Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rnrpaulsen]

So, until the entire focus of this board seemed to have turned to the "crackdown" on illegal teachers, there was (and probably still is -- and probably will be again) an entirely justified suspicion of working for hagwons.

Enough to make anyone on here who is considering Korea think twice about their decision to teach in Korea.

I'm here to tell you that, despite the horror stories you hear, it's not all bad. People are constantly complaining about a few bad apples spoiling it for everyone (case in point: the illegal teachers ruining the legit ESL teacher's reputation), so I've decided to draw some attention to the fact that there are solid, stand-up hagwons out there. Yes, you need to be careful, and yes, you need to pay close attention to contract details and clauses, but there is hope.

My wife and I work in Cheongju, in a branch of Jongro M School in Yongamdong. We had heard all the horror stories and was prepared for the worst. We had our worst-case scenario plans all mapped out in our heads and everything.

This school is awesome. We get treated really well, both by the directors and the other teachers, they pay fully and exactly on-time, the whitey-wrangler is helpful to the max, and there's more. We leant her (the Korean foreigner-helper) our passports so she could pick up our alien cards, and not only did we not have to worry about getting them back, we didn't even have to ask. When we got to work that afternoon, they (along with our alien cards) were sitting on our desks. The other day she handed back our degrees, apologizing profusely that she hadn't returned them earlier. We hadn't even mentioned it yet.

The list goes on and on. We got an awesome Chuseok present (a big box of tinned meat each -- whatever, it's the thought that counts) and a bonus of 100,000 won each. They paid to have an air conditioner installed in our apartment despite the fact that summer was nearly over and they had already said that they wouldn't.

The purpose of this post/thread is not to convince anyone to just blindly assume that all hagwons are like this. On the contrary, it is simply to give newcomers the hope that if they are dilligent in searching out a fair and reasonable contract, and if they do their homework on the school (talk to previous teachers, etc) they *do* have a chance of ending up at a place that makes working here a joy, as well as living here.

Feel free to post any other "I'm actually happy with the hagwon at which I work" stories. This way, it'll be harder for people to say that all the energy is going to publicizing the horror stories, and none is going towards sharing the good times.

[justagirl]

I'm glad your job is going so well. I also had a great job in Cheonan at ESL Language School in Shin-bang-dong. I worked there for a year and a half and got everything promised.

airfare
housing
utilities paid (except for phone/internet)
taxes paid (I got a net salary after all deductions)
medical paid
pension paid
severance paid
working hours were Mon-Thurs, 3-9pm

The boss had lived outside of Korea for several years and spoke great English, plus he was nice, respectful of the teachers and honest.
I really liked my job-this was my third one in Korea, and all of them were good, but this one was definitely the best. Those 3-day weekends took the cake.

I would say that you should work the entire year at a hakwon before posting whether it's good or bad. I know several people who thought they had sweet jobs until month 10 or 11 hit. Then the boss realizes they have to buy another plane ticket, pay severance, etc. So I'm glad things are going well for the OP, but he will have a much more credible story after he's been there a year.

justagirl

[captain kirk]

Jeez this is a funny thread. You want a happy happy hogwon story? It's ok, I know what you mean. I don't know what this has to do with an immigration crack down on illegal foreign teachers, though.

The manager/supervisor/whitey-wrangler at our school is a kyopo. He lived in Korea until he was 19, then went to Los Angeles. He's now forty-something. He sold cars in the states, big money, don't know why he stopped that. Anyway, he's hilarious. He isn't struck on the head like the average all-Korean Korean. He's been out of this place and returned.

So Korea looks funny to him.

As funny as it looks to the foreign teachers, the whiteys he wrangles.

The Big Boss owns a huge wedding hall. It's like Disneyland, that big. Has turrets, aerial walkways, looks like The Magic Castle. And he built a hagwon as a subsidiary money maker. It's an elegant hagwon, with (I kid you not) marble floors. Does your haggie have marble floors? I didnt' think so.

And there are big vases containing exotic plants on these marble-floored halls and central reception/atrium.

I've been in haggies eight years and never seen the likes of this splendiferous knowledge hall.

Just call it 'hagwonne deluxe'.

[sheba]

I have an awesome job as well... I live in a smaller city and it was 4 months before I made any foreign friends but that didnt matter because the teachers and the boss were terrific! They took me shopping, out for lunch and dinner, out for drinks, sightseeing to other cities and temples.... the job itself is great too. I am the only foreign teacher there, but I can run classes as I please, the text books I was given are simple and easy to use and teach, there is almost no prep time, I dont have to write evaluations, tests, the curriculum, reports or anything! Most of the kids are great as well... and Ive been given an extra week holiday at my request.

So yes, the good jobs are out there! I turned down a few before I accepted this job. I set myself some ideals (pay, accommodation type, location, shift and hours....etc) and only applied to jobs that fit my criteria.

The last teacher stayed 2 years and Im looking at doing the same.

[matthews_world]

Yes, ESLers old and new, there are some good jobs out there. Attitude and professionalism is the key, both with the teacher and the staff. If you're looking for an easy meal ticket, I'd say that's a good way to get u booted out the door.

We have some professional teachers here on the peninsula, a few dirty and rotten ones spoil the bunch. Good thread by the way!

[ilovebdt]

I had a great time at a GnB School in Pohang.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Here's my happiest happy-happy hogwan story: I told them that they were going to give me a letter of release or I was going to call every parent with a bi-lingual Korean friend and tell them exactly what I thought of their crap academy and deceitful wongja. After getting off the phone with the second parent, the supervisor was ringing me, begging me to stop and promising whatever would get me to do so. After a big feigned misunderstanding by wongjongnim-babo the next day we were off to immigration.

Yeah, there are some hogwans that are great places to work, but the word professional surely can't be put in the same paragraph as 90% of them.