Korean Job Discussion Forums

hagwonnewbie · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Location: Asia

Well my visa expires tommorow. I need to get out of Korea or pay a fine. I have a new job lined up and I'm waiting for my blue form number. I'm planning to go to Osaka for a Visa run.

My boss wrote in an email that he would buy a round trip ticket to Japan for me, but today he said he wouldn't. He said if I didn't like it he could cancel the visa process and end our relationship. I didn't get angry or anything. I just said I was surprised because my last employer paid the cost and I expected him to do the same. RED FLAG!

I have a ticket home to the US that I need to use anyway. Mostly I'm sticking around for my severance from my previous employer. I should get that on Friday, but who the hell knows.

Anyway, I was just curious. Did you pay for your visa runs in the past? My boss said it was standard for employees to do this. I wonder if I should just bail because this visa issue is already sending up red flags.

What's your two cents?

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

hagwonnewbie · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Location: Asia

The job pays 2.8! That's what's keeping me here.

Kimchi Cha Cha · Joined: 15 May 2003 Location: was Suncheon, now Brisbane

Yeah, it's a big red flag. I faced a similar situation just two weeks back and refused to accept a job because my would-be employer wouldn't pay the Visa run to Japan after I returned to Korea having already postponed my ticket back to Korea and facing the option of returning to Korea and doing a Visa run or paying yet another ticket from Australia to Korea once my Visa was porcessed.

I noticed your location is South Jeollanam-do, do you live in Suncheon?

If you do, I possibly know your employer and if it's the same one I nearly ended up working for, don't do it it's not worth it!

Edit: If you getting paid 2.8, that changes the situation a tad. I'd probably be open to it since the salary's very attractive.

P.S. It's obviously not the same place I was thinking of, he wasn't willing to pay nearly that much! Laughing

nomad-ish · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:31 am Post subject:

hagwonnewbie · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Location: Asia

OK. I decided I would just keep my mouth shut with the boss. I guess his logic was that he would pay for one round trip ticket. It could be my round trip home at the end of the contract or the visa run. Other people said they got the visa run and a one way when they were staying in Korea like me. Maybe I'm a shmuck, but I think the high salary will make up for the 300 bucks I drop on a ticket to Japan.

enns · Joined: 02 May 2006

OP, be careful.
As was alluded to by another poster, the fact that he's not providing what 99% of other hagwons provide, should concern you. 2.8 is not great if the boss is going to *beep* you later on.

Just like ttompatz, I've never heard of a boss not paying for a visa run. Mine paid for my flight, hotel, visa, and food. Everything together came to about $700(cheap hotel is $100, visa is $80, food is very expensive). This was in addition to paying for my flight to Korea from Canada.

Good luck.