Korean Job Discussion Forums

[captain kirk]

...they have a logbook and a signed entry for the last time I got a board marker. I must bring the used marker and present it upon requesting a new marker. She hauled out the logbook, saw that was two weeks ago, and criticized me for using up the marker too quickly.

They are three weeks late with the student books for one of my classes, so I must photocopy handouts to begin the book we're awaiting. I must buy my own paper to load the machine to make these copies. If this were North Korea I'd understand, but the owners are filthy, stinking, obscenely, porcinely RICH.

I don't work there anymore. I was afraid they'd sell my kidneys.

[sconner]

..one of the students,a little girl I might add, kicked a hole through the wall. My boss took some pictures down from other rooms and glued them to the wall,at waist level. When another kid punched the wall and left a huge dent, out came the glue again and he found an old frame somewhere and put the cover of the Kids Time we were teaching in it. Then there was the time the electrical socket came out with the plug, for this he used scotch tape and a postcard that came in the mail.

[Whistleblower]

[Hater Depot]

I just finished at a similar school. The owner is doing very, very well and frankly I think the cheapness comes from the manager... stinginess about the markers, a password to use the photocopier, refusing to buy enough copies of the teacher's books.

[captain kirk]

...so cheap that when asked about the lack of toilet paper in the washrooms the wonjonim said, "why buy? It just gets thrown down the toilet".

...so cheap that payment of severance was only justified in the event of an employee losing a limb (his way of saying, proudly, he 'didn't pay severance'). This the wonjonim laughingly referred to as 'your texas chainsaw bonus-uh'.

[willneverteachagain]

i had the marker thing too, but buying my own paper because the school cant get books on time? yeah right, wouldnt be me

[bixlerscott]

Yes, stationary is tough to come by and very limited. Oh yes, everything is issued and recorded in a log book such as markers, pencils, erasers, crayons, and books. I must return the empty marker to get a new one. Seems like you get one supply of crayons, pencils, copier paper, and erasers for the whole year. I could be wrong, but when I asked for more after using them up for 3 months with kindy, NO was the answer. I felt a need to buy some to improve my teaching situation so I did. Copy paper is rarely available with only one copier in the building. Thier is one computer printer, but no paper until you put your own in it.

I am used to having more than enough of these sorts of things in the US. I feel being cheap is asking for tensions between the FT's and the school, because teachers feel thier school is not supporting them so they are not loyal to the school. The benefit is they tend to be more loyal to each other then instead of the school.

Hagwons are businesses so they look to operate as cheaply as possible to maximize profit with the logic of the FT being there to talk, rather than use up supplies, but it still requires stationary materials to teach school when it is science, math, phonics, literacy, and such you are teaching rather than conversational English. The school owners hold directors responsible for each 1000 won of expense or losses so directors look to avoid expenses whenever possible. The school may be operating at a substantial profit with a filthy rich owner, but this is way business is done out of greed and yangban customs.

Kinda a Cheap Trick.

[captain kirk]

Ladies and gentilemen, Cheap Trick!

You need oversized guitars to be heard over the roar of the hagwon.

Most of the guitar is a cheap, visual trick.

Consider this thread PUNished.

[bixlerscott]

Good one!! Thanks for the humorous reply.

[wylies99]

[Adventurer]

[jajdude]

[oxfordstu]

On Halloween, I had to buy all the candy for my classes.

When asked if I could have a ballpoint pen to do some grading, the director showed me a huge bag of about 1,000 pens --- she then said "you may take ONE."

At one point I was teaching 36 hours a week, but she'd always get out of paying me overtime by cancelling classes at the last minute or taking us out to lunch instead of tutoring.

During intensives, they turned the tiny office into a classroom just so they could add another class.

Always used the cheapest copy paper available, always causing it to jam.

Was forced to go to meetings that I was not paid for, and they were held entirely in Korean.

All in all, not a horrible experience compared to some of the others on here, but still annoying.

[Novernae]