Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lemon84]

I had a rather distressing conversation with a hagwon director (not my current employer) this evening and would really appreciate some insights or opinions as to whether I have made a faux pas.

I am currently working in Korea and was seeking for a new hagwon position for March 2011. Last Tuesday I had a phone interview with a hagwon director after a recruiter rang and asked me if I would be interested in a position he had. After talking over the phone for about 30 minutes with the director, I agreed to drop by his hagwon to check out the place and discuss my contract details, including my pay. The director said he want to wait untill we meet face to face before we discuss my pay. After the phone interview, my recruiter sent me a sample contract for me to gloss over and it appeared to be a standard contract.

I was suppose to visit the hagwon tomorrow but I decided that I am not really happy with the location of the hagwon (it�s on the outer edge of Gyeonggido province and I wanted to be located closer to Seoul) and I sent an email earlier today to my recruiter informing him that I would like to turn down the offer. I also asked him to send my regrets to the hagwon director on my behalf as I was under the impression that the recruiters are the middle-man. And yes, I do admit that I was too much of a coward to ring the hagwon director myself to tell him that I didn�t want to sign the contract�

The director gave me a call earlier in the evening and chewed my ears off for breaking my promise (although I don�t quite understand what promise I am suppose to be breaking as I haven�t signed the contract or indicated that I would sign the contract�) and not informing him of my decision personally. He was rather upset and became verbally abusive over the phone.

So was I wrong to use the recruiter to inform the hagwon of my decision? Was I being rude? Should I have rang the director myself?

I really want to ring the director back tomorrow to talk to him about the things he has said to me earlier tonight. At the time, I was too shocked by what he has said to me, to say anything but 'I'm sorry.' ...... Although I doubt talking to him is going to make anything better...

[marsavalanche]

Most of the time I just tell my recruiter I'm not interested in the job.

Not once have they ever mentioned anything about me being the person that should do it, etiquette, etc.

I did call the person once to tell him I was not interested in, and he was chill about it.

In my experience it isn't that big of a deal. You're absolutely right in that recruiters act as the "middle man" for these situations. And telling the employers you're not interested is part of the job.

That guy was just a jerk, and it was a classless move by him to call you and chew you out. I would have told him to f off, since I didn't promise him anything.

[IncheonTOEFL]

This is typical hagwon director behavior; not just Korean hagwon owners but Canadian and other western owners as well. They seem to feel entitled to you after that ONE phone call. It's ridiculous.

You're lucky you didn't sign the contract. He's a control freak.

Move on until you get what you want.

You did nothing wrong.

[dyc]

Why couldn't you look up the school's location beforehand? Why wait a week before telling them last minute (via email no less) that you don't want the job?

[ttompatz]

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

The other posters have already said it.

If this guy is getting upset about this, he WILL be hell to work for... if he's dealing with new recruits then it's his responsibility to know how a Westerner would approach this situation...

[Troglodyte]

I would guess that there's more to the story that you know about. It's definitely not unheard of for recruiters to promise (in our sense of the word) school things that they aren't able to deliver. The school may have needed someone right away, the school may have paid something in advance to the recruiter. The recruiter may have said something bad about you when they gave the school the bad news.

You did nothing wrong. The recruiter and school should be outed for their behavior. The recruiter for not screening the schools (or for whatever was said behind your back) and the school for their nasty call. Neither of them are the kind of people that a teacher will would want to work with.


On a similar point, as has already been mentioned, often when Koreans use the word "promise", it's not used in the correct way. "I promised" often just means "I said that I would do it." or "I agreed with something." even if it's on the spur of the moment about something of no importance at all. It doesn't imply any great responsibility. For example.
John: Hey look. There's a guy selling hotdogs. Let's stop for a bite.
Mark: Great idea. I'm hungry too.
In Konglish, Mark promised to eat a hotdog.
At the bar:
John: Hey Mark. What are drinking? Hite or OB?
Mark: I'll have a Hite.
In Konglish, Mark promised to drink a Hite.