Korean Job Discussion Forums

Ianinilsan · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: South Korea

My name is Ianinilsan, and I ask everyone to please PM me before you think about working at the St Andrew hakwan in Juyeop, Ilsan. If you do, you will have to deal with: late pay, no pension payments, and no health insurance card. Please PM me if you have any questions.

ChuckECheese · Joined: 20 Jul 2006

What happened?

lover.asian · Joined: 30 Jan 2006

Ianinilsan · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: South Korea

Unfortunately, you are correct.

Ianinilsan · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: South Korea

Ianinilsan · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: South Korea

Hello, everyone. I have an update to report.
Over the past few weeks, I've made many attempts to settle my financial differences with the ownership of my school, but the lies just kept coming. Every day I was told that "Everything will be settled tomorrow" and other lines like that one. I had genuinely tried to work things out because I enjoyed teaching these students. I saw progress with many of them.
Well, on Friday I was told that on Monday, I would be presented with a "payment schedule" for all of the monies the ownership acknowledged was owed to me. I was even given a letter of apology for all of the financial issues.
These included: no health insurance or pension benefits, monies withheld for maintence fees not paid to the apartment ownership, no payment for the January 1 holiday, and very late pay every month. I am supposed to be paid on the 10th day of the month, but typically I've had to wait until the 23rd or later.
Yesterday, the director refused to give me a "payment schedule", so I took action. This is all going to labor, and, today, I presented the director with a letter stating that I've tried countless times to settle these issues, but that I would not teach until everything has been paid. It's grown to quite a bit of money.
From that time on I waited in my apartment for a reply, but all I've received have been phone calls and text messages threatening me with deportation. At one point in the evening, the director and another individual tried to enter the apartment.
I was laying down with a stress migraine, and then the bottom door knob kept turning! Eventually I wandered to the phone and we talked, but the reason given for the visit was that they "wanted to talk face-to-face." No way I was going to open that door, at that time. I feared for my personal safety.
Tomorrow morning, I will finally be filing at the Korean labor office. I have more than enough documentation to prove every charge, and I have given copies of everything to multiple trusted friends.
This is going to be a rough time for me, but I have some money saved up to help me see this through.
The director has told me many times that if I want to be "treated fairly", I "came to the wrong country", and that he doesn't care if I "live or die."
That's the kind of people that manage some of these hakwans.
Wish me luck. I believe that at least one of the other teachers reads this board, so I'm fairly certain the ownership will see this posting. I will not be intimidated when I'm certain that I'm right. Thank you.

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

Thanks for the update.
I feel for you. Fight the good fight.
I can't believe the arrogance of some of these hogwan owners. Rolling Eyes

How can they get away with some of these actions?

Have you tried filing for the pension at the pension office?

Roch · Joined: 24 Apr 2003 Location: Seoul

Adventurer · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

Adventurer · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

Any updates from the war front? You can deal with these hostiles. Just keep to your guns with your documentation. Let us know if you're all right.

Sody · Joined: 14 May 2006

Ianinilsan, I live near you. If you ever need help let me know and I'll try and help out as best as I can. No one should have to put up with that crap. The very fact that you feared for your personal safety is disturbing to say the least Sad

Hope it works out with the labor board.

Sody

babtangee · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:01 pm Post subject:

EFLtrainer · Joined: 04 May 2005

By not working - breaking your contract - you give your employer a counter complaint. Not good. You have weakened your position. Don't stop working unless you are quitting at that moment.

As with fighting, they don't care who started it. They get a fine, you could get deported.

Adventurer · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

Ianinilsan · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: South Korea

Update- the director has continued to send me threatening text messages, which I have saved. Others have tried to intervene, but the director refuses to admit that the school has done anything wrong. He taped a 30 day firing notice to the door of the apartment.
I've been in touch with labor, and they will take action with regards to the threatened forced eviction, as soon as I file.
I want to remind everyone that I've bent over backwards for this school. I've been teaching since August 2006, and I still have no health insurance or pension benefits, and pay isn't just late- it's consistently two weeks late, or more, with no notice or justification.
The school has a director and an owner who seem to disagree with each other over many things, except that they both seem to want to cheat me. The director has pressured me to teach privately for cash, and I have refused every time. I'm on an E-2 Visa, and I refuse to break the law.
I gave the director time to come up with a payment schedule for us to agree upon, but he refused to even do that. He just refuses to be reasonable. I suspect they have plenty of money and want to withhold my pay to prevent me from doing a runner. This school has had runners in the past. The last runner was in July, 2006.