Korean Job Discussion Forums

[apieross]

I feel I need to warn prospective teachers by stating what happened to me:
1. When my husband had EMERGENCY SURGERY, I was not allowed to leave the school in order to phone home (the phone at school could not phone to my country.)
2. I was expected to subsidise the multiple-school programme, as the fuel to such schools cost more than the allowance, and, being in a rural area, meant that I had to use the car.
3. No proper insurance for my being in an accident was available.
4. I had only one English TV channel, that would broadcast the same programme three times on a single weekend.
5. It is really difficult to get around.
6. The Korean money is really worth nothing, which means that the chance of making substantial savings are very, very low.

[Otherside]

1. I'm really sorry to hear that, some schools/people have no idea what compassion means. I hope your husband is ok.
2. Tough break. Was this a public school? Did you try and pursue this issue?
3....
4. You should've gotten cable, I don't have cable, but some of my friends do and they have 30+ english channels to choose from.
5. Maybe in rural areas, but that's the same in many place. In Seoul or other urban centres, public transport is pretty good.
6. Actually Korean money is worth something, about W935 to the dollar at the moment. It's also pretty easy to send it back home (exchange it), and starting salaries here are in the region of $2000 + benefits... so it is quite easy to save, depending on your goal of course.

[PRagic]

Hey, OP, hope your better half is getting better.

Translation for prospective teachers:

1) Only look for jobs in Seoul or Pusan

2) Research your job before you sign

[normalcyispasse]

[tob55]

I just wanted to make a few comments about the OPs post:

[PRagic]

normalcyispasse,

Lighten up, Francis. My comment was directed at newbies looking to come over for the first time. While the bulk of hakwons are crap, you stand a better chance of not getting bent over if you stick to bigger schools in the biggest cities.

Sure, if you want to live outside of the cities, then go for it. I will stick by my recommendation, however, as it would be better to get here, settle in and learn a bit, and then actually go an see where you'd be working. There are far too many fly-by-night mom and pop hakwons in the countryside.

[Don Calliente]

The Op's experience whilst bad is not the norm. My school and every one I've ever worked at would have no problems with me leaving to be with a loved one during such a time. I actually have had emergency leave written into all of my contracts.

Cable costs only 8,000 Won a month for nearly all the major channels!

I only work at one school.

Damn, I'm making half of what I was earning in the UK and saving almost double what I was saving in the UK. Perhaps that is enough to illustrate justhow much one can save here. I save around 1.2 million won a month.

The moral of this cautionary tale is - dont work for some obscure hakwan in the boonies, get a public school job or job at a largerhakwan with other foriegn employees who seem content (do your research.)

[PRagic]

And never stay at a hakwon for more than one year. Get here, get the lay of the land, and get out and about.

Yes, you can bank a lot here. The argument I get on the flipside from friends and family in the U.S. and Canada is that they, too, could save a lot if they lived in crap housing and didn't drive.

Still, for someone trying to get out of the rat race, or just to start out by banking and wiping out some loans, it's tough to beat Korea. Long term, I've found that you can achieve a good standard of living here, bank, and be happy. After 10 years or so, everything starts to equal out.

The one difference? My corporate buddies in the States, at 40, are just hitting full stride in their careers. I'm looking to semi-retire by 45. To each their own.

[Draz]

[apieross]

Hi everyone
thank you for your quick replies. just to make some points clear:
1. My husband was in our home country, and got bitten by a very poisonous spider, which is why he had emergency surgery. thanks for the concern; he recovered. I did resign, of course.
2. My apartment could not accommodate cable; the building next door could, but not the one I was in.
3. The school got me the car, but the allowance only reached to pay for 2/3 of the gas needed to travel to the schools. For about one month, it used to overheat - until they decided to have it repaired. I had to open the bonnet and fill up the water for almost every trip. In one of the classes, the co-teacher told the students all about it, making me out as a complainer because of this issue. All the children went "wah".
4. I was thinking about proper insurance should I be in a car accident, given that South Korea is so dangerous as far as driving is concerned.

In general, it was not a good experience. The only thing good about it is that the Koreans drove me to applying for a far better position in a country where they actually look after their foreigners.

[Intrepid]

This is one weird post.

[Roch]

[stillnotking]

[Netz]

[saw6436]

Waaaa