Korean Job Discussion Forums

[desperation]

Hi, I have been paying attention to the asian esl market for years. Korea has aparantly learned that deposits are not the rule in contracts......that took a few years after they outlawed it! None the less, they are figuring that out. I am re-getting ensconced in all the Korean EFL laws and standards and practices and norms, etc. I would like to see if you very informative people can help me out. I have several concerns...we can go into them later.

For now I will discuss money and sex mostly. I live in a rural area and I hate cities. I do however, understand that I won't get laid in the rural Korean town I could get stuck in....its not gonna happen.....Nor would I be able to club and drag a city girl back to my rural korean town from say Seoul or someplace nearby to my rural village (if I picked one).

SO, I assume that sex is hard to come by in a city too, but still easier than rural korea. In taipei they won't even make eye contact, I assume Korea is similar. I hear thailand and japan gives it up pretty easy but that's it.

NOW, I will have you know that sex is a minor concern but I don't wanna make a year-long vow of celibacy flipantly or by default or ignorance or error. I live in a rural NY town and I can't really get laid here, so if I'm gonna give up my fancy french soap, and good razors, and my fresh air and tap water.....I want to get SOME steps up.

My main concern is the loot and the terms attached to it. Am I correct that I'd likely get a rural bonus, more salary money and better rental place.maybe even a house......if I stay out of a city?

Can anyone recommend the best places to do that and can somebody recommend what city is the best for lifestyle. I don't drink and kareoke is not for me. I am not into bars or cigarettes. I'm more a one on one, date, and live life kinda guy. A homebody....so I can understand the country life HERE in NY.....I prefer it to NYC. But we have stuff like fireplaces, trees, and healthfood and grocery stores with all kinds of food that is not messed up JUST 2 MILES AWAY in my car that I don't feel like selling (but will). Soooo....I'm a little afriad of being stranded with 200 or 2000 small town attitudeds that gossip and pull you know what on me.....I like French Soaps...good food, good textiles.....(no cheap polyester sheets!!!) I like my good down pillows.....I think I might prefer a city for these reasons....What would you all recommend? I know I have to sacrifice stuff, its just HOW MUCH do I wanna scarfice and for how much compensation is the crux of my dilema.

I have created a list of criterion that I am refining and I hope you all can help me refine it too. I imagine that I should reply to recruiters with these requirements as my 1st reply and include a picture of me. I am good-looking and I have a feeling that might help get a demand or two met. That's just the way the world turns. I am prepared to wait a few months for the right (public I assume) school to come along. I'm thinking Sept-Nov-ish. I think Hagwans are really too much like Taiwan cram schools and those people are as honorless as they come. I want no lies about my contractual terms. I also understand I may need to strike some requirements for a rigid state contract, but I don't know which ones.......Please Help. Thanks!


English Teaching experience: Yes
(Where, How long): Taipei for one month
Teaching certificate: No
Major/ Minor in the University: Sociology
Name of the University : X State University
Nationality: * American
Available date: Around September - November
Preferred teaching age group : High School, or Adult
Date of birth: 11/20/78 (28 years old)
Preferred Location: Big City, City, or a very well paying rural area like Chungnam Province
Requirements INCLUDE :

Free NOT Shared (Single) Clean Safe Modern Fully Furnished (inventory in contract) Housing with Washer and Dryer, air conditioner, full, queen or king sized bed.
No housing deposit or key money is deducted or requested from me.
I am not responsible for the previous occupant�s unpaid bills.
Free Round Trip Airfare
The cash value of the unused (if unused) roundtrip airfare home will be provided to me, should I choose to sign on for another year after the first year of teaching is successfully completed. All visa run expenses will be paid for in full by the school.
Health Insurance: The employer must provide me with a medical insurance certificate and booklet from the NHIC at the time of the contract commencement.
20% increase in monthly salary on each month of the second contract�s year, should I continue teaching for another year.
All deductions from salary will be clearly spelled out in the contract to prevent disputes over such deductions later. The only legal and acceptable deductions will be for: Income Tax, the Korean National Health Insurance, and the Korean Pension Fund.
Paid National Holidays with an additional minimum 28 days of paid vacation annually.
Paid sick days.
Unpaid Emergency leave days.
No need to make up national holidays.
Mon-Fri work week with NO Saturdays.
One hour for lunch each day.
Highest Possible Salary (2.5 Million won minimum) The specific number of classes per day, each week and month and the specific length of these classes will be written into the contract. Staff meetings, special events, workshops, etc. will count toward overtime.
Overtime is optional, with credit given for classes taught on the national holidays.
Overtime is paid at rate of AT LEAST 120% of my hourly wage minimum
Block shifts (no more than 8 hours between my daily start and finish time and that must be in writing)
If classes end early, I am not responsible for making up the minutes that were cut out.
Pension contributions matched by employer.
No security deposit.
Salary will be paid on the last working day of each month but absolutely no later than the 5th day of the following month.
Reputable Clean Safe School whose full physical and mailing address will be written into the contract.
Nontaxable Honorable Completion Bonus in the amount of the average of my last three months of wages, shall be paid separately from the last salary of the last working month. Completion Bonus will be presented to me on the last working day.
5-6 hours a day or working no weekends
Working hours will be spelled out in the contract
Public or Private School: Public Preferred
Employment dates are from E2 Visa Issue Date until E2 Visa Expiry Date. I will begin teaching when I have received the proper working Visa from the Korean Immigration Officials.
The governing language of the contract shall be both English and Korean as the are direct translations of each other.

[merkurix]

Recruiters are probably not going to bend backwards on your terms since they are not getting paid by you. What will happen is they will throw a bunch of job offers at you and they will probably say "take it or leave it." You might be better off just browsing the Korean Jobs section of this website and applying for the ones that appeal to you most. Be sure the contract is also satisfactory to you before signing. Negotiating some of your terms in writing with a potential employer may also be helpful in getting what you want.

[desperation]

Thanks, I figured that everybody would reject me or ignore me. I was going to shop the ads continually. I wonder what is the best way to negotiate terms. I found getting them on the phone was 1000 times more effective at that then in email. On the phone I could use a sexy suave "OH COME NOW, "ANDREW LIE Darrrling" voice.....they like that. It makes them respect me....Or maybe those were isolated incidents....Is email better and if so how? If not, what do you say and do you not say? For example I LOVE TAIWAN AND CHINESE CULTURE AND CHILDREN (not taiwanese) was the only answer to "WHY HERE"? If you say Taiwanese its an insult and the deal is off, if you say money or any other reason, the deal is off. Simlar with negotiating terms....what do I write/say?

[ProudPop]

So, You have only a month experiece but yet you think you deserve 2.5mil, 28days paid vacation, 20% raise? and a King bed?
Get a grip on reality kid, you won't get that here.
I know 100's of teachers with 3yrs here or more, they are making 2.5 no problem, but you have 0 experience here.
I am curious, why do you think you are better than all those people?

[huck]

Good luck...It's a unique approach, but I don't think it's going to work...

What's the 20% monthly raise each month mean? Don't you mean a 20% raise at the start of your 2nd year?

In rural areas, little things like dryers probably won't be too likely. Neither will the 28 days of vacation....Most hogwans only offer 2 weeks, at most.

[poet13]

Your concerns appear to be 1) Getting laid a lot, 2) Money, and 3) Having an environment here as close as possible to the one you have at home....in that order.

Really now. I'm not trying to flame you, but why come here?

merkurix was right. It would be a rare recruiter who would put in all of that time and energy to negotiate and meet all of your demands. It's easier for them just to chum the water and see who bites.

[desperation]

[desperation]

[desperation]

[PRagic]

You are thinking about negotiating from a N. American perspective. You have no leverage here...no history...no connections. There is a steady supply of not-so-anal applicants who are more willing to roll with it.

Sure, take some precautions. However, if you want to hit all those bases, including personal preferences, before you even step on the plane, you might be in for a long wait.

You know:

Basic salaries
Types of housing arrangements
Basic teaching loads
Standard vacations

Save that stuff for when and if a decent job comes around.

Shoot for:

A location (Seoul or Pusan)
A target age (kids or adults)

Narrow it down from there using the above.

[kprrok]

[SeoulShakin]

Here's a list of things you are being unrealistic about:

- having a dryer... in the country... good freakin luck.
- 2.5mill with only one month experience (not in Korea), and without an Education degree.
- King size bed... for one person you're likely going to get a single or double.
- If you're looking for a public school, you're likely going to have to be ready to arrive mid August for a September start. Also, they aren't likely to budge on their contract. It's usually run by the local government, so it's standard. Again, good luck.
- If you sign on for a second year, they won't give you the cash equivalent of your flight home after the first year, cause they're still going to have to send you home after year #2. With public schools, you might find different depending on the area of Korea, but never in a hogwan.
- You're right about health insurance, but it will likely be a week or two after you arrive, because first you need to get your ARC sorted out.
- 28 additional vacation days... good luck. With my public school it's 21, and that's a new thing they've done, as it used to be 14. Standard at a hogwan is 10-12. Good try though.
- An hour for lunch - some do get this, but you're likely looking at between 30 mins and 45 mins.
- If you're looking at a public school, your payday won't be on the last day of each month, or within the first 5 days. You can try though.
- Public schools are 8 hour days, with an average of 4-5 classes a day. You won't get a contract with 5-6 hour days with a public school. Try an after school program, or a hogwan for that.
- Thinking that life in Korea will be the same as life in the USA. It won't. If you want the same as home, then think twice before coming here.

I hope that this information helped you with how you will negotiate your contract. Good luck searching for positions.

[happeningthang]

A lot of what you've demanded is readily provided by most employers. The few things that aren't are;

Furnishing - Not always provided, and those that do usually aren't that picky in choosing matching sets, if you know what I mean.

Dryer - Not all that commonly used in Korea, in my experience. So, would most likely be considered a luxury item, and not provided for teachers.

28 days vacation - Again, not very common for anyone in Korea. Hagwons might give you 10 days, public school you might be able to swing school holidays as your own.

2.5 million Pay - Usually newbie wages top out around 2.2, although you might be lucky. No harm in trying.

As for recruiters they'll not be the ones to make demands of, I'd think it'd be better to save that for your interview/ contract negotiation time.

You seem to be trying to take all the uncertainty of working in Korea, by negotiating up front all your conditions. Personally, I've found that it doesn't work this way in Korea, or in life. Employers will write some flexibility into their contracts, and the very specific contracts aren't usually going to favour the teachers. Either by design, or accident there is a general 'fluidity' to working arrangements in Korea, and you will be expected to give and take (more likely give).

[The_Conservative]

To this I will add. You will NEVER get recruitment on your terms...I'd be suprised if you even got hired.

Be aware that dishonest people (about 90% of hakwon directors/recruiters) will tell "Sure, sure anything you want." Then once you are over there and are tied to the school by an E-2 visa, they will say "Sorry, it's not going to happen." If it's a good school that is. If it's a regular school they will say "Be quiet. We OWN you. Now get in that classroom and start teaching!" And the only thing you can do is go home at your own expense.

What I'm trying to tell you is that your terms are not only high...they are completely unrealistic. Period. You might get a few of them met or mostly met...but nowhere near all of them or as high as you have set the bar. Go and read the ads on Dave's. That will give you a more realistic picture of what you can demand.

[The_Conservative]