Korean Job Discussion Forums

[danxtptrnrth]

I know there are many serious contract issues out there. I was just wondering what some people would consider quitting over?
My second year in Korea has just started. This time with a public school. The hours are OK. I'm not teaching a horrible class load.
The apartment they put my girlfriend and me in though is a dump. We were hired as a couple, but the apartment has two single beds that we have to push together. The drain for the washing machine is clogged and the school refuses to fix it. So we have no way to wash our clothes. When it was stipulated in the contract that we would have a washing machine, isn't it normally assumed that we will be able to use it without flooding our apartment?
We're getting ready to up and leave, but I'm not sure if this is worth leaving over? Any opinion is a good opinion.

[tigershark]

I'd tell them if they don't either 1) fix the drain or 2) get you a better apartment 3) give you your housing allowance and you'll find your own apartment then you're out of there.

[Ramen]

First, you try to work it out with your school, coordinator, and up the chain. If that doesn't work and your rights have been violated, you may quit any time you want.

I'll bet they'll react to fix your problems as soon as you two submit your resignation letters.

[Mr. Pink]

I quit over always getting paid late.

For me that is a deal breaker as my bills don't care about my employer's irresponsibility, they want their money on time.

[Son Deureo!]

I don't know how bad your "dump" of an apartment is, but IMHO the bed and washing machine issues are way too trivial to be quitting over. You should be able to solve both on your own.

You should be able to by your own queen sized bed, used, for W100,000-150,000 from a recycling center or online expat classifieds (such as here on Dave's or Korea Bridge). From the classifieds it might be as cheap as W50k, but you'd have to hire your own mover and truck for another W50k or so. Tell your school to haul away and store the beds you have or you will be disposing of them.

If you live in a modern officetel or apartment complex with a built-in washer, it's your maintenance office's job to help you fix it. Otherwise, a repair company should be able to fix it for you for less than W20k. Get a Korean friend or coworker to help you make arrangements.

[Senior]

Good grief. Buy some draino.

They held up their end of the bargain by supplying beds. If you don't like the beds, put them out on the street and go buy a new one.

If you make a fuss over trifles like this, you will soon find a whole mess of major annoyances at your job.

[danxtptrnrth]

Modern is not how I would describe this place. I'm in a small town and they stuck us a "two-bedroom" apartment that might, and I stress, might have been built in the last century.
The building is apparently owned by one of the local schools(not mine).
And I just found out that my school in particular has had 4 teachers in the last 2 years. They are apparently notoriously bad about handling foreigner complaints.

[Senior]

[broken76]

Yes, the conditions might be bad but the school really hasn't done anything that I would quit over as they have not broken the contract. As stated previously you can buy a new bed or just deal with the 2 singles. Tossing out the singles may not be an option since it is technically their property that you are using for a year.
As for the drain use draino, unclog it yourself or hire a plumber if the school is completely unwilling to help you. It is their responsibility to get you housing not to maintain it.
When I moved into my place I had the same issue with the washing room and just unclogged it, wasn't too big of a deal. Usually it just requires you to take off the cover and clean up the catch trap inside.

[Senior]

Oh yea. Make sure you ask the school before throwing out their property. They likely won't want the beds. What use does a school have for second hand beds?

I recently moved into a place that used to house a foreigner from another PS. His school just left all the furniture on the street (of which I picked out the best bits), and the city hauled it away. I didn't need the washing machine from my old place, and my co-teacher just told the delivery guys to take it away. They probably sold it for scrap and bought soju with the money.

Koreans really don't place value on second hand stuff. Even if it is still perfectly good.

[dirving]

[danxtptrnrth]

If I were, hypothetically speaking, in Boeun what information would you have for me? I can't PM you because I don't have enough posts yet.

[danxtptrnrth]

Not an issue that draino would fix. I'm not talking about a backed up kitchen sink here. I'm on the second floor of a two-story building. There is a hole where the wall meets the floor that drains into a pipe within the wall. It is connected to the sink in the kitchen. If I run water in my kitchen sink water comes out of this hole and floods the apartment. If I were to pour draino into it, I would end up with draino all over the floor.
A plumber has been here and said that the pipes need to be replaced.
I am in no financial position to pay for repairs of this magnitude. Nor should it be our responsibility.
The school has known about the problem since before we got here and has done nothing about it.

[AsiaESLbound]

I too have an issue like this. My washing machine drain hose goes into a large drain pipe that runs from the upper floors down with just a square hole knife cut into it to feed my washer drain hose into. When my neighbors above me do their laundry, their nasty drain water runs out into my veranda floor. Not just a little, but gallons. Luckily there's a floor drain and it's all water proofed. A man came and put green duct tap around it, but it still leaks like a sieve. And that puppy's gushing a gully right now as I type. Annoying.

I'm not going to quit over it, but I'm annoyed. I'm only more concerned with doing my job, getting along, trying to have a good time, and being appreciated for my efforts in doing a good job.

I would say a severe irreparable personality conflict with a co might be grounds to put in resignation if after 2 months you've earnestly tried to make it right, but with no positive results. Some people just simply don't like other people, can't be professional, and sometimes there's no stopping these sorts of problems. I know I want to be happy with job satisfaction and life's a bit too short for nonsense though we have to consider finances and obligations first.

Another reason to quit, is being abused at work by a co such as, "you are not good teacher," getting a series of nonsensical head games played on you, and being lied about when you are obviously doing a good job, the students love you, and they are learning. This scenario is where you co has a mental health issue, but will never be addressed or believed by anyone where the foreign teacher will probably be the one in the wrong regardless how wrong the co is.

Of course, a lack of pay and other unscrupulous financial matters is the most obvious reason to quit if no cooperation after making your best attempt to solve the problem.

[reactionary]

don't quit! collect your severance.