Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Meggiebea]

Ok lets assume that privates are not illegal. I've been hearing a lot of people talking about all the extra cash they can make doing privates. Of course they are kidding because privates are illegal, but just for fun lets talk about how much you would charge per hour.
It seems to me that you can make a lot more teaching privates than teaching at a hagwon. Perhaps we should start our own school......mmmm. Would that even be possible? Why should we get paid half or less than half of what the schools take in.
Think about it, we get like 20 000 per hour to teach about 10 kids. Of course this can vary but I think that is about ballpark. I've heard people say they charge 40 000 per hour PER CHILD and teach classes of 3 or 4 students. Thats 120 000 to 160 000 per hour for half the class size!

So be truthful and give the average of what you charge per hour. How much would you/could you charge for private lessons?

[rawiri]

I'm worth about 2543 won an hour. On a good day.

[babtangee]

Koreans I know think that one should charge 40,000 - 50,000 per hour per student. So if you have 3 or 4 students you could be making 150,000 - 200,000 per hour. Maybe in Kangnam, if you are outrageously popular. Otherwise those figures seem extremely high.

The Koreans I know, who actually want private lessons, are loath to part with more than 40,000, and this is with groups of 2-3 students. One mother told me there is a foreigner who is visiting people's houses and teaching up to a dozen children at once. He apparently has a Korean agent, and they are charging a very low price.

EDIT: My hagwon charges 150,000 per month, for roughly 12 classes with a foreign teacher and 12 with a Korean teacher. That's 24 classes. That equals about 6,000 won per class. I get paid about 25,000 per class, so the boss needs 4 students just to cover the cost of me. That doesn't include the cost of the Korean teacher. That would be another two students. Hagwons in my area are charging much less than my boss. One nearby English hagwon I know costs just 100,000 per month. Of course they have no foreign teacher. My wife worked there for a week and concluded that there wasn't any English education going on in that school. Still, that school has twice the enrollment my school has.

I would never open a hagwon. Things other than the quality of the education you provide will determine whether a hagwon is successful or not. Why try to make a business out of edumacating when even the people sending their kids to your school aren't really interested in getting quality edumacation? They just want to tell Mrs. Kim that their little Jin is going to half a dozen hagwons too.

[Cerebroden]

I know a guy that taught 3 kids 3 times a week for 30 minutes each kid and made 45,000 for each hour and half.

[Captain Corea]

If they were legal, you'd have to factor taxes into all that.. as well as any expenses (can you fil out your own tax returns without help?).

Also, if they were legal, you'd have to get permission from the Education Ministry.. another hell hole.

Honestly, even for those people who it is legal for (F2s / F4s), there are a lot of things to consider.

[PRagic]

If you are married to a Korean, open your own 'kongbubang' (study room). You'll make far, far more than you would at an institute, and a minimum of double what you would at a university, even if you took a decent vacation get-a-way. If you don't want to teach kids, get qualified (MA + Celta/Delta) and go for the better university jobs. The ESL market here is seriously stratified, and there aren't too many worthwhile jobs left out there. For the most part, the bulk of the universities and institutes paying crap wages for longer hours and more duties are banking on a continued influx of short-term newbies, those that only plan on staying for 1-3 years. These are the bottom of the food chain jobs, and have little to no future prospects.

[qcat79]

i think for me it would depend on who i'm teaching, how far it is away from my home and hour many hours that particular individual is buying a week.

if i did them -

i'd charge a newly made korean friend 40,000 for two straight hours a day , one time a week, if he/she lives in my neighbourhood.

i would GET 50,000 an hour for a group of business professionals at their office. it could be at around on average 7 subway stops away. it has to be just about everyday though.

i would be willing to charge between 20,000-35,000 per student if i had the parents get some of their friends kids in on a group study lesson. obviously the price would stay low depending on how far i would have to travel.

i would also keep prices low in the beginning until you build up some momentum and get more popular. then you can keep the ones that will pay more and do away with the rest or tell them they have to meet at your convienent hours. also, i would offer deals for any individual that hooks you up with say one or more consistent privates. also it would be bangin' if you could actually get the students to come to your place.

remember kids, it's not all about getting 50 grand or more in the beginning (if you want bulk privates). make it an attractive offer to get the word out. remember they're doing you a favour too.

[Meggiebea]

Wow there sure is a lot to consider, distance, age, level, number of students per class.
I currently teach at a couple private schools in Canada which teach only Korean exchange students. I have heard rumors of what the parents pay to send their children over to Canada for 2 months to a year.
Not surprisingly all of my students come from Gangnam or Seocho.

[Meggiebea]

Only 28 votes so far...anyone else?

[Captain Corea]

[Juregen]

mhhhh

If you have a sucker that wants to pay that amount of money go right ahead.

I am asking 50.000 for 4 kids, that is thus 12.500 per kid, more then a just reward.

My students have stayed with me for the 7th month, so no search cost or sudden empty agenda's, and a reliable stream of income...

If you are in Gangnam, go right ahead and suck these people dry, how in the world would any sensible person pay that amount of many for a class of 4 kids? I already feel like i am being overpaid, but then i believe in such a thing as a fair price, even if the market is swinging hot.

The biggest problem is long term. That kind of pricingis not sustainable if you want to do it over a longer period of time. Consumers might be stupid, but they do slowly learn the realities of markets soon enough.

[The Bobster]

I think I see a bit of a disconnect on this thread. The original question was how much to charge if you had a hagwon of your own as a business, but many seem to be thinking it's about how much to charge if you are meeting people privately and risking the law knocking on your door.

Two very different situations, of course.

[mishlert]

I've been toying with the idea of opening a study room but can't get any info on it; I did a search here and went on Google. Nothing.

So, if someone wanted to open one, what exactly does it entail?