Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ABC KID]

A lot of places in Korea are not for turning when it comes to increases in vacation time. However, how responsive are they to giving more vacation time if the foreign teacher offers to take it unpaid? Has anyone tried?

I'll be interested to hear all experiences regardless of it being public school, academy, university or others.

I'm most interested in public schools though. Do you think, as a probable one-off, I'd have much chance of getting a week or so out of them (unpaid) during term time?

They seem to like me and I like them but they do seem to read everything by the script, with no freebies and a full vacation camp schedule strictly adhered to etc. It would be during my second contract at the school if I was to ask them.

What do you think?

[littlelisa]

Unpaid should be no problem. I got extra unpaid vacation days from my school. You never know until you ask.

[VanIslander]

after my first year here i said to my hagwon director that i wanted to re-sign as they'd ask me to but i had one condition: i needed two months off inbetween contracts to travel overseas, and got it

after my second year here i said i'd resign if i could have 5 weeks off inbetween contracts, and got it

most hagwon teachers thinking of re-signing have some leverage: negotiate vacation time... and if you don't get it and really need it, then don't re-sign and take as long a vacation as you want before starting a new contract at another hagwon... a flexibility less apparent with public school positions and universities because they start and stop at set times and have bureaucratic, administrative rules and indifference to deal with.

[Otherside]

VanIslander,
What are the chances of re-negotiating your contract vacation (renewal of course) from the standard 10 days, to something a little more generous.