Korean Job Discussion Forums

shawner88 · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

In Korean culture it is really rude to ask for your pay, even if your boss "forgets" to pay you on time. I have heard that if you're Korean and ask for your pay, you can get fired. Foreigners (white collar)can get away with it of course. My boss has always paid me on time except for this month. My pay day was Monday. It's Tuesday and no sign of my pay. I hate having to ask for it. What do you do in this situation?

Corporal · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Go to your boss and say, "Where is my pay?"

He will either give it to you, tell you that he will give it to you later, or tell you that he can't afford to pay you this month and do you mind working for free?

kangnamdragon · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea

It is best to not ask directly. Instead of "where is my money" try: "I need to send some money home. Which day would I be able to do that?"

panthermodern · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: Taxronto

If your boss forgets to pay you, I suggest you forget to come to work the next day.

There is absolutely no excuse for a hakwon to "forget" payday.

"Forget"=Doesn't Give a Damn.

Does he forget to enroll students?
Does he forget to collect fees?
Does he forget anything that you don't do?

I forgot to pay you is the mother of all Korean lies.

How can you possibly forget ...

Damn I go this foreign guy working here .... and I have to ..... pay him ..... no that's crazy ...... yea he works for FREE!

What a deal!

Corporal · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

what's your boss like? Sometimes forgetful? Or always on top of things?

Be direct in either case. If he's the former, he'll probably smile and thank you for reminding him. If he's the latter, uh, I don't know, always got paid on time with that kind of boss.

dogbert · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Location: Killbox 90210

Just tell him you won't bow to him or anyone in his family until you're paid.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

I never had a problem actually asking for my money. getting it on time was more of a problem.
I generally found that any sensitive issues such as money were best dealt with sensitively one to one. However, the longer you have to wait for money, the more vocal I became about demanding it in front of all the other employees. this seemed to work well.
Its all about face.

ratslash · Joined: 08 May 2003

you don't get anything in life if you don't ask, so, therefore, show some assertiveness and not ask, DEMAND!

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

Happened to me once. I was very direct and said, where's my pay? I think you guys forgot about me. The director was embarassed and yup they were so busy with new enrollments they did forget about me!

prairieboy · Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Location: The batcave.

I agree , you have to ask and you have to be direct. You can do it without being rude, try "I was expecting to get paid on Monday and I really need to send money home. When will pay day be?"

As for not working, it's a day late, and if it's the first time then it's not worth the hassel later in your contract to force wong jang nim into this right away.

Cut him some slack this time but remember it for later reference. If it happens 3 times then you've basically got a pattern and you've got to break it.

Cheers

kangnamdragon · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea

Corporal · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Mosley · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Ask directly but politely, especially if it's the first time. The "I forgot ...." thing blows my mind. I've been paid late twice in 15 months. For the record, I work in the public system! After the second dereliction of duty on somebody's part, I asked veteran Korean teachers how often they'd been paid late. Blank stares! They couldn't grasp the concept. 'Nuff said?

Son Deureo! · Joined: 30 Apr 2003

I had this problem in August myself, and there's a thread about it here: http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=8122&highlight=late+pay.

On payday she told me she couldn't pay me and wasn't quite sure when she'd be able to. My reaction was that I got mad and said that if she didn't have my pay by the end of the next day, that I wouldn't be there the day after. She paid me the next day, but was pretty ticked and said that a Korean would never behave the way I did. She also took the opportunity to criticize my teaching.

At the time, I wasn't sure if I had overreacted or not. Since then, however, she has been late with the Korean teacher's pay every month by as much as a week and a half. She has never been late with my pay since then. *knocks on wood* I'm glad I nipped it in the bud when I did.

While perhaps a Korean wouldn't demand their pay, in the end they have far more protection from the Korean legal system than we do, so they don't have to be as aggressive. If Koreans leave because they haven't been paid, they don't have to worry about getting thrown out of the country, or finding an interpreter to go with them to the Labor Board, the courts not siding with them because they're foreigners, etc.

In other words, I don't think we can afford to always play by the same rules Koreans do.