Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Songtan33]

If you are thinking about coming to Korea and working in an afterschool program with this company http://www.asni.co.kr/ save yourself the hassle. If you hear the names

Antonio or (Tony) Yoon, Helen, or Mr. Park

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

I was making 2.3 and working from 1:10pm until 5:20pm
sounds great huh?

READ ON!!!

1) First off they are running the illegal bank scheme. For those who don't know what it is. The company asks you to open two bank accounts under your name. Now because it is illegal for them to deal directly with the schools they play the middle men and sponsor you. They will ask for your banking pin number so that they can get paid directly from the school into your bank account and avoid paying taxes. Leaving the poor teacher to fit the tax bill at the end of the year. They have been doing this for over two years with their teachers and no one has said a word.

2) When you arrive at your apartement you will be living in a box. Fridge not working and no gas in the stove. They will only begin the process of doing all these things when you arrive, making you chase them for everything, fridge, stove, utensils (which they did not provide). They have a driver and slave they ask to do everything for them named Mr. Park. He doesn't know english and asking him for anything is like knocking a dead horse. He will say he wants to learn english from you but doesn't know what a roll of toilet paper is.

3) Then we have Helen the accountant, she will call you and try to sniff you out to see if you are happy with your new living conditions. If she sees everything is ok she will proceed to give you orders and make you feel like if you don't listen to her you won't be getting a drawer to put your clothes in.

4) The we have Antonio, who claims to be the owner of the company. Antonio's job is to kiss the principle's ass and everyone's ass at the school who seems important. If you screw up in anyway he becomes your instant enemy and will start threatening to have you deported and have immigration officials come to your door as well as the police and will say anything in the world to make you think that if you don't comply with what he says it's all over in an instant.

http://leechoong.es.kr/

5) Then we have the kids, rotten, spoiled, little brats, that out of a class of 15 only 6 want to learn english. They will jump around, kick and punch and slap eachother, until you yell at them to stop. If you yell too much, the parents will complain that they don't like the "new foreign teacher" Now keep in mind that Antonio will only be nice to you as long as the parents are happy. So if the kids eat in class, make a mess, yell and scream at the top of their lungs, jump over chairs, hang out the windows, throw things in class, talk about you in Korean, and you get mad. The parents will say "you have no skills as a teacher" not because you can't control them but because the kids want to do whatever they want and you shouldn't stop them. They were animals, that needed a zoo-keeper not a teacher.

6) Then we have the parents, who will at the end of the first month watch your class. They will want to know their kids progress and want to know why my little "chung lee ho" hasn't learned English yet. So if you arrive in June and their "Lin wha song" doesn't know English at least by the end of July, that means you need to be replaced.

7) Then you have a head teacher at the school who will instead of working with you to improve the program, and act as a confidant, will report you, for anything that you do. Lateness, disagreements of any kind, not having materials, report you for asking for materials. Anything under the sun that does not agree with Korean standards, and then will laugh at your parents funeral because she can't control herself when there's a problem.

Then you have your Korean co-teacher who teaches the same kids for 40 minutes. The only one that will be nice to you, because ofcourse she doesn't pay you, and doesn't act like she owns you.

So basically what this company did to me:

1) First day of arrival I refused to live in their apartement. I had to stay in a hotel for a week.

(Bonnie-Helen Clyde-Antonio made me pay half.)

2) Mr. Park took him two weeks to get a fridge, took 1 week to get hot water and gas for my stove.

(I called him and had to bug him everyday until I got anything)

3) Helen starts threatening me that if I don't start listening I will be sorry.

(I told her to shove it)

4) No Utensils provided

( I had to spend 1 million won on pots, pans and new furniture because they took furniture off the street and tried to give it to me. Thinking I wouldn't know the difference)

5) Parents start complaining i'm being too strict.

(Jumping around like animals, not listening, talking and interupting CONSTANTLY and showing no respect for their teacher)

6) I talked to the school and they promise to make sure that the company, gets off my case, and that they will report the kids that I complained about to their parents.

(school does nothing, kids are getting even worse, even stealing candy from my co workers purse and who knows what they stole from me. Punching, kicking fighting, spitting, cursing, etc..still continues)

7) I give school notice...change my bank pin number, school deposits money into my account. Antonio calls me cursing that I changed the pin number. Make a long story short, there's 10 days left. They don't have another foreign teacher so they ask me to work, and that I will get my letter of release and 10 days pay.

I asked Antonio to give the letter of release to the school, instead. He disagrees, we have a huge arguement in the principles office, I walk out and tell him to kiss my ass i'm leaving the country. I didn't trust him and had reason not to. I went back and apologized to the school and Tony calls me saying he will give the letter of release to the school on Wednesday, and my pay will be given on the last day that I leave. I say NO thank you I want to get paid now, he says you can trust me I will pay you if you work. Even the school said the same thing.

Well what do you know guys, the school staff was not their to protect my interests on Thursday, so Clyde took advantage of the situation and Mr. Park showed up at my house, waking me up with no LOR and tells me Clyde is not paying me because I owe money in recruiter fees, I said oh really.

I kick his ass out of my house and sold all of their furniture and I left.
I had a great time selling their washing machine for 50,000 won, their fridge I sold for 25,000 won and I had a great time watching their furniture being hauled out of my house for next to peanuts. The apartement is in such bad shape their going to need a cleaning lady in there for a good 8 hours and the lights are still on


Cheers!

[shaunew]

I had a really bad job when I came here, sounds like the samething. But when I left I made lond distance calls home and left the phone connected to my parents house which they did not mind. I heard from a co- worker the phone bill for the month was 600,000 won. Plus I changed the locks to the apartment so the guy could not get in.

[desertdaisy]

Thank you for the info...

Hope all is well.

I have noticed that you were dealing with BONNIE and CLYDE....

[Songtan33]

Anyone know where I can blacklist this company?

[garykasparov]

I heard that Korean Immigration is letting public schools shut down their afterschool programs on their own.

[Songtan33]

They could have done that at anytime already, but the school likes to turn a blind eye to this stuff and still allows companies to commit fraud.

The schools are in on this as much as the company, but my principle said her only concern was for the parents and the welfare of the kids. When that was translated for me into English.

I had this image in my mind of my right hand doing a knuckle shuffle back and forth like a hacksaw.

[KYC]

Um...is it me or is it de ja va? Didn't you already make a thread about this? Or...did it magically disappear?

[wylies99]

Thanks for posting this warning for others, OP.

[Songtan33]

Anytime Wylies99

[Peter Jackson]

[Songtan33]

good thinking.

[nickeb505]

Sounds like BCM in Kundae. Owned By "President Choi" the only words he knows. Stay far away. They haven't engaged in the account fraud, but they do have a poor Korean American guy here who got suckered into coming by a cousin living here. He which has no contract like 3 bank accounts no health insurance and they can basically give him any schedule they want because they know he cant leave. Same thing with the apartment. It wasn't big enough to fit a drying rack in either of the 3 rooms. The first night I spent 2 hours flooring for the second floor or the livingroom. There were neither! Broken fridge for about 3 months. I had a Tv which was placed in the middle of the floor, 1 blanket, and hard childrens bed, no curtains, no tables, no desk.......... just a tv on the floor. Oh wait I had a fan though. A nice fan!! The owner, nor his slave, or his evil sidekick speak english. The translator, is not just a translator. He's a moving guy, a fridge repair man, and he mops the floors at the school. Though if you give him a few hundred won he lights up like a christmas tree and will do anything for you. His wife only let's him have 500 won a day for lunch, usually for bananas. The crazy director lady, won't speak english in a meeting, but knows how to scream when shes made in both languages is scary at best. She tells you to think of her like a mother. Some mother's eat their young. The owner actually forced me to go on his hiking trip with a broke ankle in a cast. Threats were made and they actually showed up to my house to escort me to the bus. Yet, they told me I needed to rest. No medical sick days. 2 day vacation days a year. Can't wait them come up next week!!!!!!!!! Make up classes on saturdays. I was promised 1 or 2 days off between each month, I haven't seen one in 8 months. The students are good. Mostly adults. I will say sticking a Korean child who thinks windows are also elephant balls, can be a little trying sometimes. Money money money money is the name of the game. Opening up a class for 1 student just to make an extra buck. Teaching 630am-12pm then back for 5pm-10pm is great!!!!!When a new teacher comes, the director may show up in your bedroom and try to take sheets off your bed for George the new guy. Strange!!! Cutting corners and horrible work hours. Don't do the spilt. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Just think other people should know about it. I was dumb and thought people were honest to me before I arrived. They were not. The social life is good, and I love the area. Still, teaching with tape players and books that still have pictures of the World Trade Centers, sometimes makes you feel like a shmuck. Does anyone else have a lot of cockroaches signing up in your schools? Sometimes they attend more than the Korean students do. Oh yea, teaching by candle light, when the owner is to cheap to fix the lights. Granted, learning how traditional Korean teachers taught in the 5th century is a great experience for me, but not so good for the first time students sitting in your class trying to read about present perfect. Why are Korean teachers allowed to pinch and abuse students? I have to be perfect and calm, if not the parents complain! Anyway, that's it. I think that's enough bitching. I love it though. I'm insane and havent felt worse in my life about my life. I still do it everyday and enjoy my time when and if I have any. I read many posts on here. I agree it's all about you. What you can handle. I've said many times,"if I were in my own country I would have quit in the first month." This about the experience? Right? The money is not that good, my apartment smells like fish vagina, I can't drink the water, I havent had a bag of cheetos in 8 months, my clothes are as stiff as 12 bottles of SoJu, and I've been sick in the hospital 3 times, 1 infection, and a broken ankle. But, having great sex with my super hot girlfriend that I could never get in the states... Priceless Well the culture isn't to bad either.

[Cheonmunka]

Nick, thank you for your irrerent 이야기
Shh. they might decide to remove your privaledges. .



I know most of that would be true. Hang it out, it does get better. I've been there and done that, too in similar sorts of ways.

[wylies99]

Nick- Just a little advice. Break your thoughts down into PARAGRAPHS to help your audience, okay?

[Songtan33]

I think Nick worked for the same afterschool program.