Korean Job Discussion Forums

[freddyb]

Working at Gangwon English Learning Center (GELC) was a complete challenge. Don�t get me wrong, the work is easy and fun when the students are there. When there are no students then the work is boring, but easy. The challenge was working with the people there, more specifically, the head supervisor.

From the beginning he created a hostile environment by telling the Korean staff to �look� for problems with the foreigners and to report back to him. This kind of situation made working there uncomfortable and created a level of distrust among the teachers.

He has also gone drinking with some Korean staff and teachers to talk about how �bad� one teacher was. This behavior is unbecoming in a supervisor and also causes conflict on the Korean�s part. If the boss dislikes one person, should they also dislike them? It�s not fair but it is part of office management in Korea.

When he wanted to fire one of the foreign teachers during the ninth month, he forced the Korean teachers to make lists of �problems.� This list included � the teacher was late for a class once. He gave the teacher a list of �suggestions� which was completely vague concerning ways to correct their behavior. When the teacher refused to agree to the suggestions, the teacher was fired. Apparently the list of suggestions was her official warning�the only one received.

Lastly, he was overheard telling a teacher that �Because she is female, she shouldn�t have an opinion�. Such remarks are completely uncalled for and show what type of person the supervisor really is.

The school staff and Korean teachers are okay, on the whole. Unfortunately they are so completely under this man�s spell; willing to do anything he asks, including lying and cheating. One example is when they took the last day�s pay of the departing teacher (the one who was fired). They told her that it was a rule in Korea not to pay the last day�s work. Do people in Korea really work for free? No, they don�t. However the staff had no problems backing up the supervisor.

Working at Gangwon English Learning Center (GELC) is very easy. Especially in lieu of the amount of money you make and the semi-free two bedroom apartment. Unfortunately, it is such easy and stagnant work that after a month, there is little room for new ideas or growth as a teacher. The work at GELC is not the problem, especially if you just want that paycheck, but it is some of the people and mainly the head supervisor that are the problems.