Korean Job Discussion Forums

DavidHagwon · Joined: 31 Oct 2008

Hey guys, I was offered a contract starting in January at Daejeon SLP and was just wondering if anyone has heard anything about this school? i haven't really heard anything about it good or bad by browsing these job posts. Any insight would be great!

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Donald Frost · Joined: 20 Oct 2008

DavidHagwon · Joined: 31 Oct 2008

Thanks to both of you guys, Appreciate the insight and honesty. Do you have any suggestions as to where else to work? The agency i am working with keeps giving me these SLP job openings and the feedback i hear about these schools is not very positive!

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

winterwawa · Joined: 06 May 2007

I worked for SLP in Daejeon when I first came to Korea in 1998. Not the worst experience of my life, but it ranks up there in the top ten. LCI Kids Club in Seoul is okay, but at any hagwon you will have both good and bad stuff happen. BUT SLP??? My advise, RUN.

jbpatlanta · Joined: 02 Jun 2007 Location: Daejeon

Look for a public school job. They have their problems too, but they seem to have less problems than hagwons do.

I have worked at both of them and prefer public school. Less work, same or better pay.

My 2 cents.

waynehead · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Location: Jongno

I worked for an SLP my first year in Korea, doing kindy. It wasn't unbearable, but I would never work for them again.

They did give me everything in my contract (pension, severance, medical) but they stiffed me with this deposit to cover my final bills and cleaning my apartment after I left. About 500,000 won as i remember. They swore up and down they'd transfer the money to me in a month or so minus what I owed, but of course I never saw it. This is pretty standard for a hagwon.

They're pretty much one of the templates for all of these bad hagwon stories you hear. If things are going well and students are happy, expect to be left alone and get curt nods from the boss. If a student or two cries to mommy or god forbid! drops out it's the end of the world and you might be up for review.

Work for them iff you really need the job AND you hear glowing reviews from a few of the other teachers there, something along the lines of "our boss is different, s/he cares about education, yadda yadda." Otherwise stay away. You can do better.

Adventurer · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

I would not work for an SLP. They don't have a good reputation in general.

DavidHagwon · Joined: 31 Oct 2008

thanks to all for the responses! i didn't receive a glowing response from my contact given so the search continues.. thanks again for the heads up!

wesharris · Joined: 10 Oct 2008

Be wary of some things. For they seek to take away your right to none slavery. Smile

--
Wes

BaldTeacher · Joined: 02 Feb 2010

For anybody who's looking into the school now, I worked at this school. It gets demonized quite a bit but to be honest, it was a fairly good experience.

It is an SLP and you will be working quite a bit. However, they are good with pay and they follow the contract. If you hold up your end of the contract, they will hold up theirs. If you don't- there will be trouble. While I was there a few people got fired and one person pulled a runner. However, the people who got fired were not pulling their weight and were causing problems and the girl who pulled the runner didn't really try to fit in, plus she was very homesick.

The group of teachers who are there now, both foreign and Korean are very nice people. All the foreigners live in the same neighborhood and although the apartments are small, the community is great. It's also close to some of the best areas to party in Daejeon. The foreign teachers are all young and they all like to have a good time, eat, drink, etc together.

Overall, it's a fair administration, your co-workers are good, the kids are cool and the neighborhood is a good spot. The curriculum is easy to get used to and your average day will be fairly pleasant.

The downsides- 80-90 minute classes, quite a bit of paperwork, cameras, apartments could be better.

It's a good SLP. If you accept a job here, you will probably enjoy your time in Korea. You will get stressed, you will have your gripes but overall, you'll have a good time. There are far worse hagwons out there, but there are also better.

wesharris · Joined: 10 Oct 2008

BaldTeacher · Joined: 02 Feb 2010

Well that's not too unbelievable either.

What's been happening?

Never said it was wonderful- it's good for being an SLP in my experience. That's not really saying anything. Most people got through it okay, but it definitely has downsides too, which I talked about. It's just my honest opinion- it will help other people to make a more informed choice. Basically what I was saying is- you will get paid on time and you will have good coworkers and a good location, but you'll be working 90 minute classes, there are cameras and your apartments aren't too great.

I kind of miss it sometimes which I guess is why I wrote the review. Again, there are far worse hagwons out there. There are ones that psychologically abuse you, withhold pay, fire you for no reason so that they don't have to pay severance or airfare, make you work saturdays for free, etc. There are also much better hagwons out there where a person works 2-7 for the same pay, take you out for dinner all the time, give you nice apartments, don't make you write reports or lesson plans, etc.