Korean Job Discussion Forums

[curtiscurtis]

Hey there I work in a hagwon in South Korea like many of you... The hours sorta suck but I didn't really mind that much until my director brought up a bunch of things that I'm doing wrong and also telling me I need to prepare for classes better. It really pissed me off but I want to know if I'm being a whiner in comparison to how other people are treated.

I work 9.5 40 minute classes 2 days a week and then 8.5 classes for the remaining 3 days... my work hours are 9:30 am - 6:30 pm

I felt i was prepared enough for class but on the 9.5 classes I don't have enough time to prepare. I'm thinking of giving the director a piece of my mind and saying if he wants to raise the quality of teaching then he's going to have to cut back on the amount of classes I teach!!! What yall think?

[Ilsanman]

Very reasonable. That's a lot of classes, unless you are being paid quite high.

[cheeseface]

Seems harsh to me, I'm teaching from 2.10 pm to 8.50pm, no lesson plans needed, no student reports, 2.725 million won a months housing included.

My Korean wife helped me get the contract sorted with the boss

[daemyann]

I echo the notion that you had better be getting paid well.
This is a peak season, but if your hours were the same before the winter holiday, you are getting the short end of the stick. (Provided you are being paid similarly to those who work 30hrs/week for the same amount of money)

Pay concerns aside, I recommend that you request more preparation time. Remind your director that preparation time still constitutes work, for which you should be paid. If you're not opposed to even more time at work, request paid overtime several times a week for class preparation.

Regardless of your decision, it's always a good idea to be upfront and honest. If you believe you're not being given enough time to prepare, say as much.

[cheeseface]

[curtiscurtis]

Yes I don't get paid that well at all... Seems kinda standard. Just 2.1 Million a month. Also the cut off is the end of the month however I don't get paid until the 10th of the following month which is quite annoying but I think he does it to prevent midnight runs...

Regardless... It's important to me because I'm debating getting a release letter and looking elsewhere because the workload is quite high. There is also tonnes of marking, report cards and other annoying extra stuff.

[Ilsanman]

I said the OP's idea to ask to cut his/her hours was reasonable.

But it's not 45 hours a week. He/she said a class is 40 minutes. But it's still a lot.

[yingwenlaoshi]

[Oreovictim]

You have every reason to complain; that's a lot of hours. With my last contract, I went in at 1:30, sat around for 30 minutes, then taught from 2:00 - 8:00, then I had to do phone conversations for 30 minutes. Aside from this horrible lecture class that I had on Fridays for three months, I had no prep time. It was nice.

I hate it when you see jobs online, and they say something like, "You're at the school from 8:00 - 7:00, but you only teach for seven hours." Screw that, even if I have free time, I'm still stuck at school.

Good luck with your situation.

[daemyann]

[cheeseface]

[ryouga013]

2.2mil a weird shifting schedule (housing included)

Two morning kindergarten classes (30min each) with no prep time other than getting the materials from the liaison. Lunch provided by the kindergarten and then work from 1:30-6:40 with 5minute breaks between the 40minute classes so i can gather the books from the other teachers etc, with only one teacher book for up to 4 different teachers it can be bothersome sometimes (not to mention only one cassette because the director chose not to splurge on CDs instead). So, counting the break time between classes and the kinder classes (that the director doesn't count), I am working on average 30.8hours
Except that when i was naive to these things I had agreed to do some extra work for the summer and winter... blah blah blah this month is 37hours each week, so 9:40-6:40.

Can't wait for next month and the month after's schedule... 1:30-6:40 only... about 24hrs/week...

[Biblethumper]

I could not imagine teaching without preparation: that would mean following the inappropriate curriculum and methods laid out by some Korean supervisor.

By preparing my own lessons I can give homework which is exactly suited to reinforce the lessons. I can make sure that points that need reviewing get reviewed.

I usually work from 8:30 in the morning till 8:00 in the evening every weekday. By then I am tired and ready for rest, so I leave the rest of my ideas for the next day. I always take the homework home to mark, since I can do it without much concentration while waiting for supper and listening to something on the internet.

Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work.

[curtiscurtis]

Thank you all for your replies. This is very valuable information. I'd like as many stories and opinions as possible. I forgot to mention that I get my housing paid for but I kinda thought that that was pretty standard.

I get a half hour break in the morning that i'm expected to prepare... but what pisses me off is that he thinks I should spend extra time before 9:30 or after 6:30 which he can basically shove up his ass... I'm gonna start looking around for better jobs... But I don't really know how. Any suggestions? I don't know any Korean and I've only been here 3 months.

Thanks! Keep them coming!

[curtiscurtis]

Bible thumber it sounds like your hours REALLY suck... 8:30 - 8:00 sounds terrible hahaha i hope YOU'RE getting paid really well!