Korean Job Discussion Forums

wonkavite62 · Joined: 17 Dec 2007 Location: Jeollanamdo, South Korea.

Hi, I am from the U.K. I teach in Japan, and was considering going back to Korea, because I waas able to save much more money there. Here I have to pay so many bills and deposits, and life is complex. I worked in a Korean hagwon before, and results were mixed. However, teachers there said I would be far hap0ier in a public school. Things are more regular there. What are South Korean public schools like?

A friend said that you get plenty of holidays, because he is working in a public school now and he gets them.

But the agencies I looked at said 2 weeks per year, but I may well get more. What has been your experience of public schools?

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

Bibbitybop · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Location: Seoul

Read the current thread EPIK vs. GEPIK vs. SMOE (or something like that) and the stickies.

Zaria32 · Joined: 04 Dec 2007

many people say that public schools are better...I've only worked in hogwons, and I've been happy. I think the complaints from public school teachers, while different, are as frequent as those from hogwon teachers.

butlerian · Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Location: Korea

Vacations vary from area to area - even school-to-school. Generally, better vacations are available in the countryside.

BS.Dos. · Joined: 29 Mar 2007

They're good. Well, for me at least.

28-days contracted. 14-days of Korean national holidays, 10-days of over xmas plus a good chance off an additional week at the end of my contract if I resign not forgetting the assorted odd days here and there.

Boodleheimer · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:42 pm Post subject:

smwood · Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Location: Over Here.

Depends on the luck of the draw, what your negotiating skills are like and how easygoing your Korean liaison person is. I work on PS in the countryside: I get a LOT of paid vacations plus the stats. and the fairly frequent "oh no English class today" thing too. The holidays are great, frankly. Working in the countryside, however, licks. The kids are mostly great, but the downsides can be pretty tough (no restaurants, no movie houses, 1950's attitudes towards, well, everything etc.)

However, I have noticed a recent trend for 14 or 21 paid leave days creeping into job adverts. I think the game is up for the longer vacations in PS, at least as far as new contracts go. You can still do pretty well out in the rural areas because it's harder for them to attract teachers, so we get leverage in vacations and so on.

It helps to be upbeat and accommodating with your colleagues during the course of your time there. I have lucked out with my K. manager and we seem to have arrived at a pretty generous place in terms of my time off. In return I generally ~ not always ~ jump through their hoops when they want and play the tame chimpanzee.

It works out pretty well for everyone.

~ smw

nomad-ish · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:39 pm Post subject:

venus · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Location: Near Seoul

We only get 14 days paid vacation, but there is a lot of national holiday too.

Add to that a month of 9.30 - 12.30 in winter and summer for camps. Then March and whenever is the 1st month of summer term are easy as pie and no real teaching.

Also whilst we only get the 14 days, a lot of schools (it depends on the school) let us have time off during the winter and summer holidays instead of sitting at our desks doing nothing.

This addsa up to really about 9 months actual teaching time or less a year. No one seems to notice this....

Hakwan workers literally work about 11 and a half months a year in comparison....

I've worked both and for me the difference between hakkies an ps jobs is like being asked if you'd prefer the fillet mignon served by Sora Aoi in a red thong or a spam sandwich served by a naked 85 year old man.

renzobenzo1 · Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Location: Suji, Yongin

I was under the impression that summer and winter vacation time sitting at the desk just turned into charitable vacation time but it all seems a bit sketchy so I will soon find out if I am given the time off or not.
I dread the thought of just sitting at my desk surfing the internet bored out of my mind and being the only person at school who has to carry out this ritual.

christeacher · Joined: 17 Dec 2007

I teach at a high school, and since mid Nov, I have been teaching 12 or less classes per week. This week: 3 classes on Mon, 3 on Tue, Wed (Holiday), Th, just half of 1 class, today, all classes canceled. BTW, all my classes this week consisted of me showing movies.

PS for me, all the way.