Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fromtheuk]

I will leave Korea in the near future (waiting for confirmation of when I'll go).

I have worked here for over 2 years at a GEPIK public school.

What do I think about ESL in the public school system?

1) Open hostility and ridicule from 'fellow professionals'. The only reason being you're foreign.

2) At least you get paid, mostly on time.

3) The worst part is you start off in good spirits, then over a period of time the hostility of your co-teacher and Korean staff leads to indifference on your behalf. I never felt dread going into work, but the resentment and consistent bad mouthing of myself by my colleagues, in my presence, during the working day, does drain you and make you feel sick of the work environment.

4) At least they leave you alone most of the time, which gives you the opportunity to do something constructive, if you want.

5) During the first few months, I felt quite special, the 'honeymoon' period, students scream at you out of excitement. It was wonderful for the first few months.

6) Camps - I enjoyed them at my first school, because I could teach alone. No co-teacher = happiness.

7) The worst part is when your co-teacher openly bad mouthes you with the students and pretends to tell them off, when it's clear she doesn't care about you at all. Thankfully, disciplining various nasty students in opposition to what the awful co-teacher wants, builds character and self-esteem.

Nice to be able to pretend to work in the afternoon on full pay. I used to play space invaders quite often.

9) Not being required to socialize with work colleagues was fantastic.

10) I actually liked the Principal at my first school. Despite his shortcomings, he actually showed me some respect, some of the time.

In conclusion, working at a GEPIK public school is okay. For me, the biggest downside is the blatant hostility and rudeness of your colleagues. I eventually reached the stage where money was the main motivation.

I do care about the children, but with the heavy anti-foreigner sentiment among colleagues, working here is far from pleasurable.

I'd say my experience overall was a C+.

Korean teachers at work need to develop some manners. If they can't be positive, they should at least keep their distance. I don't think they can control themselves, they are so jealous and resentful, they just can't hide it, which is very sad.

To end on a high note, I've had many good moments here, it was nice to make a positive contribution toward the education of Korean children.

[Otherside]

I'm sure you've mentioned it elsewhere...but where are you off to?

Otherwise, as a fellow GEPIKer, I can say your experience is fairly accurate (although I haven't personally experienced such open dis-respect from my "colleagues....it's definitly there)

[fromtheuk]

I'm off to England first.

[Otherside]

[Cohiba]

All I can say about this is that I work on an E7 visa. I work in a factory
in senior management. At the slightest hint of racism, I will crack down
hard! I have worked at the same place for going on 12 years. You
working here, or an immigrant working in a western country will face
the same scenario. Don't stand for it.

An anecdote: A few years back I sent a memo to a Korean subordinate
about shipping costs. He chose to ignore it. The crap hit the fan and all
of the companies profits were eaten up in inflated costs. He blamed it on
me. I produced my memos and emails which detailed exactly what this
idiot should have done. He was, no joke, lying prostrate in front of the
presidents desk crying when the pres read my response.

I'm not sure if this pertains to you, but always keep records. Provable,
recorded records!

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Cohiba]

[iggyb]

I have no experience in the Korean public schools. I remember hearing about problems between Korean and expat staff in the hakwons, and I did see management at a couple of schools seem to encourage it, but my experience was largely positive with Korean non-management staff. They were often great sources for info about Korean society and what was going on at the school.

I know they did talk about the expat staff amongst themselves. There was some bitching about how much we got paid compared to them and lack of teaching standards. But, that is to be expected, and I never got the sense that most of them were being "two faced." I'd expect we'd have been saying the same things if the shoes were on the other feet.

I could also "endure" such things, because the Korean staff's position and options really did suck $%#. They had to put up, usually, with more BS from the bosses than even we did.

Anyway, in reading this comment, it made me think of one aspect of Korean society overall: if they believe you are part of one of their "circles" - they can be generous beyond what Americans would consider common sense.

If they consider you outside one of their "circles" - they can be very rude to fellow Koreans or anybody else.

This is an aspect of Korean society Korean adult students will acknowledge or explain to you if you have been teaching them for awhile...

[saw6436]

I'm pretty sure FTUK has been the cause of most (if not all) of FTUK's problems.

[lifeinkorea]

I have found that Koreans take criticism either in agreement or they laugh it off if it's not what they want to hear. The smarter ones pretend to act confused as to not show agreement. They know their job is on the line and cannot side with the foreign teacher.

In this case, I just pose the same kind of problem in a different context out of school. When I get an agreement, I then switch it to the school context which is really happening, and you can see the denial in their face. I then smile and go about my business. It's bit of a sucker punch when debating, but it's an effective way to communicate what you want.

[asmith]

[fromtheuk]

I don't feel bitter, but I'd like to be thorough in my critique. It's comments like saw's which are way off the mark. They cannot comprehend unwarranted rudeness and so they blame the foreigner. I suppose saw has been watching too much Korean tv.

I'm referring to Korean teachers, not Koreans. I have met some very helpful Koreans, they all seem to be outside of school too. It's a pity because we spend much of our time at work, for some this could lead to unfair assumptions that all Koreans are awful, which is clearly untrue.

I also think it is important for us to be very honest about what we think is negative about teaching in Korea. If we had some meaningful way to pass this onto those who employ native teachers, it may improve life here.

I think about rationality, rory calhoun, bundangbabo etc. There are countless examples of Korean teachers being awful. If this could be made public, the deluded arrogance some Koreans seem to have about how utterly fantastic they are, may lead to a more sober self-appraisal.

[Rory_Calhoun27]

True. I only really had one complaint about a teacher I worked with- the only problem was SHE was my coteacher....

I tried to work on compromise after compromise, but it was only after the **** hit the fan anything was done.

at the same time, some teachers were very kind to me- one gave me a tour of Seoul with her family, and another was just generally nice in school; we bonded after a new girl in his class started to cry in the hall and I comforted her.

My biggest gripe was with GEPIK's saying they would help but not really doing anything above a few phone calls. I wanted out of there so bad- I didnt think it was a good teaching exp. for kids to see, and certainly not for me.

[romano812]

If I was going to write a parting letter, you saved me the effort. Phrase for phrase, word for word, my GEPIK experience was identical.

[bassexpander]