Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lazymaisey]

Has anyone ever heard of how good these schools are in Seoul? Such as treatment of foreign teachers, living conditions etc...? A friend of mine just got a job with one in Dajeon and she seems pretty happy with the conditions. My boyfriend and I would like to be in Seoul so any information on any of the ECC schools in that area would be much appreciated!

[own_king]

I started a poll about ECC and hopefully I'll get some responses about the school. This should be helpful.

A friend asked me about ECC a few months ago. This is what I wrote. I hope it's of use. I really enjoyed my time at ECC, but I know some who hated it. Good luck.

If you want a school with less hours (and less money) that's ECC which is an acronym for English Center for Children. This is a subsidiary of the YBM Corporation which is the biggest educational publishing firm in Korea (or maybe even Asia). The kids here are not as good as a school like Poly which is a returnee school. Their English level is much lower. But when I was at ECC, the kids were pleasant enough. The money is lower at about CDN $2200 a month. But when I taught there I only had to work from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM (pretty easy day). I know ECC sometimes had Saturday classes, but I think that's all changed with the new 5 day work week legislation enacted on January 1 of this year. Many Koreans still work Saturdays, but not big corporations like YBM anymore (I think). The school will pay your air ticket and may or may not pay your apartment, but they will find you one at a subsidized price. So you won't be left on your own, but you'll probably be living with another teacher which can be good or not depending on how compatible you are.

[prosodic]

I haven't worked for ECC, but I have worked for YBM, the parent company. My opinion is that a newbie could do a lot worse than YBM or ECC. If you're doing your jobhunt from overseas and making your decision on faith, it's the way to go if possible. Yes, the salary is a little bit lower, but you can feel confident that they will do everything in full compliance with Korean law. At least, this is true as long as it is one of the corporate owned schools and not one of the franchise schools. YBM is simply too large to get away with illegal practices for long.

As somebody who has gone through some difficult situations, I can tell you that peace of mind is worth a slightly lower salary. At some other schools, they promise a higher salary, but then maybe don't pay it or consistently pay a few weeks late. That won't happen at a YBM/ECC hagwon.

[ghostshadow]

I have some friends that worked at ECC and they tell me that they are pretty happy with where they are. It is true that they don't pay the most money but then again they offer much lower hours. If you are a first time teacher coming to Korea I would suggest you try to get into YBM ECC because its better to go to a stable school with less hours for at least your first time teaching in Korea. You will find out more things about teaching in Korea and don't over work yourself. If you like everything about it you can stay and if not you know what type of school you can go to later and how many hours you can teach that your mind and body can handle. I wish I first went with a stable school like YBM/ECC because I recall my first contract in Korea had many problems and was very unhappy working a heck of a lot of hours with no overtime....

[iamdugmoore]

I'm pretty happy with teaching at YBM / ECC in Seoul. While I taught adults ESL for several years in North America, I never taught children before. SO while I had experience, I had no experience teaching abroad, nor any experience teaching kids. It is fun, but it is a very differnt situation to what I was familar with in North America.

However, the support has been pretty good with regard to resources.ECC has been honest so far, and I've never heard of any serious problems with them. (Pause to knock on wood)

If you're coming with a spouse / lover / whatever you can possibly get accomadation without roommates, which I would suggest (if it is possible).

[lazymaisey]

Thank you so much everyone, for giving such good feedback/advice! I really appreciate it and it makes me feel much more confident in applying for a job there.