Korean Job Discussion Forums

qcat79 · Joined: 18 Aug 2006 Location: ROK

why does it seem that many hagwons treat their teachers like crap? i rarely hear of hagwons on this website or in person for that matter that respect their teachers. they need a lesson from companies like starbucks and whole foods. if you treat your employees like you yourself would like to be treated, it's always better for business. enrolments would go up and turnover would go down.

it kinda reminds me how some americans treat immigrants (like the mexicans for example) at home. they think they can just run all over them because they're an outsider and "don't belong".

also i mistakenly came over here believing that teachers had more power in the classroom unlike the american counterparts. that's one reason why i left america. i always heard things like "the koreans really respect education and teachers, blah, blah, blah."

lover.asian · Joined: 30 Jan 2006

Darkness · Joined: 12 Oct 2006

My hogwon is good, they treat me nice, pay me on time and take me out for dinner. They even paid to have my lock changed when I lost my keys...

What about telling girls you work at a hogwon, do they think you are scum after they hear that?

Dan The Chainsawman · Joined: 05 May 2005

Also those of us with good hogwans certainly aren't going to go out of our way to advertise it. Job security.

tomato · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:46 am Post subject:

poet13 · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:48 am Post subject:

Honestly, I think in the classroom, whether it's a hakwon or a public school, or a uni, you get the respect you DEMAND or EARN. It's not always given. I also believe demanding that respect without earning it only gets you empty respect.

Darkness · Joined: 12 Oct 2006

who cares that I dont give a location?

Wrench · Joined: 07 Apr 2005

I love my public school.. The first haqwon I worked at was great untill the second year, we did such a good job the enrolment was so high they decided to collectevily phuck us.. I ended up quiting 6 months into my 2nd contract.

jmbran11 · Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Location: U.S.

Starbucks and Whole Foods pay their employees a third of what esl teachers make. I used to teach English at a Whole Foods. Those guys worked their butts off.

I've worked in plenty of restaurants in the U.S. where I was treated much worse. As far as I can tell, teachers here are treated with as much respect as other employees. We just expect more. Teachers at my company are treated very well, and we still whine about everything.

Darkness · Joined: 12 Oct 2006

You taught english at a grocery store??

Homer · Guest

qcat79,

Ever consider the fact that people in good Hakwon jobs do not post much or need to comment on their jobs???

Ever confider that people who will post about their Hakwon jobs are those with a gripe?

As for Hakwons being the bottom of the Barrell...it certainly can be the case but it also does not have to be....

wylies99 · Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!

Not everyone teaching in Korea knows about this site, either.

Mea · Joined: 24 Mar 2006

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

I worked at Wonderland, and though they did TRY to skroo me, they were persuaded not to do so...I worked in US public schools, and I had no way to persuade them not to skroo me, until I earned tenure, which took 2-4 years in the same school....

Wonderland, infamous for mistreating teachers, treated me better than I was treated in public schools in the US -- I have since learned what to look for in Korea, and have not been treated as badly as I was at Wonderland...which, as I said, was STILL better than US public schools....

In Korea, you have a LOT more control over your teaching, your classroom, your curriculum, your destiny...figure out your job, do it well, and you can negotiate a MUCH better deal...try getting a raise in a US public school based on force of personality, or job performance!

oneofthesarahs · Joined: 05 Nov 2006 Location: Sacheon City

I work at a hagwon and I love it. I get respect from my coteachers and director, even though she's a bit of a pain sometimes. I work independently and I never feel like I'm constantly being watched. We're having a festival in February with a little play, and I rewrote Aladdin to include lots of speaking parts. I'm getting a huge bonus for it. I always get paid on time. My apartment is nice and if I ever need things translated I know someone at the school will do it for me. My director drove me to get my ID card and picked it up for me when it was processed.

Nobody wants to hear about the good things because it's not entertaining. But I know plenty of teachers out there that have pretty decent jobs.