Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lekker]

Kid's Herald Cheolsan.

I worked there from January 2007 - March 2008. Was on a second contract from December 2007 to March 2008. I never missed one day. Never came in late. Never came in hung over. Never sat in class and drank soju and gatorade cocktails. This actually has happened in this school, boss found out, didn't do anything about it.

Owner will expect you to refer to him as WonJongNim. His name is Mr. Jo. His wife calls herself Princess. They own a school in Mokdong, Handong, and the main school is called Green Mile in Cheolsan.

I worked for this man for 15 months. I thought he was a good man and had a large amount of respect for him. For starters, he seems to have you covered. I walked into his school after a friend of mine who was there referred me to the school. I was told that food, housing, health insurance and pension would be covered. I was also given a cell phone for 25,000 won per month to be taken out of my pay.

Red flags came up at half mast when pay stubs stopped coming to me on pay day after the third month of employment, but simultaneously, I was given a 100,000 won per month raise, as well as a car, which I was expected to keep full of gas with my money, to drive to three different schools, sometimes twice in one day. Korean teacher would take the car out all the time, burning up gas that I paid for. School would NOT reimburse me for it.

Oh the car, yes, what an advantage to have. 1993 Hyundai Accent that almost cost me my life when the tire damn near exploded. Noticed the tread was completely worn off one day. Muffler fell off and it was also somehow my fault. I was expected to drive this piece of shit sometimes three times a day, from school to school, with no time in between. I was ALWAYS late getting back to school for afternoon classes. Whenever I asked for money to pay for gas, the response was "You drive the car outside of work, so you should pay for the gas." I had to claw tooth and nail to cover expenses on that fucking car.

Let's go over the schedule.

Split shift galore. Expect to be glued to the vicinity of the school from 10:30 am to around 8/8:30 pm. Split shifts are fun. Expect to be told you must stay in your apartment during your free time. Expect to be expected to OBEY their commands, but it's okay, because you'll be part of a happy family where everyone is happy.

Expect to be thrown into 20 minute classes with up to as many as fourteen students, this is great fun on test days when you have to test the speaking of all the students in such a short time. Expect the students to misbehave, and there is nothing you can do, because they are afraid that the parents will pull the kids out if you reprimand them. Expect to be expected to be happy about the whole thing as well. A big happy fucking family.

Mr. Jo, I mean WonJongNim, runs off to Canada quite often. Never in Korea for more than three months at a time. Must be running away from something. Several times I have had to remind him to pay me. This can be fun since he hides in his office, or he hides behind the head teacher, who thinks he is the most intellectual person on the planet. Will not drop any names except he is from the Northern Midwestern United States and his name begins with A. This particular foreign "head teacher" feels obligated to intervene in every single situation that occurs in the school, as if he is some sort of "TRANSLATOR." He actually told me that he was there during a meeting between me and the boss as a "translator..."

Expect an unorganized mess. Resources for the teachers are shabby and falling apart. Books are missing, falling apart. No communication, sometimes the Korean teachers are a bit salty because Princess, the boss's wife, comes down on them with an iron fist, yet she is very pleasant to the foreign staff, behind the makeup and smile she is not so friendly. This bitch tried to tell me during a meeting with her husband that part of my salary consisted of "SPECIAL MONEY," and that it didn't count, even though it was on the contract. Special Money... Special Money... Special Money... I should write a book about Special Money from Korea...

Since we're on the topic of money, let's talk about pay. Pay. Oh fun. Pay.

Don't expect to be given statements with itemized deductions, or any information regarding your pay when you are paid... Make sure your contract states clearly information on health insurance and pension as well or else you will have no leg to stand on if you want to proceed with any legal matter... Mr. Jo, I mean WonJongNim, will not give you statements. He will throw at you an array of things like "I pay for your health insurance, I pay for your food, your cell phone, your bills, your pension, your airfare. I am good boss.

He did NOT pay for my airfare to Korea, yet he claims he did. He was NOT paying my health insurance, but he claims he was. I found this out when I went to the hospital for a head injury and the hospital refused to see me because of a "problem in their system." He was NOT paying my pension accurately. I found this out through the National Pension Service when I went there to inquire how much money I had in my account and they told me he had reported to the government that I was making significantly less per month than I actually do, yet he was taking out my full pension contribution. NPS GAVE ME A PRINT OUT WHICH I TOOK TO THE BOSS.

He became extremely irate with me. He began to throw at me "I give you X,Y, and Z, I am good WonJongNim..." He was screaming at me, yelling at me, throwing a tantrum. I said maybe it would be best for me to leave the room and he exploded. He yelled at me in front of the director that I was fired, that I had 10 minutes to get out of his school, out of his apartment, or he would have the police come and arrest me.

Okay, so the fact that you give me X,Y, and Z makes it legitimate for you to skim off my salary. But part of my salary consists of special money so it doesn't really count in the first place, therefore it's acceptable for you to pocket some of my money. Sure, go right ahead.

He came to my apartment and apologized. Princess comes on the phone and tells me that we are all happy. That everything is okay. He BEGGED me to stay. I told him no. I went back to the pension office, told them he fired me. They called the Labor Board. The government is dealing with it now.

---

I have watched this school go through some changes. I have watched 4 foreign teachers get canned throughout 2007 without any warning and I watched 6 Korean teachers go. One of them had a near emotional, possibly suicidal agonizing breakdown after slaving for the school for so long. Her departure was depressing and sad to watch. She left due to the fact that WonJongNim insulted her existence, and her entire family's existance all because she wasn't working to their expectations. This girl has been bending over backwards farther and farther for them until she lost it and had an emotional breakdown. I don't mean like a breakdown on a soap opera here in Korea, I mean like an agonizing I am going to kill myself kind of breakdown...

IF YOU SEE AN AD FOR THE "BEST TEACHING GIG IN KOREA..."

Keep this in mind... These people are not good people to work for. They will pretend that they are there to take care of you, to nurture you, to ensure you have a fulfilling experience here in Korea. They are full of shit. They are a front. I strongly urge people to stay away from this school. I gave 15 months of my life to these people and their business so that the boss could skim off my pay to live it up in Gangnam and enjoy trips to Vancouver, Canada on a regular basis. I put up with frustration beyond belief. I don't think anyone who is interested in an experience outside of their country should have to go through something like this. I was naive enough to feel that they indeed cared about me and the well being of their other employees and the work environment. They don't. Only thing they care about is money in their pockets and they will lie, cheat, and STEAL. Again, stay away. You have been warned.

Also, expect to fill janitorial duties on Friday evenings after a full day of work. This includes sweeping, mopping and trash disposal since they are too cheap to pay a professional cleaning service to do the job for them.

Vacation... Three days in the summer... One day in the Winter.

You have been warned. Don't be pabo like me and make the same mistake I did.

[garykasparov]

[DrunkenMaster]

I hope you didn't stop here, and that you got on a few other boards and blogs too with that story.