Korean Job Discussion Forums

[adverge]

The latest and greatest news from the on-going saga of insanity at my hagwon is that the students will now give monthly reviews of the foreign teachers. If we get below a 70% we get a stern talking-to and counselling to repair the problem.

I have become convinced that the director is trying to do everything he can to insult us foreign workers. Korean teachers don't have to go through this.

This follows on the heals of 2-3 times a month observations by the other teachers and parental observations once a week (neither of which have come about yet but I'm looking forward to).


P.S. Reviews I can understand and accept. Being singled out for monthly reviews to be written by a bunch of 14 year olds is pushing it.


P.P.S. Yes this is just a rant post, not asking for sympathy/suggestions. Just ranting over the insanity.

[butlerian]

That's ridiculous. If I were you I'd hand in your notice and get a job in a public school. I'd tell them that if they're not willing to treat you with respect then you'll serve your notice and leave. Native English teachers are in short supply here so you can get a better job without much difficulty.

[elynnor]

...

[adverge]

I teach 14 seperate classes, 32 classes per week. Two classes, my 160 level and my 200 level (middle school students), were given evaluations to rate from 1 to 5. I had to score higher than 70% to pass.

The questions were:

[Areut]

adverge I am sorry to hear that you are having problems. The first thing I would do is tell the director that I will try to fix the problems that the students stated. And at that point I will let them do what they want so he can give you final notice and release you. Then you can find other jobs and get new visa. But I don't know all the rules because I haven't taught English in Korea but that�s what I would do.

Areut

[gang ah jee]

Seriously, the only thing you can do is whatever you can to get a letter of release and a better job. You current place of work sounds awful, and they have stacked the deck against the teachers with their ridiculous curriculum and surveys.

Who wrote the letter you recieved, by the way?

[Ya-ta Boy]

You are in a truly crappy situation and it is not your fault.

Check your contract and resign according to the stipulations in it. You are receiving no constructive guidance and support from your administration. There is nothing much you can do except get out and save your sanity.

[Roch]

[Col.Brandon]

Why would you ask the inmates what they think of the prison?

[soviet_man]

In a worse case situation (as I understand the law) if you are fired then you won't need a letter of release - as you will automatically be free to be hired elsewhere (after the usual visa run) as you are no longer legally bound by the contract. (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

One other possibility may be to ask to switch to part-time status or to job-share with another co-worker.

That way you could reduce your hours, but not have to fully resign.

If you got permission, you could then take on a second (part-time) job at another school (eg. pick up a few morning kinder classes at a different hakwon down the street).

I mean your situation does seem to be going downhill, but I wouldn't say you are out of options yet.

[CBP]

1) Is your director's English as good as the letter implies it is? That letter struck me as being well beyond the ability of many hagwon directors. There's a level of fluency and ability in that letter that is suspiciously non-Korea. I'm wondering why.

2) Your comments about taxes, the pension and health insurance pretty much sums things up. There's probably nothing you can do at this point to assume the role of Super Teacher. But consider asking the director or the person who wrote that letter to co-teach some of your classes. They obviously haven't seen for themselves how unreasonable their requests are.

3) I'm getting the feeling that there's no point in fighting your school. And if they're blatantly violating your contract, then why try to meet their unrealistic expectations? Apparently you do need a letter of release before securing another work visa, but I think you mentioned that they won't give you one. So here's what I would do:

Write a formal notice per the requirement in your contract. In the first paragraph clearly but succinctly state that the director has refused to give you a letter of release per Korean law, that he has been in violation of your contract and Korean law with regards to health insurance, the pension, and your taxes, and that for THOSE reasons you are giving your notice.

Write: Attached to my termination notice is a copy of my contract. For your convenience I have highlighted the contract clauses in question.

Then clearly but succinctly address the CURRENT situation regarding the unreasonable expectiations the school has for its students, that these students have repeatedly proven themselves incapable of meeting those expectations, and that along with the contract violations you have determined that this is no longer a viable place of employment.

Conclude the letter by stating the obvious: You expect to be legally released from the contract upon completion of your notice in accordance with Korean law. At the bottom of the letter, write: Copies of this letter have been sent to Korean Immigration (and one or two other offices; an attorney's office, complaints office, etc.). And then send copies to those offices without delay, even if it's like sending them into a black hole.

Any chances Korea has certified mail or something to prove that the school and those offices have received the letters?

That said, all that letter might do for you is make things more difficult during your remaining stay there. But you need a letter of release in order to obtain another work visa. If the school still refuses to give you one, at least you'll have the letter and proof (hopefully) that you sent it to the school.

I'd consider contacting an attorney, despite the negative things I've heard about them on this board. They can't ALL be bad. If you had an attorney write a threatening letter about the school owing you money for the pension and a partial refund on Korean taxes (stating that you have bank statements proving how much you were being paid, as opposed to how much you SHOULD have been receiving per the contract), perhaps they would then reconsider things and issue you a letter of release, the lesser of the two evils. That would be the sole purpose of contacting an attorney ... a scare tactic.

Note: I'm not an attorney. I bear no responsibility for what happens.

Don't give up on Korea. Submit your resume to some of the recommended recruiters around here. Put a plan in place. Bite the bullet and honor your notice at the school. If they let you go before your notice expires, document it with another letter and then contact immigration.

Good luck.

[adverge]

The head foreign teacher wrote the letter based on the director's notes, that's why it's well written.

I'm too tired to fight it anymore. I give up. I'm just going to wait to be fired now, hope I'm paid, and go home. I had a good job in Canada and I can get another. I came here to do something different and interesting. I didn't expect the 50 hour work weeks, and the constant stress and pressure.

The only thing I'm worried about is he'll fire me at the end of the month then refuse to pay me to cover my flight expenses.

[CBP]

Adverge, it's your first job in Korea, right? Don't give up. Fifty hours a week? You can find a good job for far less than that. Sadly you've had the experience that we all hope NOT to have, but many people do end up in bad situations, convince themselves to leave Korea, but then find another job and find themselves enjoying life there as it should have been had they landed a better school.

You just need to figure out how to extract yourself from that school. Either way they clearly don't want you there, so take some of that power away from them, step up to the plate, and write that letter.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[CBP]

Here's a quickie thread about Letters of Release:

CLICK!

Consider what someone wrote there about writing their own Letter of Release.