Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lastat06513]

I have a question......
After all the headaches I see people having on this board, one of my questions is;
Why can't someone or a group of influencial teachers go to the Hogwon Association and lobby them to go to the National Assembly to have some of these policies repealed?

I think they would be the ones who would lose more if the number of teachers decrease because of these policies.
What most people here and elsewhere in Korea fail to grasp is that English education is a business, having nothing to do with serious education. I know these policies were put in place to weed out the fakers and the backpackers and provide Korea with quality education since it is the children's parents and other consumer groups that demand quality teachers to come to Korea.
But as the policies become more scrutinizing, it is scaring away alot of people who would be qualified to teach there.

Since private English education is one of the most profitable businesses in Korea, I feel that it is the Hogwon's Association and it's sister chapters nationwide who have the responsibility to keep the number of teachers steady and unhindered by policies that are not based on truth, but on distorted stories made up by the crappy media in Korea.

But why are they standing by as the number of teachers go down?

Thats a big question.....

[kat2]

[flint]

When I was screwed over by Ivy School the boss had just come back from a meeting of the Association and had all these new ideas for trying to gouge or control me. (Like holding back too much pay for phantom bills, and doing the old "sign this form saying you say any lies about my school" or else ploy.)

[Yesanman]

We're a little luckier in Yesan. The hakwon association goes for lunch once a month and the only thing they talk about is when to have holidays and how to avoid paying taxes. But, of course, it is run by the most disreputable hakwon owner in town.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[flint]

[PRagic]

You make two interesting...Ok...funny remarks...

1) That people fail to realize the hakwon business is merely a money making scheme. Come on. I'm with YataBoy on this one. You only have to be here a week to realize that this is indeed the case.

2) Influential teachers? What? Since when are there any influential teachers at institutes? Unless there are some of the foreing masses getting paid by the head and clearing 10 million a month like some of the big Korean shows, I doubt they or their input is considered influential at all.

Grotto knows the deal; the association is there to enhance the owners' positions and nail down profits.

Get in, get out, and stay out. The credo to live by if you do a hakwon.

[fredinkorea]

http://www.efl-law.com/employers-to-avoid.php

Introduction:

Korean school owners have Hagwon Associations across Korea. It is known that at their meetings they receive advice from their legal people on ways to 'bend,' 'manipulate,' and even 'break' some laws that would otherwise give foreigner's protection. As noted in the Deceptive Practices pages, this usually results in the following situations that unscrupulous school owners will devise:-

i) By wrongfully dismissing the foreign teacher, they know that Immigration will only grant a 10 day period to stay in Korea following the dismissal. This makes it very difficult for the foreign teacher to take any serious action: Thus problems relating to final pays, non payment of wages, wrongful deductions from the last pay, becomes exacerbated.

ii) By refusing to give a Letter of Release, the school directors are able to effectively hide their wrong doing by preventing the teacher from remaining in Korea and taking some form of legal action against the school owner.

iii) To list all schools that do this would run into the multiple hundreds.

iv) Identifying who these employers are only becomes possible once they implement the above, and that is usually at the final moments of a contract. By then the wronged teacher is leaving Korea, the victim of the hagwons/employers wrong doing. But it is hoped a Series of Bilingual documents available on www.efl-law.org will greatly help the wronged teacher fight back and thus 10 day time limits will no longer be a weapon in the hands of some Employers. Remember, if you are dismissed, you can ask Immigration for up to 4 weeks extra to stay in the country (but it is wise to show them a departure ticket) to qualify for that time extension.

http://www.hagwonchecklist.com/hagwons/index.php

HAGWONS Oedae Language Institute 08/10/06 1092
HAGWONS Oedae Language Institute 08/10/06 1092
HAGWONS EWHA English Language School 08/07/06 1088
HAGWONS Kids Club 08/06/06 1087
HAGWONS Kidari 08/06/06 1087
HAGWONS ChildU 08/06/06 1087
HAGWONS JaSan (Educational Center), 08/06/06 1087
HAGWONS JaSan (Educational Center), Kids Club, Kidari and/or ChildU 08/06/06 1087
HAGWONS JaSan (Educational Center), Kids Club, Kidari and/or ChildU 08/06/06 1087
HAGWONS J aSan and/or Kids Club 08/05/06 1087
HAGWONS KNC Hyun Jae Academy 08/03/06 1085
HAGWONS Hallym Institute of Advanced International Studies AIS 08/03/06 1085
HAGWONS Kids Club Namgu 08/03/06 1085
HAGWONS W English Academy 07/30/06 1081
HAGWONS Jasan Educational (English) Center 07/20/06 1070
HAGWONS Golden Bough 07/18/06 1068
HAGWONS Benjamin Language Institute (aka Benjamin Academy) 07/13/06 1064
HAGWONS L Bridge School 07/04/06 1054
HAGWONS Cambridge Language School 07/04/06 1054
HAGWONS GLOBAL LANGUAGE SCHOOL, GLOBAL EDU-CULTURE CENTER 07/02/06 1052
HAGWONS Sejong (Apgujeong, Seoul) 06/28/06 1049
HAGWONS SLP 06/12/06 1033
HAGWONS Swaton Language School 06/10/06 1031
HAGWONS GS Academy or GSE or Global Standard English 04/26/06 985
HAGWONS Kids Club 04/11/06 970
HAGWONS Dr. Oh's Wonderland 03/26/06 954
HAGWONS Kids Herald 03/26/06 954
HAGWONS EG Institute 03/08/06 936
HAGWONS Kyoung Sung Language Institute 03/02/06 930
HAGWONS Ebo Young Talking Club 03/01/06 930
HAGWONS Little America 02/27/06 927
HAGWONS Kid's College, Daejeon 02/25/06 925
HAGWONS ECC Foreign Language Institute 02/20/06 920
HAGWONS wonderland 02/17/06 917
HAGWONS herald 02/17/06 917
HAGWONS jung chul 02/17/06 917
HAGWONS BCM/JCE Language School 02/09/06 909
HAGWONS 21st Century English Bank/Academy 02/06/06 906
HAGWONS recas academy 02/01/06 901
HAGWONS Khan 01/21/06 890
HAGWONS REI American Language School 01/13/06 882
HAGWONS IU Engilsh Camp 01/12/06 882
HAGWONS Jung Chul English Junior 01/05/06 874
HAGWONS Ivy English School 12/22/05 860
HAGWONS LCI Kids Club 12/08/05 846
HAGWONS Branton School 12/07/05 846
HAGWONS Ding Ding Dang, Mansoodong 12/07/05 846
HAGWONS Reading Town 11/25/05 833
HAGWONS Oh Sung Sik 11/16/05 824
HAGWONS Hello Ewha / Ewha / W 11/06/05 814
HAGWONS BRYS Foreign Langauge Institute 11/05/05 813
HAGWONS ESL Academy 11/05/05 813
HAGWONS REI American Language Academy 11/05/05 813
HAGWONS Ansan SLP 11/02/05 811
HAGWONS WITHUS Institute 11/02/05 810
HAGWONS Prime English Academy 11/02/05 810
HAGWONS ETS Foreign Language Institute 11/02/05 810
HAGWONS Tutor English 11/02/05 810
HAGWONS Kims School 10/30/05 807
HAGWONS Jung Chul English Junior 10/22/05 800
HAGWONS LCI Kids Club Namchon School 10/20/05 797
HAGWONS Lighthouse Institute 10/20/05 797
HAGWONS Jung Chul 10/18/05 795
HAGWONS ChildU Academy 10/01/05 778
HAGWONS KJC Dongnae 09/28/05 775
HAGWONS Child-U 09/27/05 775
HAGWONS Dons WE english Academy 09/25/05 773
HAGWONS SBSikids English Drama School 09/25/05 772
HAGWONS Kids College, Daejeon 09/20/05 767
HAGWONS Swaton Language School for Kids 09/17/05 765
HAGWONS BUSAN FOREIGN SCHOOL 09/17/05 764
HAGWONS Little Campus 09/14/05 761
HAGWONS Todays English Club (Injae) 09/06/05 754
HAGWONS Kids Club Dognae Campus 09/05/05 752
HAGWONS KidU College of English 09/03/05 750
HAGWONS World Junior English 09/03/05 750
HAGWONS Yeongtong EOS Kids - also known as - Wingsly School - 08/30/05 746
HAGWONS LEL Academy 08/29/05 745
HAGWONS lego dacta 08/25/05 742
HAGWONS Jung Chul 08/23/05 740
HAGWONS Little America 08/23/05 740
HAGWONS REI 08/12/05 729
HAGWONS ECC Haeundae 08/10/05 726
HAGWONS Daechi Language School 08/07/05 723
HAGWONS YES ENGLISH 08/01/05 718
HAGWONS Crepia Junior English 08/01/05 717
HAGWONS Hello Ewha / W Language School 07/28/05 713
HAGWONS Jeil English School 07/27/05 713
HAGWONS Hanbit Yang-G 07/27/05 713
HAGWONS Wonderland School 07/27/05 713
HAGWONS ELP 07/18/05 703
HAGWONS Woongji Academy 07/16/05 701
HAGWONS Oh Sung Sik 07/13/05 699
HAGWONS Tutor English 07/10/05 696
HAGWONS Sejong Academy 07/07/05 692
HAGWONS Crepia Junior English 07/01/05 686

[lastat06513]

Well, the hogwon association is suppose to help the interests of the owners.

I know firsthand that the hogwon association DID assist in getting that stupid policy a few years back (where no one with a 3-year degree could get an E-2 at that time) repealed.
How? They threatened to withdraw their support, both financial and moral, to the candidates during the 2002 election.
Why? It cut into their profits because they couldn't hire the teachers they wanted.

I know people are aware that the institutes are open only for the money, which is why they come to Korea in the first place; make and save a large wad of cash for whatever reason that brings them to Korea.

But I know with all the immigration policies going on now, especially the transcript policy that changes with the direction of the wind, people are bound to leave and people are being turned off to the prospect of working in Korea.

How do I know the numbers are slipping? Remember I have ex-students who work for the ministry of justice who hold statistics of how many teachers hold E-2s.

[wylies99]

The Hogwon Association is aligned with the "dark side of the force." Evil-doers, yes they are.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[John Henry]

[wylies99]

Does the association have a website?

[lastat06513]

I'm not sure
But I know one of my employers had the magazine that was published by the association.

[wylies99]

KJC is in the Hogwan Association?