Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Spunk]

I am returning to Korea and I have three possible jobs lined up:

*Oedae in Jongro3ga
*YBM
*Pagoda

I like something in all of these jobs. The interview I had with Oedae seemed the most straight forward. Plus I liked the housing bonus. YBM was good too although I am not sure where I will be placed. The Pagoda job seems the most attractive. The pay is higher plus I will be teaching a variety of classes. It's a program called PIP and they said that there will be no splits. Seems good. The only downside is the interview. Maybe I am making too much of it but the interviewer seemed too much like a used car salesman.

Does anybody work for these schools? Can you give me some advise as to what it's like working there?

[Derrek]

Issues with YBM and Pagoda are often with finding your own housing. Some prefer that, though. Where will you be living? Or, more probably, how much housing are they allowing you? Are they offering "key money" to put down on the apartment? Talk to other teachers there to find out where they live and what they do.

There are others on here who have worked for one of these places. I believe Tiger Beer has, but I could be wrong.

I have not worked there. I only interviewed with them, and didn't find the pay to be to my liking compared to the hours. Be VERY careful about learning EXACTLY how many hours you will be working. Find out if 50 minutes = 1 hour, or if they will deduct the 10 minutes at the end of that hour. Make sure exact times are stated in the contract.

Keep in mind that these organizations have people who watch this board. A month ago, a guy posted his contract (was YBM or Pagoda -- can't remember which) and he was threatened with legal action for doing so. I believe because they are, perhaps, upping their pay to get teachers, and it may conflict with previous teachers' pay. But that's just a guess.

[denverdeath]

Ask lots of questions about housing, evaluations, vacations, hours, Saturdays, required interviews and the like. Be wary of contract clauses like, "The employee will work nowhere else as it is contrary to Korean law," such as one of the mentioned places likes to put in. It's not contrary to Korean law if your workplace and immigration give you permission. However, that workplace will most likely not give you permission and you'll be too busy and tired to work anywhere else anyway. I don't know much about Oedae, but I'm pretty sure that the YBM housing package is a bit more attractive than the Pagoda one and you might be a little less out of pocket after paying rent each month. I guess you could do worse and you'll probably enjoy a lot of your students at any of those places.

[bits]

Hello there, I went to Jongno last week I met a person at YBM. A very hip older gentlemen, we had a nice interview and he said a lots of nice things about his school and a few not so nice things about Pagoda. It all seemed nice except he kept contradicting himself, saying things that weren't said or brought up later on. Like he might of meant to say it, or said it telepathically but didn't realize I was not receiving his signal. That's stupid, anyway, well for example, he offered me the job and I said I needed one night to think it over. The next day I ask him if he could send me the contract and he said, "Well, I can't send you the contract until you send me references, I told you that the other day" He didn't tell me that the other day, maybe he confused me with somebody else. There was a similiar incident of about the same degree. I said the heck with it; and moved on, somebody once wrote that "hell is the absence of reason" and YBM was starting to feel kind of hot. Good luck on your search, stay alert - stay alive.

bits

[manlyboy]

I worked at Oedae from 2002-2003. It wasn't easy in terms of split shifts, low-ish pay and cramped accomodation, but they were honest, never bullsh*ted me, and always gave me help when I asked for it. Jay Lee is a good guy. He went out of his way recently to help me out with a proof of employment certificate for my current employer.
I know at least two of the teachers there have been on board for over five years. And in the past they've had quite a few long termers. That speaks for itself, I think.

[seoulmon]

YBM in ����3�� has a good reputation. My friend was a head teacher there for awhile and they are pretty flexible with their teachers. After they finish their contract teachers are allowed to come back and work part time on an informal basis. �ܴ� was right next door to where I worked and although they worked split shifts they always treat employees fairly.

[Homer]

Worked for YBM (ECC) back when I first arrived. The hours were heavy but the school was well run and the staff extremely helpful.

They honored the contract completely, provided clean and decent accomodations and a good working environment.

I know some people working at ECC and ELS from YBM now and they are satisfied. I would say a YBM job is a good first job for someone just arriving here with no teaching experience.

[unsung]

Oh alright...

I'll bite. Let me tell you my Pagoda story...

I had actually got the job and they told me to show up at the Jeong-lo branch for training. I was suppose to meet the head teacher who would show me all the ropes. When I got there I saw this guy in the classic "fly catcher" mode. His head was tilted all the way back and his mouth was wide open. Yes, he was sleeping. This was at 2 o'clock! I nudged him away and asked him why he was so tired.

He then gave this long rambling speech in a monotone voice about the "good days" being over. "Teachers think they're special. They expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. Ask them to do any extra work and it's like a civil rights violation. We have high standards at Pagoda. We have evaluations but high evaluations- that isn't enough anymore. Pagoda expects you to be like a Korean worker: contribute to the text book, show up to the meetings, be willing to work splits and weekends. I'm on SPLITS this month and I've been working here almost 6 years."

WTF! I wasn't told any of this by Pagoda. So I left. There was some smokers outside and I talked to them. I told them my first impression of Pagoda. "Yup mate, that's the just of it" they laughed. I left and didn't come back. A month later I got a job in the suburbs of Seoul. Later, I met other people who worked at Pagoda, and I was so glad I didn't take a job there.

[PEIGUY]

I taught at YBM ELS part-time for a while in Yeongdeungpo.. shitty area but the school was cool.. the teachers were happy. and the academic supervisor was really cool... lived in England for a number of years and has the accent even though she's a native Korean.. from what i heard ELS isn't bad.. just check out the prospective branches.. same with ECC check out each school doesn't matter if it's company owned or not...

[skinhead]

[PEIGUY]

nope.. I worked there back in October/November.. just teaching 2 classes in the morning..

[Spunk]

Cheers to all those who chipped in and gave me advise. Several people PM-ed me about their school and I really appreciate it. Most of the PMs were from Pagoda folks. Yes I know that Pagoda doesn't look kindly on posts from employees so no specific mentions here.

Actually I already made my decision about Pagoda a long while back. When I first came to Seoul I met a guy who had worked there for 6 YEARS. On the last 3 months of his contract they dumped him into this program called Direct English, gave him split shifts and cut his pay to 15,000 (!!!!!!!!). He seemed pretty bitter so maybe Pagoda doesn't do that cr$p all the time, but I've hear enough to not really trust that school.

So I politely declined to take the Pagoda job.

I've also decided to pass on the other schools and take a job in a foreign language HS outside of Seoul. I kinda stumbled across this job. I heard about it through a friend and everything seemed to work out. So I took it.

Thanks again folks!

cheers!

[Milwaukiedave]

[mishlert]

As for YBM, or Pagoda. I would check out the following thread first:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=43817

[PaperTiger]

Oedae? Sounds too much like ���̷� (whoa! what the heck is wrong with you???" Like living with five other foreigners in the same aparmtent and having that used against you when someone moves out without paying their bill and the boss won't cough up? On the off chance that you LIKE your co-workers, the best way to insure those circumstances persist is to avoid living with them.

When I worked for those guys I found that I had to spend a lof of time manufacturing the material that were supposedly "provided" by my employer. Yeah, provided for me to slave over in almost every minute of my scant spare time. Might have been specific to that employer but dammned if I didn't keep wishin I asked more about it.