Korean Job Discussion Forums

[vikesyear]

I'm a noob and have just submitted my resume/cover letter to a couple of recruiters. Can anybody offer any experiences with this Kid's Club? Or this island, near Busan? I'd prefer Busan, but am more concerned with a school's rep.-- I have an interview next week with the school.

I have read the unfavorable posts regarding Kid's Club/ LCI Kid's Club, etc. and want to know if school quality within a chain can vary a great deal.

I cannot find any helpful info about this particular one. I'll do all of the MUSTS: ask the necessary, countless questions during my interview and ask to speak with current teachers, etc....I'm just trying to get a leg up ahead of time. Thanks for any advice.

[harryh]

I worked there in 2003. The boss was honest enough. I've worked at worse places TBH.

The only problem I had was that a month before christmas I had to work long hours, without extra pay, to prepare the kindergarden kids for a christmas show.

I don't know how much the place has changed since then. Four years have passed.

[vikesyear]

Thanks. Any thoughts on the locale? Is Busan fairly accessible? Were you able to meet people okay?

[garykasparov]

OP,

Ask these questions to foreign teachers, not the employer, at the school. If possible speak to two or three current foreign teachers and one former employee. It is difficult to speak to them over the telephone. Their employers tend to listen to converstations. Communicate with them via e-mail. Your recruiter should provide you with contact e-mails with current teachers and one (1) former teacher. If your recruiter refuses, gives you attitude, makes excuses, farts in the wind, then seek the services of another recruiter.

Questions to ask foreign teachers

Duties
1. What do you do that is not clearly defined in your contract?

Schedule
2. What are your daily working hours?
3. How many classes do you teach per day and how long are they?
4. How many hours of preparation do you work?
5. How many students attend the school?
6. How long is your break?

Wages
7. Are you always paid on time?
8. Does your employer pay you overtime wages if you work more than eight ( 8 ) hours per day?
9 Does your employer provide you with a pay receipt that clearly states taxes, monthly salary and all deductions?
10. Are you paid in cash or does your employer deposit your wages into your bank account?

Housing
11. Was your apartment clean and everything in working order when you moved in?
12. Were you provided with all the furnishings stated in the contract when you moved into your apartment?

Paid Annual Leave
13. How and when do you take your paid vacation?

National Holidays
14. Does your employer require/force you to work on Korean National Holidays?

Paid Sick Leave
15. Have you used a day of paid sick leave? If so, did your employer require you to work another day to make up for the hours you didn't work due to illness?

Airfare
16. Does your employer provide teachers with airplane tickets upon completion of thier contracts?

Health Insurance
17. Has your employer provided you with a medical insurance card?
18. Does your employer deduct the correct amount from your monthly salary for health insurance contributions and pay the contribution to the National Health Insurance Corporation?

Korean National Pension Plan
19. Does your employer pay his/her contributions to the pension office?
20. Does your employer deduct the correct amount from your monthly salary for pension contribution(s) and pay them to the pension office?

Income Taxes
21. Does your employer deduct the correct amount from your monthly salary for income taxes and pay the deduction to the tax office?

( http://www.nta.go.kr/eng/default.html )

Severance Pay
22. Does your employer pay employees their severance pay at the end of their contracts?

Employees
23. What are the English speaking abilities of the Korean Teachers and your employer like?
24. How many foreign teachers and Korean Teachers work at the school?
25. Is there a high turnover rate amongst the foreign teachers and Korean Teachers?
26. Is the director abusive towards the students or staff?

Financial
27. Is the school in financial trouble?

[vikesyear]

garykasparov,

[kat2]

I'm pretty sure you are talking about Geoje Island. The way you spelled it sounds like more of a phonetic spelling, but Geoje is the official spelling. It's a beautiful place, with a lot of foreign engineers and their families living there. Busan is an hour away by ferry or about two hours by car (though they are buliding a bridge directly between geoje and busan that will cut this driving time down considerably, but im' not sure when it will be finished). Geoje itself is OK, but tehre won't be very many comforts of home. Busan is just a weekend trip away though. There are plenty of jobs in Busan if you are looking for something there. Try koreabridge.com/classifieds or kimnjoe.com (really good recruiters who mainly do busan jobs)

[VanIslander]

"Geoje"

type it into the search function on this page at Dave's: you'll see PLENTY of relevant threads: I'm tired of repeating the details