Korean Job Discussion Forums

GreenBay · Joined: 18 Jul 2006

If you've only been in Korea for a year or two and are still enjoying the many pleasures of soju, hot Korean women (sorry ladies, but most Western women I met didn't find Korean guys attractive ... something or another about not enjoying being hit), all-night bars, wonderful food, the novelty of having no idea what people around you are saying, being told you look like Brad Pitt when nobody back home ever said that, being told you're an excellent teacher because your eyes are very clear, getting paid tonnes of money to play hangman, going to Buddhist temples ... (add additional comments here: _________________) ...... then please go on to the next discussion posting.

I'd like to offer a little bit of hope to the long-term hogwan teachers who really want to come home, but are concerned about the loss of income and job prospects.

I was in Korea for 7 years (one Ulsan, six Pohang) until Dec. 2004 when my Korean wife and 11-month-old son returned to Toronto.

It was a tough decision because I was making 2.4 million at my hangwon and 1.6 million in privates a month. We owned our own condo and my wife was teaching a few privates, too. I'm just saying we had a comfortable financial situation.

But, on the other hand I was so sick of broken contracts and promisses from wanjongnims and seeing friends come and go and watching the Super Bowl in Chinese and ...... well, I was homesick.

So, it was a real dilemma.

Anyways, to make a long story short, it has worked out pretty well.

At the age of 40 I went back to school. I took a one-year teaching certificate course at Medaille College, Buffalo, NY. It cost $20,000 Can., but the certificate is recognized by the Ontario Min. of Education.

There were times it was hard, for example working part-time in a yogurt factory for $8/hr. and going from shopping at Lotte Dept. Store to Dollarama.

After I finished school we moved to Mississauga, ON, and I applied to 65 jobs before I got an interview. Finally, I've been hired full-time by the Peel District School Board to teach a Grade 4/5 split for this coming September. The principal told me after she'd hired me she started off with over 300 resumes. So, the experience in Korea actually paid off.

What I'm trying to say is there is hope even though you've been out of the workforce for numerous years. Even if I never make the same money I was making in Korea again, it's really nice to be home.

Best of luck,

Dave

canuckistan · Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:01 pm Post subject:

Pyongshin Sangja · Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Location: I love baby!

Maybe the acid trip would have been better if you'd stopped working in hagwons. You can come down nicely with university jobs. They really take the edge off everything and don't give you gut-rot.

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

Cool post. Congrats on the new gig.

SuperFly · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Location: In the doghouse

Nice post, reminds me of this article I read about seven years ago...I saved it for posterity:

I_Am_Wrong · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Location: whatever

moral of the story: Ontario school boards (and Ontario in general) suck ass.

bnrockin · Joined: 27 Feb 2006

hmmm definately didn't have the warm fuzzy ending of the story I was expecting to see. Why didn't you just try to go to a different country to teach or was it just that you wanted a job back home so much? I hope finding a job back home won't be as much trouble for me 3 years later.

So about the contracts breaking...did you break them or did the companies? What areas did they break and what were the reasons?

GreenBay · Joined: 18 Jul 2006

Superfly, that's a great article you posted.

bnrockin

So about the contracts breaking...did you break them or did the companies? What areas did they break and what were the reasons?

Well, first of all I broke every contract I had because I taught privates. Since I was only in Korea for the last few years because of the money, it made sense to me. The last two years of living in Korea, I only told people back home, "Yea, the money's great," because it's the only positive thing I could think of to say.

Also, my hogwan was a far distance from my school so taxi fare was expensive and I was supporting a family. It came pretty close to costing 2 million a month to live with diapers to buy and condo maintenance fees ... etc. There was no way I was going to stay in Korea and live hand-to-mouth. I can do that back home.

If I listed all the contract violations committed by the three directors I worked for, this would be a long e-mail indeed. My first year in Ulsan, my "furnished apartment" was an empty room next to an elderly lady's house with a bed, a portable single-burner for cooking that used gas bottles and a bar fridge. No sheets, no pillow, no TV, no radio, no washing machine ... no nothing. The highlight of that year was being told my two weeks vacation in my contract was actually the combination of all Korean national holidays.

Skipping, many, many examples.

My last year, my director tried to cut my summer vaction from one week to 3 days. Only after I said I'm quiting did she let me take the week when she figured out it would cost her more money to quickly replace me then the give me the week.

Anyways, blah, blah, blah ..... lots of good things happened in Korea, too. But, generally speaking, not related to working.

bnrockin · Joined: 27 Feb 2006

I can definately understand your reasoning behind teaching privates. That really sucks that they screwed you over so bad on those things on your contract. What can you do to prevent those sorts of things? I was thinking about asking the companies that I apply for, for pictures of the apartment I would be staying at, though they could easily take a picture of a furnished apt. and say oh we never said it would be furnished.