Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Papa Smurf]

I cut and paste this from a recruiters website. What do you make of it?

Contracts and Trust

* The contract is much more important to Western teachers than it is to Korean employers. The use of employment contracts in Korea is fairly recent and most employers (both good and bad) view it simply as one of the documents needed for a teacher's visa.
* Sometimes the worst employers have the most appealing contracts, while kindly and well-meaning employers have rather brief and poorly written contracts.
* An important thing to bear in mind is that if the contract does not represent what the school intends to do, the school will break it. Teachers who negotiate contracts aggressively or "shop-around" for contracts rather than look for good jobs, often find themselves with a good contract that their employers have no intention of following.
* If a recruiter agrees to major changes in the provisions of a contract, be wary as the school may not even know these changes have been made. Likewise, any school that offers to make major changes to its contract may well have little intention of following it.
* I try to make sure that the contracts represent the jobs as accurately as possible by checking with the school on anything that seems unusual and by correcting ambiguous language. Contact with current foreign teachers is, by far, your best bet in terms of getting a feel for a job. I always put applicants in contact with current and/or former teachers when a job offer is made.
* If you go to Korea with the attitude that all employers are dishonest and are somehow cheating you, it is almost guaranteed that you will have a difficult time at work, alienate yourself form the Koreans around you, and end up coming home unhappy. While you should obviously expect the major provisions of your contract (salary and teaching time, housing, etc.) to be followed, fussing over minor things is likely only to result in your employer having a negative view of you.
* Before you accuse your employer of violating your contract, think carefully about how you may be doing the same (teaching privately, for instance). In Korea, the nature of employer-employee relations and issues of trust differ significantly from those in the West. While you think your employer may be unconcerned with your welfare, s/he may be doing what a Korean employee would view as positive encouragement. Conversely, you may be completely unaware of behaviour on your part that communicates to Koreans disinterest in the job or your employer's success.

[tob55]

It appears to be the comments of a recruiter who has had their share of problems because they have placed people in bad positions, and do not want to accept any responsibility for it...Just from a glance that is what it looks like to me...

[bacasper]

I have heard similar things from reputable recruiters. Still, I would go to Labor for anything which significantly differed from the contract.

[rhinocharge64]

Your employer may not take the contract seriously, and even imply to you that it means very little. However, the labour board does, and if your employer is withholding your salary for example they will act. I know this from experience, and was awarded monies owing from the big bad 'tool'.

[oldfatfarang]

What this recruiter is describing is the age old big game fishing strategy: Bait & Switch.

In Bait and Switch a 'teaser' lure (contract) is put out to attract the fish (teacher). When the fish is interested (teacher signs contract & starts work) then the teaser is withdrawn and a lure with a very big hook is put out (contract with new salary/conditions etc). Bingo. Fish on! (teacher hooked into new salary/conditions).

Bait and Switch works everytime. It's an age old scam - and not culturally specific to Korea. However, Bait & Switch works well in Korea because once a teacher signs the contract - they are a bonded employee - their employer (school) holds their working visa. The teacher has to be very firm to resist the new conditions - or they just have to capitulate to keep their job (unless they want a protracted, stressful and futile legal battle).

The moral of the story is: Korean employers will change every single condition in a contract - if it suits their advantage. 'Trust' and 'Good Faith' are Western concepts - and any teacher who thinks they are standard business practice here - can be in for a very disappointing time.

Also note the recruiter did NOT mention that using Bait & Switch tactics to change contracts is ALWAYS in the employer's favor - I've never heard of K employers changing contracts to INCREASE teachers' benefits.

Every teacher should resist this practice. Although that's a very tiring and stressful way to work. How do I know this? 2 years at a Hagwon - and now a public school that is trying to change my contract working hours/salary/ and accommodation. Somedays, I don't know whether to laugh - or cry.

[chinook]

I think that the comments sum up the sort of feel I get in Korea for what a contract means.

That said, I did actually have a contract change in my benefit. We got a 100,000 a month raise, instituted by our boss. He came up with the whole thing by himself and prides himself on paying a wee bit above the average for teachers.

[Sody]

Let's break it down:

[Gamecock]

Yes, as contracts are not really so important to Korean employers...I've let my employer know that I've decided to take Thursday and Friday off every other week. I don't want to be unfair. They don't have to pay me for those extra days off. I'm sure it's Ok if I don't follow the contract exactly, as they certainly don't.

[Rock]

I'm going through the same 'fears' in Taiwan. What you're actaully talking about is job security. A contract doesn't necessarily guarantee that.

The other points, hours, days off, administrative duties, should be clear. But where I live, this is an entirely grey area, ie., an ex-teacher shows up, the boss knows their performance, the low man on the totem pole gets the shaft(the boot.)

Would a contract still be binding, even though this teacher didn't do anything to cause breach of contract?

This is what a contract's supposed to do. Keep you protected, guarantee job security, make things even-steven.

[shaunew]

Trust is a word you never use when dealing with Koreans. That is rule number 1.

[Mr. BlackCat]

I'm tired of hearing the excuse that contracts mean less to Koreans than to Westerners. They intentionally make attractive promises in these contracts specifically to lure people to their business. Then they promptly ignore these provisions at their earliest convenience. If the contract isn't important to them, or they don't 'understand' the contract purpose, then they wouldn't make these contracts like this in the first place. Basically, many employers will LIE to you and then when they go back on their word they try to claim cultural difference.

My current employer is generally nice, but slowly they're asking more and more. Recently they told me the contract doesn't really matter in regards to OT, that contracts are a Western concept and completely new to the Korean system. Fine, but then why did they make these promises to me in the contract? Because they knew I wouldn't sign it and work for them if they didn't. To me, and any rational person, that's intentional lying and misleading, not cultural differences about a piece of paper.

So I told my boss I won't be going to any more unpaid training sessions or weekend parents' meetings. Guess what piece of paper she pulled out of her drawer to remind me that I was obligated to do these things? Funny how quickly definitions of importance can change here.

[some waygug-in]

What Sody said.

Hagwans often follow contracts to the letter if it is in their favor, but completely ignore them when things would be in the teacher's favor.


That's why it's always best to talk to past and present employees to find out what the work situation is really like.

[Corky]

Hakwon BS intended to make the average newbie think that it's acceptable to have no business ethic here. That recruiter needs a good ass-kicking.

[Fishead soup]

The best information on the nature of contracts in Korea is available from the American embassy.

[Luna]

Just keep track of things that didn't happen in your contract and when the school is suddenly very strict about one part, tell them you'll be very strict about another part they didn't follow through on (such as giving you an orientation before starting because 99.9% of GEPIK teachers didn't have that)

So far it's worked wonderfully for me.