Korean Job Discussion Forums

[andrew]

.....

[eamo]

Very simply....It's your property.

They don't need it. After your visa is processed there is no need to keep your diploma. Maybe they can copy it to hang on the wall to impress moms but that's it.

Insist on it back.

[livinginkorea]

My last job kept giving me excuses saying that they had to hold onto my degree scroll (to show companies) so in the end I stopped asking them for it and just took it back. I had to sneak into the office and actually steal it back!!! Well it's not stealing if it's mine!!!

[rapier]

Hahaha..

School 1: they returned the certificate to me voluntarily after they'd got me the visa. Nice.

school 2: director said he needed it and that it was normal practise to keep it blah blah... He framed it above his desk to impress moms. I made a quick photocopy and stuck it in the frame, taking my original back. Took him 2 weeks to notice: not happy, but he got over it.

School3: I kept asking for it back. Ultimately I had to amass all the legal numbers etc and whatever I needed: called a meeting with the authorities and threatened to call the police, embassy, labor board unless they returned it. I had it back in 10 minutes.

I think they do need the actual original for visa processing:(maybe a notarised copy is ok, not sure) but theres no reason for them to hold it thereafter. They're trying to manipulate you/ hold it over your head as a subtle threat.

[denverdeath]

I've worked at five different companies for eight years in this country and finished all but one of the contracts. I never gave my diploma to any of the companies. That really won't help you now though. Why not just get another from back home? Get a family member or friend to get it for you and have them send it to you ASAP. When you get it, bring it into your boss and show it to him/her and tell them that you no longer really need the one they have. Tell them that they can wipe their @$$ with it and use the company's policy manual the next time.

[rapier]

My Uni does not freely give out copiesof original degree certificates. to get one you have to send them your damaged old one. Or you have to have a signed and sworn statement from a "justice of the peace' whatever, saying when and where you lost the original. Its a hassle.

Much better just to go with notarised copies.

[sheba]

yes... NOTORISED COPIES!!!!

Can save a lot of problems....

[Gopher]

[deleted]

[Grotto]

Yup. No way they get to hold on to anything of mine. they want a copy? No problem...but the original is mine.

Screw the "well you can always get another one" bullcrap! Why the hell should I have to get a new one?

[jajdude]

I suppose it is too obvious to point out the reason they want to keep any of your documents?

Anyway, I'm sure they all know, many foreigners bail, simply disappear without notice. So they figure holding onto something valuable may keep you there?

But they have no right to keep anything. Demand it back if you do hand it over.

One place I visited once for an interview said they want to hold onto my passport if I get the job. Other bosses will try and keep your degree.

Nonsense. Why should anyone hold onto your personal documents?

Hey boss, give me your passport!

[Derrek]

If I were you, I'd just sit in their office each hour until they give it back to you. Demand it back, or you won't teach. But come to work and just wait there. That's crap.

I don't know if it matters as much anymore anyway, since they would probably need a new sealed copy for whatever the next job is you get. I can just about guess that immigration doesn't keep track of it year-by-year.

[kprrok]

My school kept mine for the first 6 months or so. And I didn't mind because I didn't have a place to safely keep it. I had no intention of running, so I didn't care that much.

Once I got my own place, I asked for it back because I had a frame I was going to hang it in and a safe to put it in in case that didn't work out. No big deal.

KPRROK

[kimchikowboy]

As part of the initial hiring process at my uni, I had to send the original diplomas here. Never saw them again. I worked on a different campus from where the personnel office was, so I didn't go there except for the initial paperwork, then the next year to sign a new contract. The first time, nobody spoke enough English to understand, "Please give me my diplomas back." By the time someone could translate, they were telling me they had mailed them back to me in the U.S.
Got new copies made, along with extras.
I say don't give them anything. As its not important to the individuals who work there, they wouldn't care what happens to it. Some day you might see your diploma used as a coaster.