Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Captain Courageous]

Myself and two friends (that makes three), all of whom are well-qualified (they have teaching certs and a year of experience, I have an MA and two years of experience) are lookin' to return to Korea (in Ilsan, specifically) this December. But, of course, there's a hitch.

We'd like to work together, obviously, but three instructors added to one school at one time is a bit of a longshot, wouldn't you say?

Obviously, there's a good chance we'd have to settle for separate schools in the same area. Oh, but there's a hitch. We'd like to get a key deposit/housing allowance, combine it, and rent a decent 2-3BR apartment instead of a few craphole apartments we can't turn around in.

Is it possible (or legal, or whatever) to combine key deposits from more than one institute? Sounds sketchy at best.

Any help would be appreciated, as would job leads at decent hagwons in the Ilsan area. As would any information at all, really.

[djsmnc]

Why not just start a hip hop group?

[cruisemonkey]

[T-dot]

Possibly? Yes
Easy? No

[Captain Courageous]

[lifeinkorea]

You should try to get a bigger apartment with 2 rooms with ONLY one of them if that is cheaper than a single (which I assume is, but you never know in Koreaville). Then, the other person (NOT YOU) finds a job after you and the first friend gets a school.

Then, that third person collects a housing allowance. Split it up 3 ways. If one of them bails on a school, they will have the option to get another place, but you should still have a place. If you let yourself be the third person, then what happens if they want to kick you out? The school may not want to find you an apartment 6 months into the contract.

Protect yourself first.

[Captain Courageous]

I'm not worried about them being jerks, welching on a contract, or screwing me or anyone else over.

[isthisreally]

Sounds complicated the schools would have to maybe both sign the contract to the apartment. Ask the schools about it. And we're assuming everyone starts their contract at the exact same time etc.

[tenchu77491]

[Captain Courageous]

I think you assume we have enough for a decent key deposit in the bank. I assure you we don't.

[tenchu77491]

[Captain Courageous]

Spent two years in Korea, and spent all my hard-earned cash paying back what it cost for me to get an education (department lost funding and axed a chunk of graduate assistantships, including mine). Still have a ways to go.

They did essentially the same thing.

[isthisreally]

Key money can range drastically. When I was looking at one rooms the standard requirement was 5,000,000-10,000,000 won. My Korean friend paid like 55,000,000 to get a 2 bedroom apartment rent free, but this is in a really cheap area. But basically the more you pay the less rent you pay. I also think, but am not sure that the higher the minimum requirement the better the place.

[tenchu77491]

From what I heard from my Korean girlfriend is that there are two kinds of deposits.

A deposit where you get the deposit back at the end of the year (2~8 million deposit)

Another type of deposit where you get the deposit plus all the rent you paid for the year returned. (20-80 million deposit)

The second type may be rent free as well? Or that added deposit money is the total rent for the year? I wasn't aware of that. I am by no means an expert about this so it's interesting.

[bassexpander]

Here I thought you were expected to share the same cup for pee tests....