Korean Job Discussion Forums

AbbeFaria · Joined: 17 May 2005 Location: Gangnam

My recruiter calls me last night and says he has a school in Deagu that needs someone right away. Their foriegn teacher had an emergency back home and had to leave. School is what I'm looking for in hours, pay, class size, etc. but only one small hitch. With them needing someone "NOW" it means I would be working on a tourist visa for a week or so until I could make the trip to Japan.

I know it's illegal and I told him no, but I'm wondering, how bad is it. Would that week or two make a big difference? Would I be tagged and deported with the crackdown that's going on? Should I be worried or should I go with it?

Stephen

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

Two things.

Yes, you could be snatched up in the Immi round up. Working on a tourist visa is illegal. Illegal is illegal, especially right now. If the hakwon is serious, they can wait 'a week or so' for you to become legal after your visa run.

You might want to think about the 'emergency' back home. One person can only have a limited number of grandmothers who can get suddenly ill and require that someone rush home. Maybe this is that one in a couple of hundred that is real. Probably it is not. There is another thread where a guy wants to call in sick today so he can take his second sick day in two weeks--this time to go to Jeju-do with his girlfriend. I wouldn't put anymore credence into what a 'teacher' says than what a hakwon owner says, without verification. Neither group (as a group) has displayed an exceptional amount of integrity.

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

This is a common trick. Tell them you need to have your visa in place before you start work or no deal.

If you start illegally, what's to stop them from dragging that 2 weeks out into 2 or 3 months and then suddenly they start not paying you.

You won't be able to do anything about it except leave.