Korean Job Discussion Forums

[navogel]

Preface: I searched the boards up and down so if this has been covered I apologize.

So I accepted my first esl job here in Korea at a hagwon after much research. I talked to the current teachers and they had only good things to say, they were paid on time, director was cool albeit a little stingy, etc. I realize now they were a bit clueless. They did tell me the director pressured them to get a cheaper private insurance, which they took, and it sucked. They said I should get the national ins. Well I got the same song and dance last week, but the truth is going to the doc is so cheap here and I rarely get sick... So that 15000/won (employer pays half) a month for emergency coverage is all I need. I would much rather skip the 60-70k won national ins coverage.

Well I got my first paycheck today and the only problem is that I am not getting pension. The previous teachers didn't even know about it, so it was never mentioned as an issue.

So the golden question is, can I get the pension without the national health insurance or do I have to have both? I do not want to pay 60k+/mo for ins I will never use! (plus back pay for the first month I was here)

I'm also getting a tax rate of 3.3 withheld which I thought we amazing until reading more on the boards. So maybe I'm an independent contractor, but then I don't understand why I have the option for national healthcare?

If anyone has some insight on tax it would be appreciated as well. I understand a lot of schools use the 3.3%. But is there a way to check your official current withholdings and make sure you get any extra money back at the end of the tax year?

Thanks!



Sent from an android phone, so please excuse typos and brevity.

[ontheway]

[navogel]

Well my contract definitely sounds like an employee. It refers to me as an instructor throughout, never a contractor, and ends with this:

The term of this contract is from September 2013 to September 2014. This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the employee and employer and supercedes all previous oral and written representations and understandings between the parties.

I believe I'm still able to get the national health insurance through my employer. And he has agreed to pay half. I just don't want to pay for the health insurance (even half) in order to get the pension... Especially since I will have to pay for past months that I haven't used it.

Sounds like I'm stuck though.

[navogel]

Well my contract definitely sounds like an employee. It refers to me as an instructor throughout, never a contractor, and ends with this:

The term of this contract is from September 2013 to September 2014. This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the employee and employer and supercedes all previous oral and written representations and understandings between the parties.

I believe I'm still able to get the national health insurance through my employer. And he has agreed to pay half. I just don't want to pay for the health insurance (even half) in order to get the pension... Especially since I will have to pay for past months that I haven't used it.

Sounds like I'm stuck though.

[Guajiro]

[wings]

If it's only your first paycheck, then you won't have much insurance to pay back, just 1 month. Do not be stupid and try to save money by not getting insurance. I haven't been in Korea for that long, but I have already seen 3 cases of people who were here without insurance and had something happen to them and then had to appeal to the expat community for help paying their bills.

You might "not get sick often" but teaching kids will probably change that, and have you seen how people drive here? Have you noticed how slippery some of the stairs and sidewalks here are when it rains? Accidents happen, and when they do you will see that it isn't really so cheap to go to the doctor here.

[wings]

Also, if something does happen to you and you end up owing a tonne of money to the hospital they will literally hold you there until you pay (with your bill getting bigger by the day). There's no way you can leave the country without paying.