Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mike S.]

I saw an ad on the Korean job board for an "Edutainers" program. I'm a rock & roll singer, so I'm thinking that maybe this would be a good option for me.

Does anyone on this forum know anything about this?

Here's the link to the ad:

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/index.cgi?read=35091

[cruisemonkey]

Rock on dude! It looks great for a first job in K-land (except for the holidays).

What do you think of K-pop?

If you answer "Yes" to the following questions you should apply:

Will your mind be able to handle doing the same five or six songs eight hours a day, five days a week? Do you enjoy having runny-nosed, six-year-olds trying to stick their fingers in your rectum?

[air76]

I have never worked in one, but have heard mixed reviews about working in an English Village. The jobs generally have pretty good vacation time and are definitely easy, but they could get monotonous as you often end up doing the same lesson over and over and over again as your students change on a daily basis. I know that in our town the kids go to the English Village once every 2 months or something, so you've got a different school/grade in each day and then after 2 months the rotation is finished and you start again.

The salary for that job is higher because you would be living in Gangwon-do....which is the least populated province. Some people love it there (i.e. outdoor oriented folk) but in general the jobs pay more there in order to attract people to want to live there.

[Mike S.]

I can sing the same song over and over again for 8 hours at a stretch no problem (and nobody, nobody but me can!) The finger up my rectum part is the aspect that I wouldn't be able to tolerate. Is there any way to get out of that part of the job?

[cruisemonkey]

[Kimchieluver]

[air76]

[sojourner1]

Try to negotiate more than 8 days of paid leave. Only 8 days seems skimpy and stingy. EPIK Gangwondo is giving 35 paid leave days a year so the government English village could do better than that. If this GELC is really government operated, they shouldn't have a problem giving adequate time off, considering you will be working a lot and always busy much more so than you ever would be in regular public school. Don't expect any canceled classes or breaks like you get in public school. It sounds like busy work of at least 30 solid back to back classes per week and working weekends and holidays with a crapload of rehearsals for the performing they will put you up to. Also in public school, you have plenty of opportunity to sing and entertain as well while the English village probably will not just let you bring in your guitar to play to the kids like a PS will. In PS, you can choose how you teach, what you teach, and what songs and games you include, but not at English villages. I actually seen much more room for creativity in PS classes than I did teaching in English village, but English village is more structured with an established curriculum. I didn't teach at GELC, but the government has English village centers in many counties.

GELC is always advertising too so that's an indication the turn over is high.

[Xuanzang]

[PRagic]

In all seriousness, these are the only jobs in Korea for foreigner educators that rank lower than a kiddie hakwon. Avoid at all cost unless your tolerance for embarrassment is of superhuman proportions.

[Rob'sdad]

[Xuanzang]

[ChopChaeJoe]

a 3 month stint would be doable, but who would want to sing the same 3 songs all year long with 8 days of vacation???

[Mike S.]

Does anyone know how negotiable these "English Village" contracts are?
Sure, I'd rather sing than teach for a living, but couldn't I negotiate the contract to my needs, similar to a musician on a record label in the US. Or are the heads of Koreans so fully inserted into their own rectums that I don't stand any chance of negotiation in the first place?

[cruisemonkey]

Probably not negociable at all - it's government.