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olpha
Joined: 02 Mar 2006
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 Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:43 pm Post subject: A whole bunch of bullshit. |
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I came here on a tourist visa to stay with a Korean friend of mine...
Who had stayed with my family in Canada to study at an English school.
Once here I landed a job and some privates.
The school was good. My boss said she would work on my visa, look into health care and find me an apartment...On 3 occasions she also bribed me to stick around (I wanted to travel) by promising a raise that did not ever come...
It's been a year. I feel like a sucker. My very last month I demanded a raise and brought up everything...And didn't get it. 
Now I'm just hanging in for my last, miserable paycheck.
I scored an apartment through doing volunteer work teaching at an orphanage...But was forced to outstay my welcome at my friend's home...By staying for 8 months!!! (Korean housing is an impossible situation!)
Still on a tourist visa, paid for both flights (AND my own visa trip!), salary is still 1,500...Apartment costs around 400...Lived 2 months in a Gosheewon (room as big as a cubicle, shared facilities with 30 Korean people...)
Absolute. Bullshit. 
Was so damn busy dealing with all the chaos...That I let it all slip by me.
Partially because I did and do like the children. (What a sucker.)
Last edited by olpha on Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:04 am; edited 1 time in total |
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English_Ocean
Joined: 17 Mar 2006
Location: You don't have the right to abuse me!
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| Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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I think you learned more than you wanted to here. I hope that last paycheck is what you hope for, but truly you should expect the worst. Time to move on and never let this happen to you again. Keep your chin up! 
BTW Don't let them force you into taking matters into your own hands by breaking the law. It's not worth it! Don't play that game! |
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maddog
Joined: 08 Dec 2005
Location: Daegu
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| Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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You've been working a year on a tourist visa? And you expect a bonus? Why? You have no legal rights what-so-ever. Jesus, Iam working legally and my boss is still trying to stiff me on my fianl paycheck. I know everyone makes mistakes, but to stick around for what sounds like a dishonest employer for one year on a tourist visa is really wreckless IMO.
Still, it sounds like you've had a sh!t time in Korea. 1500 and no free apt?? That's shocking!! Do your reseach next time.....if there is a next time. |
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cosmo
Joined: 09 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:20 pm Post subject: Re: A whole bunch of *beep*. |
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00
Last edited by cosmo on Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:42 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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tiger fancini
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Location: Testicles for Eyes
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| Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:29 pm Post subject: Re: A whole bunch of *beep*. |
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| olpha wrote: |
If my bonus is insufficient I'm going to steal something big from this school when I go. And if she tries to stop me, I have a damn lot to threaten her with... 
Opinions? |
Opinion? That you don't have a leg to stand on. She can do whatever she wants with you (re employment issues) as you are an illegal worker and the authorities will punish you, not her if you are caught. She has nothing to lose as you are easily replaceable, and anything you think you might be able to threaten her with with lose credibility coming from a foreign criminal (Not my viewpoint, but probably how it would be viewed by most Koreans). As you are hanging on for your last pay-check, I'd say you've been pretty lucky so far... Take the money, and research more if there's going to be a next time. |
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ChuckECheese
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Go home in peace. You had your share of slavery. A year is enough and you don't want to spend any more of it in the Korean slammers. |
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rothkowitz
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:14 am Post subject: |
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What a plonker.
Why didn't you ever just get a genuine teaching gig.You'd have got a house and much more money.After accomm. you have 1.1???!!!
Cue retarded wail:Muuuuuuuaaaaahhhhh |
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heeckan
Joined: 10 Sep 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:50 am Post subject: |
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You've been getting screwed for almost a year and are continuing to take it up the rear.
The down side: you don't have a leg to stand on.
The plus side: you're not contractually tied to the school.
RUN! Your boss can't do a thing about it. More importantly, every day that you go to work, you risk getting busted. As someone mentioned earlier, you - not your boss - will be held accountable if you get busted. I can't even imagine what the fine would be for a year of illegal ESL work... all I know is that the burden of payment will fall squarely on your shoulders. |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:02 am Post subject: |
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| heeckan wrote: |
RUN! Your boss can't do a thing about it. More importantly, every day that you go to work, you risk getting busted. As someone mentioned earlier, you - not your boss - will be held accountable if you get busted. I can't even imagine what the fine would be for a year of illegal ESL work... all I know is that the burden of payment will fall squarely on your shoulders. |
Good advice. I wonder how they determine how much a fine is when someone gets busted. Do you suppose it's a lot more if they find out it's 6 months of illegal work vs just a month? |
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maddog
Joined: 08 Dec 2005
Location: Daegu
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:05 am Post subject: |
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| heeckan wrote: |
| burden of payment will fall squarely on your shoulders. |
And considering that you've been earning crap money, in the end, you'll find that you've actually paid for the privilege of working here for a year. Sweet deal, huh? |
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huffdaddy
Joined: 25 Nov 2005
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:23 am Post subject: Re: A whole bunch of *beep*. |
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| olpha wrote: |
Still on a tourist visa, paid for both flights (AND my own visa trip!), |
I think some people are missing this.
Of course, given that the OP missed all the posts which called anything less than 2.0 crap, I think it's excusable. |
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Pak Yu Man
Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Location: The Ida galaxy
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| Visa trip meaning she had to leave and come back to get a new tourist visa. Can you legally work here? If you don't have a degree...then you are stupid. If you have a degree and you've been taking this crap for a year...then you are a fuktard. |
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heeckan
Joined: 10 Sep 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:39 am Post subject: |
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| jajdude wrote: |
| heeckan wrote: |
RUN! Your boss can't do a thing about it. More importantly, every day that you go to work, you risk getting busted. As someone mentioned earlier, you - not your boss - will be held accountable if you get busted. I can't even imagine what the fine would be for a year of illegal ESL work... all I know is that the burden of payment will fall squarely on your shoulders. |
Good advice. I wonder how they determine how much a fine is when someone gets busted. Do you suppose it's a lot more if they find out it's 6 months of illegal work vs just a month? |
Logically, you'd think it would be significantly higher, but I struggle to see the logic in a lot of immigration laws here. Example: the first hagwon I worked at (we'll call it Wonder-L... no, that's too obvious... let's call it W-Land) registered myself and the other foreign teacher to a different W- Land branch (LONG story... supposedly to dodge some tax payments). We didn't know anything about it. Three months in, one of our Korean co-teachers looks at our ARCs and points out that we're registered to a W-Land in Bundang (ILLEGAL!) The school was spiralling slowly into bankruptcy and everybody was getting screwed, so we decided to take a sick day, visit the immigration office and explain our situation, in hopes that they'd show us some leniency (or at least force the school to close and put it out of its misery).
Blah, blah, blah... in the end, the school had to pay a fine of 1.5 Million won on my head, for 3 months of "illegal work" but W-Land only had to cough up 1 Million won for my co-teacher who had been "working illegally" for 6 months... Like I said, I don't understand the calculation.
FYI: Immigration was not at all sympathetic. They admitted that this registration 'error' was obviously W-Land's fault - no my own - and gave me an exit order (as usual). I left, re-entered and lined up my next job, assuming everything was alright. When that employer applied for my Visa, I got rejected by immigration... because I had "worked illegally"
hence >>> To the OP: best of luck, dealing with immigration if you get busted. You'll be in SERIOUS SHYTE!
| Pak Yu Man wrote: |
| If you have a degree and you've been taking this crap for a year...then you are a fuktard. |
I think 'fuktard' is my new favorite word... brilliant! |
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J.B. Clamence
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:57 am Post subject: |
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| Well, the thing is, you get what you are willing top put up with. Is it in your contract that you only get 1.5 million and have to pay your own housing? And did you start working with no visa? I know it's tempting to blame your boss for everything, but you need to also ask yourself why you let yourself be put in that situation. At the end of the day, you agreed to all of this. Also, if indeed you still have no visa, then the others are right -- you don't have anything to threaten her with. Legally, you are a nonentity with absolutely no rights, and the Korean authorities have no sympathy for illegal workers. If I were you, I would just pack my things and go. That's the only thing you can do to her. I mean, there's a good chance you won't even get a bonus. |
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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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| Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:15 am Post subject: |
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Can you get someone else who will back up your story with immigration? If so you can threaten to dob your boss in if she doesn't keep her promises, provided you're fully prepared to go through with it and be fined and possibly deported yourself.
Sounds like your boss might not even be legally allowed to hire foreigners, or else why wouldn't she have sent you on a visa run? |
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