title of teacher, not instructor. Very big thing in Korea...