Korean Job Discussion Forums

[demonrocks]

I've had written into a contract that I must share a single bedroom apartment with an outgoing/incoming teacher at 2 periods during the year. When I questioned this, I've been told by the school it's commonplace in Korea. So does this happen at most hagwons?

[rowdie3]

No one I know has ever had to do this. When I first got here, my apartment was ready for me and then when I left that job and the new teacher arrived, they put me in a love motel for a week when we overlapped. Don't do it. It's weird.

[OBwannabe]

I worked at a hagwon that I'm sure most would rate 8.5 or 9 out of 10. They were generous, understanding and the director seemed to have a good understanding of the needs of the western staff. Yet he would penny pinch whenever there was a change over of foreign teachers. Most accepted that they would have to share their one room apartment for a couple nights with the incoming teacher. But if someone put up a fuss the school would put the new teacher up in a love motel near the school.
Considering how reasonably priced love motels are, and how much the owner loved to flaunt his money, I was really surprised at how they would try to cheap out and make us share apartments with complete strangers.

I assumed it was par for the course. But maybe not.

[luckylady]

make some kind of excuse - you snore and wouldn't want to keep them up, you sleepwalk, whatever, and say I'm sorry, no, that's just not fair to the other teacher

and no, it's not commonplace. who knows, the other teacher might have sticky fingers and if they are leaving the country, well....

[OBwannabe]

[demonrocks]

Thanks for the replies!

I get along with most people, so chances are it wouldn't be too bad. I'm just not sure I'm prepared to have the extra potential for something to go wrong, as it would be my first time teaching and first time in Korea.

Anyway, my gut instinct told me to leave this one alone for several reasons, so I've declined their offer now.

Back to the fish pond!

[PatrickGHBusan]

For future reference, if your contract states single accomodation then that is what you should be getting. If you overlap with the teacher who is leaving the school can do one of two things:

1- Put you up in a motel until he/she leaves

2- Put the other teacher up in a motel until he or she leaves Korea.

Both options are reasonable and will solve the issue and have been done before.

[northway]

It does happen, but usually because the teachers volunteer to host someone (and be hosted) to help out. You shouldn't be orced into it.

[ontheway]

It is very common that a new teacher will be moving in to the apartment being vacated by the previous teacher. It is also common to have some overlap time for training and orientation. It is not common, however, to have to share that apartment during the overlap period.

Usually one of the teachers will live in a cheap hotel during the overlap time. It probably makes the most sense that the new teacher will stay in the hotel while the departing teacher uses that time to pack up their stuff and, hopefully, clean up the apartment a bit.

[ajosshi]

Tell your boss to let the newb stay at his/her place.

[Troglodyte]

[Hokie21]

[northway]