Korean Job Discussion Forums

SpedEd · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Location: ROK

I picked up a job in Ulsan working with a franchise school that has been in business for some time. Work started in January and with one months' service given, the director has decided that she doesn't want to pay me citing imcompetence. Maybe I do suck as a teacher, but there was no training period to speak of and I was promptly put the work the morning after a gruelling 17-hour flight and working 10-11 classes per day.
This past Friday, the native staff and myself headed to a local restaurant to basically discuss the staff's displeasure with me. Their hope must have been to give me a briefing as to what needed to change and I would comply. But the discussion started to sour quickly, and the insults started coming. I decided early on that it wasn't in my best interests to trade direct verbal blows with them; rather, I stood my ground while trying to be diplomatic about the whole thing ($0 in bank account and no food). Then the co-owner was accusing me of "defending myself all the time." Talk about a no-win situation!
Eventually, the "discussion" wound down with the staff saying how shocked they were with the situation. I honestly wasn't shocked about it. I knew early on that the situation at the school was bad for me. The co-owner (the only person affiliated with the school who would communicate in decent English) would come around and observe my classes. She was writing literally pages of complaints. I would feel terrible reading all of it and feel angry for not being trained at all. At school I was feeling so demoralized and it was hard to be productive, but I didn't miss any time and the work that I was assigned to do got done.
After we finished our spat at the restaurant, they native staff took off and left me alone in the parking lot knowing that I was flat broke. Luckily for me, I remembered that I had a small balance ($50) on a credit card to hold me over for the weekend. I haven't heard from them since, and I should get the heck out of this studio before they send a mob over... I also don't want to return to the school on Monday, as I don't expect to be welcomed anyhow. Sadly, the director and co-owner regard themselves as "Christians", but I've never met any Christians that would knowingly let a staff member go hungry Evil or Very Mad

. I have absolutely no respect for them now and want to wash my hands of the school asap.

ulsanchris · Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Location: take a wild guess

Sounds like you are having a rough time. when teachers first get here their only training is sink or swim. after awhile most stop foundering or is it floundering about and start to swim abit. Sounds like you are still floundering. But i am guessing it might be more than that. How was your relationship with your coworkers before going out to eat with your coworkers.

TJ · Joined: 10 Mar 2003

I don't know you so it's impossible to give an accurate assessment of your situation. However, I'll take a wild guess and make a couple of comments.

1...... It may be that you are simply not suited to teaching in Korea. That's no reflection on you as a person. It takes a special type of person to survive the culture shock of teaching in a hagwan.
2 ........ Although the lack of training prior to your first class is not good it is fairly common in Hagwans. It's a sink or swim situation. Some people swim and some sink. It sounds like you are close to sinking but don't get too depressed.

3...... Assuming each lesson is 45 to 50 minutes long, 10 to 11 classses per day is far too many. 5 per day is good, 6 is ok, 7 is pushing it. Any more is unacceptable. Even the most experienced hagwan teachers would crumble under that workload. I did 7 per day for a couple of weeks to help out at my hagwan and I was exhausted at the end.

4....... Have you contacted your recruiter ? You may be lucky enough to have a good recruiter who will help you over your present problem. At least try talking to him/her.
5........ Finally, it may be that your employer is a complete idiot. Actually, he probably is because no good employer will let this type of situation arise, regardless of how good or bad a teacher you are.
6..... Take heart, it may not be all your fault.

7..... Try to think about the positives and not the negatives. Yes, that's easy for me to say, but a positive attitude is your biggest asset right now.

Good luck.

ulsanchris · Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Location: take a wild guess

no matter how competent you are the employer should still pay you. go to work on monday. and try to be a better teacher. it is not to late. there are some threads on here on how to improve one's teaching. if you boss continues to refuse to pay you contact the ministry of labour. They will investigate the matter. How large is the school? How many foriegner teachers are there? How many hours do you work a week? Is it enough to get over time?

SpedEd · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Location: ROK

I kind of went into stress/panic mode on day two or three here because the situation seemed so unusual. Even with the culture shock there, the school has a kind of matriarchy thing happening: all women staff, director, and co-owner, their behavior seemed so strange to me. I've found out that they've only hired males (maybe that's not unusual). That might seem okay for most, but the problem I had with it is that none of them, with the exception of "Mary" (the co-owner), could speak English worth a lick or make any real effort to communicate in English. This made me feel really isolated.

Son Deureo! · Joined: 30 Apr 2003

So, you had no experience before you came here, you received zero training, and you've been teaching so many classes that it's impossible to prepare and your boss is surprised that you suck as a teacher? I'd say "unbelievable" if I hadn't been in the same boat my first few months.

Most hogwons do seem to be sink or swim, and I can't imagine that most new hogwon teachers are particularly good in their first few months if they've never taught before or had any training.

Still, none of this is any excuse not to pay you for work you've already done. Has payday already come and gone? Go to work on Monday and demand your pay if payday has already come and gone. Contact the Labor Board before you go to work on Monday to find out what their recommendations are. The Ministry of Labor's general number is (02) 503-9727. The International Labor Policy Division of the Ministry of Labor (Tel 02-504-7338). I realize these are Seoul numbers, but they should at least be able to point you in the right direction.

Good luck, sounds like you need it.

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

From the start you had 10 or 11 35 minute classes with five minutes break. And none of the staff was friendly, just watching. And now, shrewdly, the boss doesn't want to pay you for the month you worked for the reason that you were 'incompetent'.

What a headache. That's what I hate about landing blind at a job without meeting the management and staff. They can figure the recruiter pulled a fast one and they didn't get what they ordered/wanted.

Now you can start fresh and go meet a school and, together, decide if you can work together. It'll feel good from the start.

Try to block out that first Korean job as a ridiculous farce where the staff follows the lead of a bad boss (you the sailor shipwrecked, surrounded by demonic, bat-winged women who only want to peck out his eyes with their sharp beaks and flailing talons...heh heh).

You got out with your hide!

SpedEd · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Location: ROK

I know some of you have offered your opinion about this: Although it may be going against my better judgement, I am seriously thinking about being a no show Monday. How severe could the consequences be? It would at least send a message to the school not to put the screws to me as hard as they did on Friday. I am the only foreign teacher there, and then the students would really have something to bitch about Wink

red headed stranger · Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Location: Seoul

I wouldn't give them any excuse to give you more trouble. I would play it by the book. It will be easier to demand your money if you are there Smile

Big Mac · Joined: 17 Sep 2005

If I were you, I would go to work on Monday and spend all your free time looking for a new job. That way you'll at least have an apartment to live in while you're looking. It shouldn't be a problem getting out of the job quickly because he has broken a huge part of your contract by refusing to pay you, which as far as I am concerned makes it null and void.

Is there any possibility that this school is suffering financial troubles? They could be just using you as their scapegoat.

Really, if they didn't give you training and you have no experience they only have themselves to blame if you are not capable of doing the job.

riley · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: where creditors can find me

two things that come to mind as I read this.
1. First impressions can make or break you here. I feel that if their first impression of you is good, than it will be easy for you. If it's just a little bad, they will ride you like a bad horse.
2. Show up Monday but tell them that because of the negative feedback, you are quitting by in X weeks. Be professional about it, even though my hunch is that they are not going to be professional in return. You should be professional because they may take any excuse to screw you harder.

Now, think about what has happened, and what you have learned about Korea, teaching, and yourself. Be as honest as you can and plan for the next job. That's the best thing you can do.