Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bry0000000]

I'm planning on quitting my job. How much notice should I give my boss? Is 1 month enough?

[8 years down]

Kind of depends on a lot of things. You staying in Korea? Getting a different teaching job? How much of your contract have you finished already? Did they screw you over and break their end of the contract?

If they screwed you and you want out of Korea never to return, then just go anytime.

Most places want a month or two notice. Some will even fly you home if you finished 6 months of the contract. Check your contract see what it says.

[bry0000000]

If she was breaking the contract, I'd be out right away. However, she's giving me a lot of extra work to do at home. Today, she wanted me to do something that will take up my entire evening, so I said I wouldn't do it.

Anyway, I worked for 4 full months. I would like another contract in Korea, but I don't know if she wants to write a letter of release or anything. Like I said, I'm pretty ticked at her and I'm sure she feel s the same.

[GTG09]

My contract wants 2 months notice. If I was in your position I would put in notice of resignation. After 6 months I don't have to reimburse airfare, so if you don't its another incentive. Work towards a letter of release from everything I've read it will be a lot easier in the future if you do get one since you want to continue working there.

[blackjack]

[elizabethbennet]

My husband and I were in a similar situation. We took a couples job in Pohang and it wasn't like they were breaking the contract, exactly, they were just overloading us with work not mentioned in the contract and then criticizing us on everything (and he is an experienced teacher who'd received nothing but praise from his previous school.)

We tried to work out our issues with the school, but they wouldn't budge and in fact tried to make us feel bad about not being good enough teachers/workers. So we gave notice. Our contract called for 2 months' work at 70% pay (not sure if that was legal) and we were willing to do it. That's how bad the situation was.

But instead they surprised (and terrified) us by giving us a week to leave our apartment saying they'd hired a new teacher the day after we quit.

It was pretty freaky for a while and we were told that we couldn't get a new job without a letter of release, even by some recruiters. THIS IS NOT TRUE. I had never held an E-2 visa before this job and had no letter of release, and I found a new job within a month and a half and that's after rejecting 3 or 4 other offers.

What you'll need to do is get a new background check. Go to any police station with a form printed out from the internet for your state's record check/fingerprints. Get the prints done (it was free for us) but make sure they are dark enough with regular ink. Our first batch failed, because the prints were a bit strange and were deemed "too light". Fed-Ex that to someone in the States who can get it processed and wait for its return. Get more transcripts if you need them.

Then get on the phone with recruiters. If they say you can't get a new job, they're misinformed and move on to the next recruiter. If you're looking in Busan I recommend Mary and James and Director Su at ESL Jobs? - not sure of the name of her business, but Director Su got me my new kick-ass job.

I strongly encourage you to find a better position, especially if you're an American female (apparently, we're in demand right now. That's the word on the street in Busan, at any rate). Make sure you have enough money to stay in a hostel or love motel for a month to two months and go for it!

You can leave the country to Japan, too and come back on a 90-day tourist visa. If you have money to burn, Fukuoka kicks some serious ass.

Anyway, hope that helps! Good luck!