Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jnellie23]

At 5:30am my eyes open. I rise carefully as I've been ordered wall side after my two year old fell off the bed twice. Bones creak and pop as I gingerly do gymnastics to get by the sleeping baby then over my wife's growing midsection. This second forming child the result of a lack of planning.

Next stop the shower. It requires perhaps five long steps to pass the kitchen and enter the bathroom. After finishing my shower, once again thankful for my wife's foresight to have the shower head placed high enough, I quickly dress and am out the door. I walk briskly to the bus stop.

I'm on the bus by 6:40. It's early enough and I'm deep enough into Bundang that acquiring a seat is no problem at all. I continue my daily social experiment by sitting closely by the window leaving an inviting seat next to me very available. I do not put my bag on the empty seat nor do I physically infringe on the vacant seat next to me but invariably, it is the last seat to be taken with some passengers choosing to stand rather than sit beside me. Regardless, the bus takes me to Samsung coex area.

After getting off the bus, I walk towards a large American company. My first student will show up at 8am. Ill teach three students of varying ability during 1 hour of time. The students are nice. They are alpha types, high achievers or perhaps just trying to survive under extreme competition. In all actuality they will work harder and many days longer than me for less salary; although, I'd argue that they have more stability and a better retirement package.

The hour flew by and I only got stood up once today. (There are days where all three students stand me up but I doesnt affect pay.) I run to the subway stop so I can meet my next student. This is a private. I met her while Korea was in its TESOL frenzy and I was employed to basically dispense certificates. The student is a bit older than me. She's salt of the earth but as she is obese, she lives at home. Her father is desperate to marry her off but even for a rich lawyer, her appearance virtually precludes her marriage in Korea. I work with her for two hours, Church translations of clandestine missionary work going on in China. I help her translate so that churches in the states can be kept uptodate of there spendings. She pays me her father's money telling a lie to her mother when she calls mid session that she's studying at Hakwon. Her parents are not Christian. Coffee and breakfast are on her. She refuses to even hear if me paying.

My next stop is the after-school program. I dread this part of the day. The sheer monotony damages my soul and has affected my relationship with my own daughter. Why do I do it? The Afterschool has short hours and relatively high pay. It also covers my national health insurance and pension. My Korean co-worker's classroom is across the school from me. There is no oversight. Easy peasy lemon squeezy but I can feel my IQ dropping.

The Afterschool program finishes at 5:25 leaving me 35 minutes to make my way back to the American I.T. company where my day started. I have classes from 6-8. The great thing is that today I only have two students who signed up therefore ill be done at 6:40. Some days there are no students signed up and some days the roster if full. Today ill get back home before 8. Ill be starving.

On my bus ride south, ill put in my order for dinner to my wife. I'm thinking spaghetti. When I get home the real battle begins. My wife wants me to read 5-7 books in English to my daughter. I should also bathe her and play with her. This isn't dissimilar to what I did at the Afterschool program. (Perhaps you can see why I mentioned earlier that the Afterschool job has affected my relationship with my daughter.) By 9 pm everything is done. It's tie to put the little one to sleep. Maybe now I can watch n episode of Dexter or the daily show before I fall asleep. But I have the pleasure of knowing I get to do it all over again tomorrow.

[Lucas]

[augustine]

Diary entry #246


Nah. That sounds so horrible. Out of the house from 6:30-8? I don't know why some people, who aren't serious financial professionals or lawyers etc. who make jumbo loot, work themselves to death like this. I'd murder myself with that schedule. I know you have a family to provide for, but that must be hard to keep up. Why not get some privates after work instead of that corporate gig? I have F-visa friends and acquaintances who do business mornings then after school jobs and privates after that. At least you can relax and be casual, in most cases. Hope your wife is paying you back for all that work, because that sounded pretty dreary.

[No_hite_pls]

Is it worth it? What are your goals / What will do with the money? Are you a Workaholic?

[jnellie23]

I honestly don't know if I should feel lucky or not. We purchased our apt. bought a new car (two years ago) and took out multiple types of insurance policies. I need all the work to make ends meet. And I make decent money. But you can feel the tone of my writing, I hate these long days...but my wife and child get to go to carribean bay and lotte world regularly and they want for nothing... Is it worth it? You tell me...

[Who's Your Daddy?]

I worked like that for about 1.5 years, and I started to have chest pains. I doubt you'll be able to do it for long. I was also starting to get snappy (or is it snippy?) with my wife and impatient with my son. Basically I was feeling depressed, working my self to death, and it seemed I'd probably end up divorced. Actually getting divorced was looking better than continuing that life.

So I reduced my work. Would you work that hard back home? When I first came here I didn't mind it, because I thought, well I"m saving for the future. But after a while you start to think; when's this future going to arrive where I can enjoy my life?

Before my son was born, I could work like a dog, and get a good rest at home. But now, like you, when you get home it's more work.

==
My family has decided to move to Canada. Part of it is my feeling burned out by teaching. Maybe if I hadn't worked so hard, I wouldn't hate it as much as I do now. Also the decision to go home is hopefully to have a career in which my pay will increase, so it won't be so much dependent on working long hours.

In Korea it seemed the way to get rich was to work more. Back home I think it depends more on experience.

Also my wife can make more money in Canada than here (surprisingly).

[cazzy3]

I agree with Who's your Daddy?.

My wife is doing the same thing. Trying to get me to work as much as possible, while she quits her job after 7 months for some petty reason. While I don't let it bother the relationship between my daughter and me, it is causing quite a strife with the wife.

While divorce is a last option, I don't think people should throw away years of their life just to appease society's norms, i.e. divorce in Korea.

I suggest coming clean with the wife and let her know that if you continue at the pace you're working, it's going to cause resentment and possibly serious problems in the future. If she's unwilling to compromise or see your side of the situation, you're probably better off.

Good luck.

[Weigookin74]

Most valuable thing to spend on your kids is time. I'd do maybe a kindergarden beginning at 10 AM, work an afterschool, and maybe a couple of days a week line up some private classes after that. If I got enough cash together, maybe I'd run my own English academy. I'd drop the adult classes gig man and just take some privates in the evening.

[atwood]

[Lucas]

[le-paul]

[Seoulman69]

[BackRow]

The worst, most miserable stories I have ever heard about teaching in Korea always involve guys who get married to a Korean here. Their lives just seem so joyless and awful, and their wives always unloving and selfish.

[Died By Bear]

[greene]

you are so ready to be the next "yankee nom" blogger, op

do it for the good of all and your life will not be so tragically mundane