Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jadarite]

I know legally, it all depends on the contract. However, if the contract says the employer will pay for it, is this a red flag when they ask you to buy the ticket first and they will reimburse you when you arrive?

The reason is that it's cheaper to buy a ticket in the states than in Korea. On the other hand, couldn't they simply pay with a credit card to the airline in the states? Is this impossible?

[laogaiguk]

[guccigoo]

Hi, I was/am in the same situation as you. I've talked to the director of my hakwon about it, insisting that he pay for it since I'm dead ass broke. But he kept pushing the fact that it's *much* cheaper to purchase the ticket in America and that he will reimburse me ASAP. My parents told me to just do what he said and that they would pay for my flight (I would, of course, pay them back immediately). The best way to get any answers about the situation is to talk to the teachers that already work there. I've gotten the e-mail addresses of most of the english teachers at my hakwon and they all said that the director reimbursed within a day or two.

[MarionG]

I'm not an expert on ticket prices, but IS it cheaper to buy it in the US? I'm not at all sure.

Having said that, only a few schools actually buy the ticket for you. Most will reimburse promptly when you arrive. It is certainly not a red flag that they want you to upfront the cost of the ticket.

So that you feel better about it, ask that it be put in the contract WHEN you will be reimbursed for the ticket. i.e within 7 days or within 10 days etc.

[The Bobster]

Most people get reimbursed on arrival with no problem, and there's a practical reason : they've got you on the hook for 12 months of labor and they want to keep you happy for at least most of it. Most people who have problems getting promised airfare money, it's on the way home. Again, they might tell you to buy the ticket and they'll reimburse to your account ... and then they forget. Or discover some damage to the apartment. Or something.

Just wondering, if you're flat broke when you get off the plane, how do you plan to eat for a month until you get paid?

[jadarite]

The Bobster,

Let me answer your question by rephrasing it.

If you use up your money for a plane ticket, how do you plan to eat for a month until you get paid?

[Treefarmer]

there are plenty who will pay for your ticket once they get ahold of your documents

[bejarano-korea]

[Dome Vans]

Get a public school job where they give you a settlement allowance of 300 000 won, if ur flat broke, this is prob the only way. But you have to pay for your ticket first.

Agree with Bajarano, red light this hagwon, plenty more jobs out there.

Think though that it covers the owner that if they buy the ticket and there's no show from you they've lost out.

[jadarite]

bejarano-korea and Dome Vans,

The recruiting agency helped me up until Friday (Sept 31), then they told me an ETicket would come Saturday. Well, the schools aren't open on Saturday, so the school never paid for the ticket. They thought I would pay for it. On that Saturday, I got an email from the travel agency asking for credit card info and expiration date.

I told them to cancel the flight because I couldn't contact the recruiting agency. This gave the school the impression I wasn't serious. So, I called an airline company in America (found a flight $500 cheaper), and the school asked me to pay for the ticket.

I tried to contact the recruiting agency to explain this, and I never got a reply. I also emailed the travel agency, and at this time I got an email from them saying since they were on holiday, they never got the credit card info until after the holiday which was well past the first flight date.

Maybe this was just not meant to be. I have another recruiting company which is going to call the school and try to sort this out. The contract has the following in it:

"Transportation
Employer will provide for the employee an economy class one way airline ticket from an international airport mutually agreed to by employer and employee. On the completion of the full contract period the employee will receive a return ticket from Korea to employee's home country. "

If there is anyone to blame, I point to the first recruiting agency because they knew the contract should have been finalized earlier. As soon as they got the contract details worked out, they stopped talking to me. They never stepped in to help me or the school with the flight details. This is when and where the problems came.

The agent I worked with was named Ariel and her company is http://www.jobinkorea.co.kr/

[CentralCali]

[Fresh Prince]

There are plenty of schools, especially hokwons that will pay for the ticket upfront. Normally, they pay a travel agent for the ticket and the travel agent emails you the eticket which is already paid for.

I agree with the other posters that it is a warning sign if the hokwon complains that it's cheaper for you to pay for the ticket.

[ontheway]

Laogaiguk got it right. Most schools will have you pay for the ticket and reimburse you on arrival (within a few days). As a teacher, you have to show that you are professional and serious. Many teachers have gotten prepaid tickets to Korea only to disembark in Japan, or come to Korea, but never show up at their school. Even after getting an E2, they will fly in, take a vacation, and never show up. Nice little backpacker scam.

A school that requires the teacher to buy the ticket is a good sign. It shows the school has experience dealing with teachers in the real world. Schools that pay in advance may have no experience with foreign teachers, which means they probably have other unrealistic ideas or unreasonable expectations.

Why would a bad school want to pay for your ticket? If you are so desperate and broke that you can't get a ticket, or if you have no one who will help you with a credit card to buy a ticket, that means you are an easy target, an unprotected victim. You will have a hard time leaving when you feel abused. No money, no friends, no way to escape.

[sojourner1]

A recruiter paid for my ticket over and then had me submit the ticket and bill for airfare and recruitment to the school director the next morning for immediate reimbursement.

[The Bobster]