Korean Job Discussion Forums

[marrsy]

Hi - I've recieved an offer from the Wonderland school franschise - I haven't decided which town yet but I'm wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on the school - I've checked the blacklist and found a few mentions but would like to see if anyone on the forum has worked there and could provide me with their insights good and bad
thanks

[ttompatz]

[Big Mac]

Wonderland has to have the worst reputation of all the chains in Korea. I wouldn't even consider an offer from a Wonderland school...I would automatically trash it. There are so many other jobs out there...why would you even consider working for the worst chain there is?

[Yeolchae]

The teachers that I knew working in Wonderland used to cast jealous looks towards the cashiers in McDonalds during their 10 minute lunchtimes.

[dbee]

Wonderland is a franchise. One school will be different from the next. Check out the contract and get a feel for the school.

Whether you're happy with wonderland or not will have 0% to do with the franchise and 100% due to your boss.

Don't believe scare stories on here. Do your homework on your school and you won't have anything to worry about ... If you don't do your homework then one wonderland is as good as the next one ...

[Yeolchae]

One is as good as the next.

The problem lies with the first one

[marrsy]

Thanks for all the replies - the response I got from the recruiter did seem a little too good to be true and we how that saying goes... I asked for a rather high salary and they said no problem... that's what got me to question and to start researching the school. thanks again

[chronicpride]

Wonderland has over 100 schools in Korea. Naturally, with numbers like that, the name will garner some heat over the years, when you have that many teachers having worked in those schools. Also, one girl worked at a Wonderland franchise several years back and had a bad enough experience to prompt her to start a website about it. All of the above is what planted the seeds of what is now the Wonderland cliche. As a result, you see less first-hand testimony about one's experiences there than you do see teachers who have never worked for one telling others not to work for one, for reasons they're not too sure of.

Meanwhile, there are some Wonderlands out there that are so well-run that teachers stay on for 2-3 years.

Qualifying a Wonderland school is just like qualifying GnB, ECC, or even a no-name mom-and-pop school. It comes down to how the director runs things. Not who he paid a franchise fee to, to use their brand name and books. (On a similar note, GnB franchise rights costs something around 20-30 million won, whereas Wonderland costs 80-90 million won for their name. The difference in fees is often to do with the branding power that the franchise name and rep has accrued in the business side of the industry and among mothers. An argument could be made that a teacher could have more reason to worry about a director who cheaped out on purchasing franchise rights of a weaker brand name and system.)

Nevertheless, forget all the hullabaloo about the name. Asking informed questions to the current and past teachers at the school will yield a better assessment.

[bnrockin]

I've heard nothing but bad from Wonderland. Only heard one good thing about Herald schools, but the guy was hooking up with ex-students so that explains why. I'm no expert though.

[The Man known as The Man]

go for the one in Daegu!

[ChopChaeJoe]

I wouldn't work at a Wonderland until you speak with a teacher or two who currently works there. It's your best chance at not being lied to.

[wylies99]

Don't even CONSIDER working for Wonderland or Kids Herald.
A month ago I had this phone exchange with a Wonderland director-

Him- Hey, you want go to my school? I pay you 2 million won today
Me- I don't know.
Him-You can trust me, I on your side. You can teach good at Wonderland.
Me- I don't think so.
Him- Come teach for my school. I pay you 2 million won and pick you up in one hour. But you don't talk anyone about it, okay? I pay you in cash.
Me- No, thanks.

Word for word- I wrote it down after he called me- we had talked about 8 months ago, just before I came to Korea.

[kprrok]

do your homework. I've worked at two different ones. My first one was excellent with absolutely no problems whatsoever. I stayed for almost two years and even my replacement there was happy.

My current one is ok, but I don't like the supervisor or all of the stupid paperwork they have us do. Otherwise, it's not terrible.

Check out the school and that's the best bet.

KPRROK

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Would you get on a plane with 100 seats if you knew that 80 of them were going to fall out of the aeroplane? No? Then don't, don't, don't go to Wonderland. It is simply not worth the risk. The franchise is completely messed up from top to bottom and operates under the guise of learning English is fun with us. I.E. you're only there to horse around and for photo-ops. You'll get absolutely zero respect from the kids and everything that goes wrong will be your fault.

Just tell the recruiter that you're no idiot and you won't even think of working for this black mark upon Korea's private education system. It's beaten out some very fierce competition to get the worst reputation in Korea for a reason.

[marrsy]

Thanks for all the responses - So you all know I asked for 3 mil won and they said Ok - that's actually why I decided to look into them... they agreed too fast in my opinion...(and don't take this the wrong way (after I write this I�ll probably get go and find out for yourself, dumb a**) but I'm currently self employed and work a minimum of 80 hours 7 days a week for the last 12 years (and I�m burned out and only 33) so outside of the fact that I'll have problems taking orders from others, I can't take the paperwork, working hours, or can�t get the days off I want argument too seriously. I know there are lots of jobs available in Korea and I've asked them all (the ones who contacted me anyway and I don�t consider myself special so I should be happy any of them contacted me� lol) for the same pay, so If I can get that plus the rent I figure unless we�re all independently wealthy all jobs (for the most part) anywhere suck�I can take getting yelled at (Hell, I wouldn�t understand what they�re saying anyways � lol) so I guess I should have asked for more specific reasons as to why this particular franchise is that bad compared to others (I�m still in America and can�t figure out where in Korea to go or who too work for) and if the overall job satisfaction is worth the frustration some seem to have� so I guess I�ve answered that for myself and the only way I�ll know is to suck it up and go� so I should have asked where is a good place to live and work if I�m interested in culture, history, music(being able to play out) and having fun(good bars, restaurants, women, etc) but I guess that�s off my original topic so I digress and I�m going for another drink�(can I get anyone anything) and is kimchi really good or are y�all just dealing with it� Take care all and maybe I�ll see one or two of you in the future�