Korean Job Discussion Forums

[popper1976]

I have been talking to the teacher coordinator at Mun Hwa school in Gwang Ju City. Any info about the school or city would be appreciated.

[OiGirl]

Did you take the job?

[Anda]

The Mun Hwa school in Gwang Ju is run on Christian lines. A number of their teachers attend the nearby church. Classes are large as student costs are low(about 35 students per class). Students are pre-tested and many are turned away as being unsuitable students. They used to have a long waiting list waiting to get in. I think they have about 800 students from memory. They are strict about not having private paying students outside of the school. They keep their teachers as a rule.

[discostar23]

gwangju rocks

i am going to move back to this city next year

[wylde]

no smoking in the building anywhere (if that matters)

i dont know exactly but i think the classes are really close together... like class - 5 minute break - class - 5 minute break etc... and 20 minutes for dinner.

it is a short working day but i would say it will be tiring.

i went for a position there last year but i was also offered another position in a high school at the same time... guess which 1 i took..

it seems like it is a good school.. maybe a little more strict than others but the staff all seemed really nice.

[tokki]

[Anda]

Um, I'm not in Korea Dear!

[tokki]

[Jane99]

MunHwa does not actually run on Christian lines. It's true that a number of the teachers in the past have attended the nearby church, but it's one of the few churches in Gwangju that conduct their services in English. Also, a lot of the teachers attended the church to meet other people.

As for the class sizes, there are usually 21 students or less per class. Students are tested prior to being accepted into the school and some students are turned away.

There is a Korean teaching staff and the foreign teaching staff. The lessons taught by the Koreans (English grammer taught in Korean) and the lessons taught by the foreigners do not compliment each other. Classes alternate between the Korean staff and the foreign staff (one week with the Korean teacher and the next week with the foreign teacher). Also, it is the Korean teachers who evaluate the students progress. Foreign teachers are not required to write report cards. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this. Although foreign teachers do not have to write report cards, students (particularly older students) do not take the foreign teachers lessons seriously.

The director of the school is fair and he pays his staff on time at the end of the month. There is no need to worry about this school becoming bankrupt or cheating you out of your wages. (This school has been running for about 10 years). However, the pay would be considered slightly below average. The school is ok, but relations between the staff members are sometimes rocky.