Korean Job Discussion Forums

screw_driver · Joined: 20 Mar 2006

Just curious to know how much Koreans get paid for teaching English at hogwans. Is it more then us foreigners? I would ask but its a bit of a personal question Rolling Eyes

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

screw_driver · Joined: 20 Mar 2006

is that the average income range? I read somewhere that the average salary in Korea is 2.5 million won per month. Although this could in regards to professional jobs only. Considering the cost of living expenses in Seoul, and the astronomical housing prices, i don't see how they can make ends meet.

Furthermore, a friend was telling me part time employment in coffee houses and restaurants only pay 3500 won an hour. Any truth into this?

DaeSung · Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Location: ��

I work for LG electronics and I would have to say that $2500 might be a pretty good average monthly wage for Korean employees (the Americans make more based on the same qualifications). Then again the starting here for someone right out of college would be under $ 26,000 including all the bonus and stuff. The average increase in pay from year to year is about 6%. On the other hand as you noted part time pays as little as 2,500 won getting 3,500 won would be pretty high, I think. Oh yeah and our executives (not the CEO or anything but an average executive) isn't making more than $130,000 a year, and these guys have been here for like 20 years.

Any how thats my two bits. Um as for the houses and all the stuff people buy... Koreans for the most part are way in debt, but then again so are Americans. Oh and the Korean english teachers... hmmmm... my wife works from 12 noon till 7 (just started) and gets a little more than $2,000 a month, then again she does have a degree (BA) from an American University.

peppermint · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:51 am Post subject:

working at a hagwon isn't considered a "real job" for Koreans, any more than working at McDonalds would be at home. For the most part, it's seen a job for university students and young women without a husband or kids to occupy her time, so why would the hagwons pay them well?

There are exceptions- I know of one chain that pays its Korean teachers about 2,000W less/ hour than they pay the native teachers, and I've heard that TOEIC and TOEFL teachers get a percentage of each student's fee, so they can do quite well.

Homer · Guest

It will depend on the type of hakwon.

Run by the seat of their pants hakwons pay little and get little.

Upper end hakwons pay their Korean teachers a higher wage.

What pepperming mentioned (i.e. hakwons = McDs jobs) is mostly true of lower end hakwons. Many Koreans working in Hakwons make a career out of it (in the upper level hakwons) but it is true that some teach there while they get their degrees or before they get married.

Newbie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

My ex-gf's job was about 2 million for 120 hours a month. Pretty much on par with us.

Peter Jackson · Joined: 23 Apr 2006

I've heard from one of the senior English teachers at my high school that a Korean hagwon teacher (NOT necessarily an English teacher but one who works at one of those Korean hagwons that teach everything) can make up to 10 000 000 a month. Their salaries, according to him, are based on incentives, such as how popular they are or how their retention rate of students is. Of course they work at least 14 hours a day.

In turn, their salaries go down if they are not popular, etc.

10 000 000 sounds ridiculously high (I am guessing he's giving the EXTREME case) but I can see them making more than native speakers.

Not really sure...I'm just glad I don't work in a hagwon anymore. Smile

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

When I worked at a hogwan in Daegu, there were two Korean English teachers. Just before I left, they let it slip how much they made. The one that was younger (about 24) and had just graduated college was making about 600,000 won a month. The older one who spoke really good English and had some teaching experience made 800,000 won.

Corporal · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

melvaughn · Joined: 11 May 2006

How common is it for teachers to debate with their supervisor to raise their salary? I have yet to teach (complete newbie) but I've had every supervisor I've talked with, raise my salary from the standard 2.0mW up to 2.1/2.2mW. Since I've had this sucess I'm going to bargain up to 2.5mW and see what happens. I usually get offered what I ask for. Maybe I've just lucked out because these aren't great hagwons either..aka "Little America Chain"

CoolTeach · Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Location: Back in the USSR

Roch · Joined: 24 Apr 2003 Location: Seoul

Hotpants · Joined: 27 Jan 2006

All depends on the hagwon. Some hagwons can be extraordinarily lucrative. I have a Korean friend who makes about 7 million a month from her job - but as you can imagine, she is pretty much enslaved to the institute with virtually no life outside. However, she is not teaching English there, and I suspect that most Koreans teaching English will earn less than any foreigner teaching English here.

But, yeah, it's correct that the average base salary is very low. Perhaps the lowest wage is working in a PC room for about 1000 an hour, or in a convenience store for 2000 an hour. Something like 5000 an hour is considered to be 'good'! How anyone can live off that...well, it's in part the reason why many young people cannot leave home until they marry.