Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BigJ]

To anyone who can help,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice about re-signing a contract. I am actually teaching with my g/f at the same school and we both want to re-sign with our Hakwon. Everything has been legitimate and above-board regarding pension, health care, overtime, pay, etc. That being said, there has been some of the typical Korean management nonsense, but overall we are very happy. It took a long time searching for a reliable employer who offered us what we wanted. So, some advice to those who are looking for employment, take your time, use a ton of recruiters, search on your own, and inform yourself about Korean Labor Law as much as possible. There are good jobs out there (even Hakwons), so don't settle for anything.

So what should we expect from re-signing with the same school for a year? Our school has made it clear that we will receive our severance at the end of this contract, and then of course again at the end of the next one. What we are hoping for is a raise in our salary. We would prefer to get a 200,000 won increase over our current salary, but perhaps that is asking too much. Nevertheless, I think given our performance, hard work, and dedication to the job, coupled with the fact that our manager was thrilled that we wanted to resign, we deserve the bump. I am also frustrated by the fact that the Korean won keeps falling respective to the Canadian dollar... Nevertheless, I would be more than happy to re-sign with a 100,000 won increase in pay. We are also hoping for a short vacation (maybe a week off) in between contracts, which will allow us to decompress a bit, and of course renew our visas. What kind of leverage do we have? Especially considering we are two teachers, rather than just one who might decide to leave at the same time.

Our school is a chain, with an HR department, headquarters, etc. So I was wondering who are we most likely negotiating with in this situation? The actual branch manager or the guys at the top? We don't really have anyone at our school who can advise us on this matter, so I am curious how it might play out.

Thank you for your time,

J

[Troglodyte]

How much is your current salary? If you were making an average salary, then a 200,000 Won bonus isn't unreasonable. It's quite common. 200,000 Won is often the difference between salary offered to a new teacher without experience, and one with experience (especially experience in Korea).

Regarding the severance pay, don't accept it now. It's not to your advantage. You have 2 options in your case. You could accept the severance at the end of the first contract. You'd get the equivalent of 1/12 of your salary up until that point (i.e. 1 month's salary extra). If you do that then you'd have to wait until the end of the next year to get a second severance pay. If you leave before the end of the next 12 month period, then you get nothing. The other option is to leave the severance pay until you decide to finish working at that school. In this case, you don't have to wait another 12 months to get severance for ALL the time that you've worked. So if you only work there for another 6 months, then you'll get 1/12 of your salary to date - i.e. 1/12 of 18 months = 1.5 month's salary extra. Basically leaving it until you're ready to leave means that you can get severance for the second year even if you don't work a whole 12 months.

BUT if you think that the school is doing bad financially, then take the money now. If that's the case though, you probably shouldn't be re-signing.


Another note, you should check your contract to see if it says something about re-signing. You might ask for return tickets to somewhere nearby in exchange for the school not giving your a return flight to your home country. Cheaper for them, convenient for you. Asking for a week off between contracts might be possible. It will depend on the school's schedule. As far as renewing a visa, you can do that very easily. It's a simple matter at immigration. Then again, it's also just as simple to transfer to another school at the end of this contract. Once you have an E2 visa, it's very easy at the end of the contract to extend at the same school, or transfer to another school. You won't need all the documents that you had to collect and submit originally. You just need your passport, ARC, a new contract and some forms filled out. If I recall, it's about 60,000 Won (which the school will most likely pay). No visa run necessary.

[BigJ]

Thank you so much for your response, and sorry I didn't get back to you until now. I am happy about the smooth transition from year to year with an E2 visa.

So I will update you a little bit on my current salary. Right now I am getting 2.3 million won, and my g/f is getting 2.2 million won. I realize that this is around average, maybe slightly above. As I said before I am hoping to get 2.5 million won, and for her to get 2.4 million won. I am a little concerned that this might be an unreasonable thing to ask our employer. I have a BA degree, an MA degree, a TESOL certificate, 1 year experience in Korea, and 1 year of prior teaching experience in North America. I know that the maximum salary at our school is 2.5 million won. So maybe I should receive this level of salary, maybe not. Perhaps it is reserved for those people who have a Bachelor of Education degree or MA in education. *shrugs*

Reasons I think we deserve it
- Qualifications
- Increased responsibilities at work
- All of the hard-work thus far
- Cooperative attitude
- Students know us and like us

Other Reasons:
- The KRW has seriously declined in value at least in relation to the Canadian dollar
- Finding two new teachers would be a hassle

Just today our manager gave us the contract to be re-signed, and on the new contracts it listed our salaries as 2.3 million (g/f) and 2.4 million myself. I must point out that we are relatively happy with everything so far at our school. I mean there is some BS related to mixed messages from employer about expectations relating to teaching a class. And it seems that we always seem to get new responsibilities and very little positive reinforcement. I am assuming from the things I have read that this is normal. We have worked tons of overtime (all of it paid) over the course of the year we have been here (could be seen as good or bad). On the other hand we do get NHIC, Pension, proper tax rate, proper couples accommodations, and we love the area we are in. So I am not really sure if it would be a make or break thing not to receive the desired salary and maybe it would hurt our relationship with the school if we demanded more. Any ideas here? Do employers ever consider increasing the rate of overtime work? (at 20,000 won right now)

I know some people will read this and tell me that I should look into university positions, and I have considered it. But, I have taught university students, but I am hoping to teach children in the future and I really enjoy it. There's also issues with housing and working together if we were to look at public schools. Nevertheless, I am open to any constructive suggestions.

Thank you again for your time.