Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Pojogae]

Okay, so I'm in this contract half-way through. It's a lousy job that I regret taking, but it could always be worse. Since the first month I have always been paid late, sometimes by as much as 3 weeks, and the place is clearly having some money problems. My boss even takes the batteries out of the air-con remote (it is outside my classroom) so I can't use it outside of class time. The worst was when she downsized the foreign staff from 2 to 1. She asked me if I would take on the extra classes for more money. I said yes. However, when the next pay cheque came along and I questioned why there was no additions to it, she had no recollection of the previous verbal agreement. Now a few hours a week overtime are unpaid, there's no health insurance, no pension (this doesn't bother me because my country has no agreement with Korea), and horrible kids. The atmosphere is also unfriendly: I am the only foreign teacher and am basically ignored unless they want me to do something for them, despite me not really having ever done anything to deserve this contempt. My boss clearly hates foreigners, which makes me wonder why so many Koreans who harbour this prejudice get into the hagwon business where they will inevitably have to deal with us. The only good thing is she is never peering in through the window or telling me how to run my classes. She just leaves me to get on with things.

Why did I take this job? Because it is in the middle of Seoul, and this is the only thing I took into consideration when accepting it. Well, I got what I wanted.

I've made it half-way, and am only in Korea now for that juicy final pay-out so I can go on a long holiday afterwards somewhere to recover, so I am willing to tough it out for the money.

Look, I am obviously teetering on the verge of doing a runner, which I don't really want to do. But the above signals suggest that severence is unlikely, right? I can't think of anything more depressing than making it all the way and then getting shafted at the end. She did pay out the previous teacher, but this was when things were financially healthier and maybe because that teacher re-signed. I thought I could threaten her with the labour board when the time comes, but do employers even really fear that? There is nothing to definitively suggest that she won't pay, but given the amount of lies I have been subjected to and the general state of the company I have serious doubts.

I'll probably make up my mind next week. Any suggestions you guys can give will be gratefully received. My heart says run, but my mind says stay.

[DaHu]

haha you're waiting for the final juicy pay out, but she's not paying pension, medical, making you work overtime for no pay, and constantly late with the bare minimum you earn each month?

here's a tip - there's no final juicy pay out

but you can't run, because pay is always so late, you'll leave 3 week's pay on the table.. THAT'S why you're paid late each month

[nukeday]

If you're not getting pension or health insurance, and your pay is up to a month late without your overtime, you can be quite sure you will not get your severance.

If you're able to do so financially, get out. You can get your documents together (you know how long it takes) and to find a new job after your visa expires.

As for the labor board...some people have fought and won and gotten their pay in the past. However, it's a long drawn out process and who knows if you'll even be in the country.

The pension office, though, is said to have some bite to their bark. You might be able to get past pension owed to you, so that will be something like the cost of a plane ticket.

[Pojogae]

Don't I know it. Here's another question: is losing 3 weeks pay worth restoring your sense of dignity?

[nukeday]

[CentralCali]

There's no such thing as a verbal agreement here. There may be in law; however, in practice it's non-existent. If you're going to do something for promised pay, get the promise in writing.

The Pension Office has the legal authority, which they use, to levy fines and collect payments. The Labor Board does not have that authority, sadly. If Korea were to change that oversight in the law establishing the Labor Board, there would be, IMHO, a lot less cases of abuse such as outlined in the OP.

Also, I'd be surprised if the OP's boss isn't planning on an 10th or 11th month firing and refusing to give either 30 days notice or 30 days pay.

[jamesd]

Is this for real?

[Zackback]

Get as much as you can as soon as you can and go!

[carleverson]

Grab the last paycheck they give you and leave that night.

[Pojogae]

I know I sound naive, but I have been here a while and have heard all the tricks before. Nonethless, it is amazing how you can find yourself stuck in this situation without realizing how deep you've got. The job starts off alright, a couple of pay cheques are a bit late, boss apologizes, you don't think too much about it. Then suddenly working hours change, pay gets later and later, your time until leaving draws closer and closer, and the amount you've got to lose by fleeing gets higher and higher. So your rational faculties short-circuit and you try to hope that this is all a bit of an illusion that will soon right itself, knowing in your heart you've really been punked.

Really, I just needed a bit of a slap in the face to sober up, so I appreciate these posts.

My biggest mistake was choosing a school without any other foreign teachers on the staff. Whatever my boss does, nobody in the school will support me or back me up; this gives her a bit of a free-reign in my opinion. And don't choose jobs just because of the location.

I did my homework and spoke to the former teacher who gave this school a thumbs-up. Searched the net. I always thought Korean horror stories were for other people, but they got me too.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida]

Run Like the Wind.

[shifty]

[koreatimes]

[Yaya]