Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sundance89]

I landed in Korea in late November (2012). I had a somewhat unpleasant start. The bus dropped me off somewhere downtown. It was bitter cold. The recruiter I met at the airport told me the director would pick me up at the bus station. The director was late about a half an hour. This other korean guy came with the director and they asked me questions non stop. They informed me the apartment was not ready and I had to stay in a hotel for a couple days. It ended up being three nights. I found out later from another foreigner that it was a sex hotel, although the vending machine of dildos on the third floor should have given that away immediately.

Three working days into my job (two days of training) I get hints of not being a good fit at the school.

"You play too many games". "You need to manage class time better" That part was actually true.

I develop an awkward working relationship with the other korean teacher. A guy who is the same age as me. But he seems like he has something to prove...Often he would go on more than one anti-foreigner rants.

"You Americans, don't you know how to save money. Don't people save money in America"? An awkward rant followed by a casual comment from the other foreign teacher about her fiances spending habits..

Other treasures include, "We have been having a lot of problems with foreigners lately".

What do you mean? I ask.

"Well, just a lot of crime and stuff has been happening, a lot of women getting pregnant and getting diseases. Murders to....I just don't think you will be a good fit here".

I was being told I was fired. I was two weeks into my job. Technically, it was my 10th actual working day. The previous week, this guy wrote up a laundry list of "improvements I needed to work on.

Some of these had changed from the first meeting. I need to be louder in class. Also, my classes now were not fun enough, I was scaring the kids (for being a male teaching kindergarten), someone complained I graded a journal wrong, I needed to be more physical (make goofy gestures) and make more jokes in class.

I was told nothing except contradictions. The criticism came daily, but getting fired was still a surprise. I also learned the guy who trained me also almost got fired as well. Now, I was in a sticky situation.

"The director said you have two weeks to find another job." Still, I have never spoken with the director except for the panicked minute I called him on his cell phone at the bus station when I arrived.

"Don't worry Stefan! We are coming. hold on".

For all intents and purposes, the director seemed like a nice guy. I don't think he was intentionally late. Other people did not have kind things to say.

"**** them, Mr. *** only drives the school bus around and picks up kids The secretary is also his mistress."

I was in an interesting position. My first weekend in Korea, I managed to meet a ton of foreigners. One of them had previously worked for the same school I was working at. The guy who trained me replaced this man. The Friday after I got fired which was two days earlier on Wednesday, I ran into him again at a local foreigner hang out. He was very interested in my position. He nearly leaped from the table after he asked my how I was doing.

"You got what? What did they tell you?

I wasn't funny enough. I made too many mistakes. They don't think I am a good fit at the school.

"That's bull shit".

Yeah it makes no sense, I said. I have only been here two weeks. Is that normal?

"I don't think they can do that...you are supposed to get a thirty day written notice"

It was comforting talking to this guy at least. Unfortunately, his thirty day notice never materialized. I could not find any definitive evidence in Korean law that they had to give me one. I even met someone else who knew way more about Korean law than me, but it never worked out.....

"Mr. *** has agreed that you can work two weeks and get paid for the month"

I guess thats better than having no time at all. I hit the job boards like a mad man and finding all kinds of information you would never want to find. Korea is the worst place to get fired.

The school owns your soul. Switching jobs is nearly impossible without a release letter to transfer the visa to a different school. I continue plugging along. The first few days at work after getting fired are incredibly awkward. Everyone in the office is acting really nice. Even more so than when I first arrived.

They must know I'm getting canned I thought. Even the korean teacher who was giving me problems was starting to act nicer to me. By now, I have had my patience tested with this guy. He called me lazy. He inferred that I was dumb and tried to convince me to go back home. I was still frustrated all my communication with the director had to go through this guy.

In a weird way, getting treated more nice than before felt good even it was fake. I still don't know.

Things kind of become like a weird haze for awhile. I'm having trouble accepting that I might have to go home. Things at work seem normal except for my situation. The kids are being more active in class. My mood changes from anger to confusion. I still cannot figure out why the school and I did not work out.

Eventually, week one post firing is nearing and end with no job offers. This time I have a meeting with the korean teacher and the recruiter. It seems really serious. They offer me an extra week to stay in korea to find a job and inform what they have been telling the recruiters and other schools all along. Up until this point, other hagwons and recruiters have been calling all week. The director has been telling them that I had a problem with my original recruiter. That the recruiter mislead me about the job which is why I am leaving the school. It explains why I have not been getting interviews. I had been telling the surface truth. I got fired because I'm not a good fit at the school.

I'm pissed yet relieved to know what exactly is going on. They told me I have to go back and tell the recruiters what happened.

"If they ask why the story has changed, just tell them what we told you. That you were mislead by the recruiter".

The director even gave me his cell phone number. In a weird twist, they are actually helping me. Saving face is important though. I guess they did not want to explain to the other schools why I am being fired so quickly. They don't really have a reason other than I did not fit their visions of what they wanted.

The next week, the director takes me to the immigration office to get my ARC. The korean teacher was supposed to come with to translate, but he was not there. This time the 24 year old korean girl who I share desks with comes instead. I was not thrilled about wasting the whole morning going to immigration. Its in a different town. However, the director drove us and I have no idea where it is so I consider myself lucky. The director was bragging about how he told a recruiter he had to fire me because the school was running out of money....

Immigration was awful. There was virtually no people, but it took forever. I'm throwing hail marrys that this korean girl came instead of the other guy. I would have been stuck for two hours sitting with someone I can't stand. Instead, this other korean teacher was way more fun to be around.

We leave immigration a lot later than planned. At this point, its way past lunch and we won't make it in time for class. The director won't let us stop for food. I wince as we fly by a McDonalds drive through. It's hard to believe Christmas was the previous day.

Despite being terribly hungry, my mood is high. I miss one of my classes and I have three different job offers waiting in my inbox. It was nice to have a choice again.

I'm actually having some fun at work. I'm not sure if the kids were better or its the fact that I don't have to be at this school for much longer. The director became fully cooperative in my efforts to get into a new school. I then notice that the Korean teacher I hated had not been into work for a week straight. I heard he got drunk on Christmas and was too hungover to come with us to the immigration office. Then I heard he had some kind of legal troubles...

By now its common knowledge that I am leaving. I'm actually excited for the first time. Co workers are swapping rumors about who my replacement is. Apparently, the school is having some problems finding someone. When the school tried to call their candidate back, his parents told the school he left for vacation.

Another candidate sent a group photo with his resume and did not specify which guy he was out of the 10 guys in the picture. I can't help but feel a little happy that the school is having so many problems. It must be why the director asked me to stay another month or so. Forget it.

[EZE]

That was a very entertaining read! I'm curious about the your co-worker's legal troubles now.

[Son Deureo!]

Congratulations on your new job, I'd be excited too if I was leaving that snake pit. It sounds like things can only get better from here.

[Mix1]

[earthquakez]

[dairyairy]

It sounds like hagwon life. Anything bad that happens is automatically your fault and anything good that happens couldn't be because of your work.

[tanklor1]

It's never good to walk into a job and be frowned upon. It just spoils the entire experience. Use this to live and learn and best luck with the next school; if you choose to stay as a teacher.

[joelove]

Sounds like you're better off not being stuck there for a year.