Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rodneyc863]

I was doing some reading and found that for most E2 visas or long term teachers that if they decide to leave and find employment legally elsewhere that they need to get a letter of release (is that what its called) from their previous employer to work elsewhere.

I also read in another thread that if one were to break their contract before it even began then nothing else further would be pursued.

My question is

What happens if one were to sign a contract, go and process their visa for the summer camp (C4 short term visa) and then decide to NOT go and go to another camp?

The previous camp, lets call it Camp A did not pay for anything yet, the teacher and Camp A simply signed a contract (no stipulations regarding cancellations). The teacher paid for their own visa processing, and this is totally before camp even starts.

Now, the teacher then finds another camp that is more attractive.

Can the teacher simply go back to his local korean consulate and "cancel" his previous visa with his previous camp and then reapply for a new visa for the new camp? The teacher has all his documents in hand, hasnt left home yet and paid for his own visa processing.

Also, on a side note about teaching in summer camps.

Whats the best way to get the money paid from the summer camp back home? I read that its favorable to do the currency exchange in Korea from the WON paid to my local countries currency (Canada) but what would the best way to get it out of the country (2.6millon won to be exact)?

Not a huge sum, but is it best to use travellers cheques? Wire transfer? Or just tell the bank to give me the wad of cash in my local currency?

Thanks!!

[poet13]

If you sign a contract with someone, be ethical enough to honor it. Pulling stupid crap like that just makes life more difficult over here for people who take teaching seriously.

[kat2]

I agree. If you've signed the contract, you have to honor it. Would you do the same thing to a Canadian camp? Just because things are wacky and unprofessoinal (to put it lightly) in Korea doesn't mean that us foreigners have to sink to that level.

As for the money, I would wire it. You should be able to take it to any bank and wire it. Just bring your passport.

[poet13]

PILE ON!!!

[cubanlord]

dude...dude....DUDE....

It's your fault that you signed the contract before exploring the rest of your options. Suck it up. Don't go being shady and crap. That's what gives us decent ESL'ers a bad name!!!

[kat2]

The camp is only a month long right? Its not like you have signed on to a shitty hogwan for a year!

[rodneyc863]

Well, the reason why i did that was because this is in all honesty my first time out of my home country. So i totally dont know my way around Korea.

Theres a few things that irked me about the camp, including a statement that i would be paid XXX amount but never specifying as to when, the contract only being about less then a page long and a few other things here and there in it.

Ok, i take a leap of faith and sign it, send it over and they send over all the documents i need to do my visa. In good faith i go to do my visa processing.

Done, processed, emailed them back as to what else needs to be done (any lesson planning or anything else).

I get an email back saying "nope just meet us at XXXX subway station on July 24 around 11 AM".

Ok......well fair enough whatever i signed the contract. My last point of contact with the camp was about.....3.5 weeks ago? I tried emailing, as well as calling a few places (no direct number given) to see if anyone could give me some information or updates as to if we are still meeting in the same place and all that.

Nothing

So thats my story as to why i wanted to cancel my visa and go to another camp.

I understand that the camp must have been really busy doing last minute recruiting and all that, but when they tell me to simply meet them at a subway station and with no contact or confirmation in the last 3.5 weeks prior to camp (which opens next week) I thought it would be safer if i just jumped camps. Even the person at the consulate doing the visa told me that she never heard of the camp and to be safe to just switch camps.

I can accept the fact that things may be a bit quirkier, but I dont want to fly all the way over there to find that i cant even find my supposed camp and not be able to contact anyone either.

[Grotto]

[rodneyc863]

[braunshade]

Contracts are a joke here in Korea.

Koreans will rip you off the first chance they get.

Look out for YOURSELF first!!!!!

[buymybook]

who is meeting you at the subway, your recruiter or someone from the camp/hagwon?

my recruiter never showed up at the airport upon my 1st visit to korea. i took a taxi to a nearby motel and contacted the idiot the next day. the idiot finally showed up.

have you ever been at a subway station?

good luck with the new position.

it's a good idea to have them put on the contract that all salaries are to be paid to the employee on the last day of the contract!

[rodneyc863]

The person that I was originally in contact with with my previous camp seemed to work only for that camp specifically, and i doubt hes a recruiter.

So to answer the question, i was supposed to meet someone from my camp at a subway station, gangnam or something? I forgot the exact name of it off the top of my head now at the moment.

At least you had your recruiters contact number. The person that i was in contact with, phoned me once for a telephone interview and at FIRST was pretty responsive with emails. Though i told him a few times to "call me, that way we could clarify a few things" but he just continued with email. Ok fine, but after i got my visa and then no contact for a few weeks well thats fishy. I tried calling the numbers that i had to dig up and i got the university where it was being held but no conclusive contact information.

So yah, i wasnt even sure who to contact if i did arrive at the subway station and no one showed up.

Like i said, maybe the guy was busy recruiting and filling in last minute spots. Maybe it was my email, or maybe even his email but he had my contact number and he hasnt ever tried to contact me since that first telephone interview.

I have never been in a subway station in Seoul. This is my first official trip outside of my home country (Canada).

Note taken, i did have him correct it but it still seemed fishy.

Thanks for the advice!

[braunshade]

Find a better job.

It is not standard paractice to expect a newbie to find their way to a busy subway station in a new strange city just off the plane.

That guy might not even show up. You wont even be able to contact hin if you get lost or are delayed!

Save yourself a big hassle.

[ScottyG]

the consulate will see you have canceled one visa, and are trying to get another one, and might just say "no soup for you!" i'd just keep your eggs in the basket you already have them in.

[Hotpants]

How do you know that the 'new' camp you'll be switching too would be any better as you don't have means to verify any camp on Korean soil in person?

I agree that it's not like you signed your life away. A month or so will fly by. Just see it as an opportunity to save some money and seek out another job if you want after you have finished your camp.

I wouldn't go by the reaction of the consulate. It's actually not atypical for Korean employers waiting for a new teacher to arrive in Korea for the first time from a distant nation to have the opinion that the foreigner can find themselves around without being met at the airport etc. In my case, for both my jobs, I had to find my way direct to the school, being told over the phone to 'ask a taxi driver how to get there'. It isn't ideal, but it is manageable. It's pretty safe being stuck in the middle of nowhere in Korea.

You should at least be reassured that the school has given you a contract and visa. At least they are showing they are hiring you legally which is more than some camps. I think you should just come over and follow their instructions. No camp is perfectly organized. Everything is typically arranged on a last minute basis. I also did have a situation in that a camp I was once accepted to ditched me at the last moment because of underenrollment. That could happen at any camp. It is therefore a good idea for anyone to come over with a return ticket.