Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mike_gwangju]

I've been in Korea for just 2 months and I already feel that the time is right for me to go back home.

I know people claim to work for bad schools a lot of the time, so I won't say that the hagwon I work at is bad, however, it just isn't the one for me. All of my classes take place without the assistance of a Korean teacher, the classrooms are freezing cold, the children seem to smack me a lot of the time and, more recently, they've been stealing from my drawers in the office, too. I'm finding it very hard to bond with the children and some of the Korean teachers are so miserable that I can't help but feel miserable myself!

After a brief trip home to the UK at Christmas, I realised that there really is no place like home. I was very reluctant to make the move back to Korea, but didn't want to simply not turn up at school. When I arrived at my apartment on Monday evening to discover that my gas had been cut off, this was the final straw. I had to sleep in my stone-cold apartment, where the temperature was just 8 degrees. It took 48 hours to get the gas re-connected.

So without wanting to waffle too much and to complain about how bad I feel that my school is, I want to know what costs I would incur if I upped and left after just 2 months. As per my contract, I would expect to pay for the outbound flight, but no further costs are mentioned. Should I also expect to pay agency fees etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[crazylemongirl]

I'd say stick it out till the 6 month mark if you can.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

If you leave before six months you will likely have to reimburse your employee for the flight here. You should not have to pay any recruiter's fees.

So you're having trouble with the kids. They're smacking and stealing from you? So why do you put up with it? Are you not allowed to do anything to control them? In that case, I'd say sure, quit; but if it's a matter of you not knowing what you're doing I'd suggest you start trying a different approach.

Yes, winter sucks here. And it lasts a long time. Buy a heated mat and some thermal underwear and try to tough it out like a man.

Give it at least another month or two before you decide whethere you should throw in the towel.

[Gamecock]

Sorry to hear things aren't working out for you. This life is not for everyone, to be sure. You can up and leave at any time, but expect that your boss will take your airfare out of your pay and maybe even the recruiting fee. Which means you probably won't get anything for your last month of work. If you do a runner, you'll lost about half a month's pay and screw your boss over royally. Unless your boss has been really terrible, I'd just talk to him honestly and tell him you're thinking of going home. Give him a month's notice. If he is reasonable about it, I'd try to slog through another month. It seems like working for free, but he's already got that much money invested in you. If he is nasty about it, you might just want to hop on a plane.

[rawiri]

Seems like you are giving up a bit easily there mike. why not stick it out another month at least? Man up and tell your boss the problems you are experiencing, they would rather fix any minor quibbles (and basically thats all you are talking about) than have to get anothjer foreigner in.

[trinity24651]

Mike - life in a different country just isn't for everyone. If you feel like it's the only option you have, then good luck! I may feel the same way when I get there. Do you have anyone where you are that you can talk to in confidence to try and make the transition a little easier?

[Mashimaro]

[jinju]

Sounds like you should pay your gas bill. The rest of it is just whining.

[MantisBot]

I have a few suggestions for you:

1) Make sure you get out and see Korea. Go mountain climbing. Walk around and eat out away from your school's area. Try to meet people from Dave's. The best way to handle your job is to have some way to unwind. Don't sit at home all day thinking about it. Once the school day is over, its over. There's only so much that can be done.

2) Create a list of rules and discipline your kids. For rules, keep it simple. I have 3: When the bell rings, sit in your seat. Get out the books and homework for class. Be quiet. If one of them does something unacceptable make sure the entire class knows this. Possible punishments can include--

{{a) standing in a corner facing the corner for a time you choose. Scale for severity.

{{b) sitting half in the doorway for an entire period (I find this works on kids who have a sense of shame. Works best if in a high-traffic area.) This has the benefit of keeping them up with the class while they are being punished. Make sure they have a chair, books, and supplies. The combined discomfort of having to do their classwork with their book in their lap while having people seeing them in the doorway during the class usually is enough to keep a kid from misbehaving for a week or more.

{{c) just stand off to the side waiting for them to quiet down. This *only* works on classes whose parents have high expectations for their children as you can make the point that if they don't learn they'll do badly on tests and if they do badly on tests their parents will MURDER them.

{{d) in extreme cases I suggest push-ups. You'll need to have a bit of control over the class already to get them to do this, so don't try it right out of the box. I make the kids do 10 push-ups for speaking Korean in class or if they are extremely rude (as in trying to talk over me while in I'm teaching, passing notes, etc). This works best on older kids as the younger ones generally don't have the kind of stamina for such a thing, nor do they really understand what a push-up is. The less you have to explain the better:p

{{e) assigned seating. Separate the kids in a boy-girl fashion. Younger kids HATE this. Try to keep the more rambuctious kids closer to you with the better students in the back. Other considerations include student eye-sight, hearing, and volume (do they whisper when they talk or can you hear them from down the hall?). You know your students best, so plan out the seating chart in advance and implement. Explain to the kids why this is happening. Once they realize their behavior has consequences they'll start to self regulate.

3) Don't give up. I understand your job is hell but this country is a really interesting place. Tough it out and I guarantee you'll be happy you did. Worst comes to worst, look for other jobs. Once you're here it's an easy thing to find another job. Just make sure you give adequate notice and that you stick up for your rights.

4) Don't let your co-workers demeanor effect your own. What I've found is this place is what you make of it. Don't let a couple of sour-pusses wreck this experience for you.

5) Learn some of the language (at least how to read). Reading is easy and funny enough, there is TONS of Konglish out there. I'm nowhere near fluent in Korean but I can read and trust me, most of the Korean words on businesses are actually English. Regardless of your competency however, you will feel 100% better if you can at least read a street sign.

There are people here who can help you out so look for them. You'll feel better in no time so stick it out. Stiff upper lip and all that, yeah? w00t!

[ChuckECheese]

It's question of whether you can make a difference in your school or not.

If things are that bad at your school, it could be your chance to shine among mediocre teachers. Do something about it.

Students stealing and smacking, etc.? Kick some butts (Not physically), make up some punishment. I found that for stealing especially, collective punishment is the best method (Make them all suffer for one or two people's stupid action). Watch them next time when one or two try to be stupid and other majority will stop them from doing their stupid act.

[ilovebdt]

[Gamecock]

Lighten up guys...

Stop with the "whiner" and "quitter" comments. Living abroad is not for everyone. Just because you've got a thick skin and relish the adventure doesn't mean everyone is like you.

[twg]

[the eye]

The first thing i would recommend, is that if that is really your photo on your OP, take it down. Also, don't use your real name on the site.
Why? There are countless morons wafting around this place who have nothing better to do than cause trouble for you.

Next, you might want to have some kind of 'sit down; with the boss to see if there is something that can be done about student discipline.
To tell you the truth, you seem to be rather passive about things in general.

Regarding your question about costs...Yes, you are tresponsible for incoming airfare until the 6month mark.
I think you may be just entering the culture shock phase of your sojurn.
Why not give yourself more time, get out and live life....Learn how to handle yourself with the kiddies....

[ella]

Thanks for that post, MantisBot - good tips!