Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tyleranthony]

I have a few ?? somebody may be able to answer for me. I just received a sample contract from BCM, where I would be working not in a branch or hagwon but in a public school in gangnam, seoul under an SMOE/ETIS arrangement.

the contract i received is 1/2 in Korean, 1/2 in english. knowing that conditions in contracts are nearly entirely based on the construction of language, is it reasonable to request that the contract only be written in english? just a matter of comfort for me i guess...

also, is it reasonable that they deduct 300k won from the first three paychecks as a security deposit for housing? has anybody signed a contract with a similar clause?

generally, to what degree are contracts flexible? are they set in stone or negotiable? can I request that certain clauses are included or spelled out in further detail?

any help on this topic would be tremendously appreciated.

thanks

tyler

[Woden]

[tyleranthony]

you think that i don't know what language they speak there? c'mon now...i'm asking for help and you're giving me some piss-poor sarcasm.

my point is that language in contracts should be very particular and precise. because i dont speak korean yet, i'm totally unaware of the nuances of the language that could, in korean, mean one thing, and mean something different in english. i'm just making sure i'm not setting myself up to get screwed if something goes wrong, the contract gets reviewed, and there's something written in Korean that maybe isn't translated perfectly into the english portion of the document.

it's not that i'm unwilling to engage in bilingualism, i mean i'm moving to korea for at least a year! i just think its reasonable to know, down to the letter, what a contract states before signing it.

[crsandus]

Even if you get an English contract, there will be a Korean version and the Korean version will be the version used in legal proceedings.

I have also read that other public school teachers have had the 300.000 Won deductions from their first three months pay.

Contracts can be as flexible or as rigid as you want them. You can be adamant about certain clauses and fight tooth and nail for everything in the contract or sometimes people are very flexible on somethings.

[Woden]

Sorry for the sarcasm, I was a bit harsh!

I thought you were asking for a Korean legal document to be written in English. There needs to be a Korean version, which you will have to sign, regardless of how many translated versions there are.

I should have been more subtle, maybe. I wasn't suggesting you speak Korean (I don't) but I was just saying that it might give an employer the wrong impression if you ask for the contract to be written in a foreign language. It does suggest Western arrogance, which we are all probably guilty of to some extent, not least of all me (at least that is what the Japanese girlfriend keeps saying!).

[kimchi story]

[albazalba]

I work for the SMOE in Gangnam and let me tell you it is a sound contract. First of all, the translation is pretty damn good. It goes one clause at a time, and I would say is pretty clear.
That 300,000 won deposit is pretty standard too. I know people at other schools that deposit up to 500,000 won so don't sweat it, they'll give it back to you. Just look at it as forced savings.
My advice is sign the contract, they are good people who are working hard to make gangnam the best place to work under the SMOE.

[tyleranthony]

[lover.asian]

[mrsquirrel]