Korean Job Discussion Forums

[richardIII]

Even if they are offering 1.9-2.1 Million (which is more than most of the other adverts I've seen here for warm body position).

Given what I've heard about them this quote "you surely have challenging experience here" sounds about right. But then I could be wrong, lost in wonderland (or something similar) worried me.

I was just surfing the adverts, playing "which jobs would I want when I do come to Korea" and this one amused me.

Sorry for wasting anyone's time.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say "ALL the McDonald's in all the world are not worth working for" just because my boss at the McDonald's in Andong decided to be a big jerk.

But I would find out where it is, who the boss is, and ask this forum if anyone can offer any insight into THAT particular Wonderland.

[itchy]

[][

[Loyal]

Nope not all are bad, I work at one, and its okay...

Though if I had a gun I might shoot some of the other teachers on a bad day!

As long as they (hogwon) are honest, the people make the place, so places get good or bad depending on the people. thats IMHO of course.

[BTM]

Itchy, that rocks. Little on the gloomy side, but hilarious.

[Son Deureo!]

Wonderland in general seems to have a pretty lousy reputation. I'll admit right off the bat that I've never worked for one, but the same horror stories seem to come up over and over again both on the internet and from teachers I've met. Long hours, horrible materials, no support, phone teaching and excessive paperwork, getting cheated on pay, terrible housing seem to be recurring themes in Wonderland stories.

Yes, I know that every location is different. Yes, I'm sure there is one Wonderland out there that is just wonderful. But where there's smoke, there's fire. Accepting any placement at a Wonderland would have to be considered at best high risk. If you're thinking about working at this Wonderland, I'd insist on extra references, and search the internet with a fine-toothed comb to see if there are any bad reports out there about it.

I don't see any reason to give any Wonderland school the benefit of the doubt. CYA.

Here's a list of Wonderland stories from the Prisoners of Wonderland website: http://www.geocities.com/prisonerofwonderland/others1.html. I'm sure that Lost Seoul also has a collection of Wonderland reports, hopefully he'll share it.

BTW, Itchy, I love your site! Your school sounded absolutely horrible, but I like your attitude.

[wendysue]

I'm teaching at a Wonderland and am happy with it. My boss is fine and is making an effort to make the staff happy (buying pizza a couple of times a week, bonuses for good observations, etc). I've never been cheated on pay, my hours are totally reasonable, no phone teaching, no Saturdays, decent co-workers and the paperwork takes at most 10 minutes of my day.

I don't deny that wonderlands have a bad reputation, but I wouldn't automatically rule one out either.