Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

I have been where you are now. I won�t go into the details. Details differ in each individual situation. They are not important in terms of what I�m going to say.

I decided to move on from hakwon hell to what I hoped was a better situation. I asked the new school to check the law and tell me how to do this legally. They talked to a lawyer and said to pack up on a Friday and fly out to Hong Kong on Saturday, enjoy my birthday and wait for the new E-2. I followed their advice.

I emptied my bank account and flew out. (It wasn�t all that full, what with sending money home.) I was set for a week in Hong Kong and then return to a good job. I thought.

Had a nice time in Hong Kong.

Late in the week I started getting antsy to hear from the new school. No call.

I called them. No answer. Next day called again. Got a Korean speaker. Called again. Finally got an English speaker who said, �Be patient. This is more difficult than we expected.�

I waited. Each day, my cash supply shrank.

Middle of the second week I called again and said I was nearing the end of my money supply. What should I do? They agreed to send money. This took 3 days or so. ALL of that money went to pay the hotel bill. I was down to drinking water for breakfast, lunch and supper. The hotel was threatening to have me arrested.

At the end of 17 days the new school called and said they were sorry but I could not have a new visa. The lawyer they had talked to was wrong. I could come back to Korea to pick up my things, but that I had to leave the country for the duration of my current visa. This was September. My visa didn�t expire until the next March.

I returned just before Chuseok, picked up my stuff and borrowed money from the new school to get as far as Taiwan. Got a job there (and hated it).

I returned here in April of the next year, when my E-2 had expired and found a terrific job. (W1.8 million for 3 hours a day. That was excellent pay in �95.)

I came back and started work. A couple of weeks later the boss called me in and said he�d received a visit from the �Korean CIA�. I think that was an exaggeration�I�m pretty sure it was just a security guy from Immi. He had asked my boss why they would want to hire a �bad guy�. I didn�t know what to say at first. Then I told him the story of the previous job.

A few days later they told me the institute had decided to �believe� me and that I could work. My new visa was issued. The fact that it was a government-funded institute was probably important.

A bit more than 4 years later I decided, for personal reasons, to move on. I got what looked like a decent gig in a private company in Hongdae. A few weeks after starting work, I was called in by the boss. Replay of previous scene with boss, with the added allegation of being an industrial spy. The �bad guy� note in my file had had a baby.

I had to call my boss in Taejon and ask him to come to Seoul to meet with the new boss and the Korean �CIA� guy to verify that I was not a bad guy or an industrial spy. Then the new boss had to get his grandfather, a former member of the National Assembly, to vouch for me. I did get the visa. I suspect that bribes were paid.

That job soon soured.

I moved on to a better job in Jinhae. A few weeks after I started I got called in to the boss�s office. Replay previous two scenes--this time with the addition of military security asking questions about me being a bad guy and an industrial spy...and the potential of me being a military spy.

I explained everything as well as I could. The boss said it didn�t look good.

During a break in class I happened to talk to one of the students who was a military security officer. He asked why I was looking so stressed that day. I told him. And I added, �I�m a freakin� ENGLISH teacher. I have no criminal past and I couldn�t be an industrial spy because I can�t speak Korean. I know nothing about military secrets and wouldn�t know one if it sat on my head.� He agreed and said he would call his superior. He did. My record in the Immigration files was expunged.

I haven�t had any trouble since.

The people that tell you that all you have to do is leave the country until your current visa expires are USUALLY right. However, they are under-informed of the possible consequences. Most hakwon bosses don�t or can�t put a note in your Immigration file. SOME of them can and do.

I was extremely lucky.

Will you be? Most likely you will not need to be lucky. Getting a new E-2 will just be a formality. But it is possible that there will be repercussions.

[Milwaukiedave]

YBS,

That's an interesting situation you've been through. Can I ask you one question? When does the movie come out? (just kidding)

Good point though about pulling a runner. You don't ever really know if someone is going to go to great lengths or not to tag your immigration file. A midnight run should be a last ditch option if things are so bad, that it is the only solution because you need to get out of this crappy contract/school/work conditions.

[ChuckECheese]

My question to the OP is that with all that BS in Korea, what made you decide to stay in Korea and teach?

If I were you, I would have told the Korean authorities to kiss my white ass good bye and never look back.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Col.Brandon]

I'd be tracking down my old boss and having a few words with him.

Or maybe find where he parks his car and give it some remodelling.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[John Henry]

Don't know bro, that seems really far fetched to me. Pulling a runner = military and industrial spy? Although, it could make sense in the parallel universe of Korea.]

I think we should not overlook something here though. You were still able to get visas and work. I guess if Mr. Kim really wanted to, he could run around telling people that you work for North Korea, Sony, whatever... But you still were able to get a job.

[flint]

[rawiri]

What a catalog of disasters. why you would stay is beyond me.

[bellum99]

Yup....the really amazing part is that you didn't go home. Is staying here that important?

[Sneaker]

That story is sobering.

I pulled a runner in 2003 because someone in my family died and I had to come back to settle the affairs. My hakwon said I couldn't go. So I went and didn't come back.

Now its 2006, and I found a school in a different city, went through the visa application process, and was granted a visa. I arrive in a week. What is alarming about the story is that Immi bothered him AFTER he got there, with a valid visa. I would have thought that if Immi had a problem, they'd have denied the visa in the first place.

So now I'm wondering if the Korean Gosudarstvennoj Bezopasnosti is going to cause trouble after I get there. Damn. I thought all my worries were over if I got the visa.

[kermo]

Thanks for posting that. You obviously have a knack for finding good jobs-- maybe you should be a consultant (or at least let us in on some of your tricks!)

[Kimchieluver]

I worked for the crappiest, most corrupt hogwan ever my first year. I was tempted on doing a runner when I could see my breath in the air because the director wouldn't fix the boiler.

My advice is this. Taking the Midnight Express should only be done after all other avenues have been exhausted. A lot of times you can secure another job with a different employer. I know several people that gave the hogwan owners enough time to find a replacement and had their new employers help with the airfare owed.

In short, don't do a runner because you think you can't escape. Try diplomacy first and other avenues.

[VanIslander]

[Homer]