Tefl in South Korea

cloneslad

camoramo wrote: »

Should I ask them about it then? Did they tell you about it when it happened?
The reason this happened is because they fired a foreign teacher recently, won't replace him and are too cheap to pay us more overtime because we're already being paid overtime for winter intensives.
Since we're one teacher down it's not actually possible for all classes to be covered, we've have to merge classes and parents have complained, but they still won't hire a new teacher! oh Korea!

Your contract is your legal document if employment, they hold as much sway, legally, in korea as they do in any other country. People who say aren't worth anything are incorrect. What they should say is employers don't obey them.

It's up to you to enforce the contract, if they want you to sign something and you don't want to, then don't. Contact a solicitor or the labour board if they try to fire you for no good reason.

Don't mention signing a new contract, there's no point giving them an idea. Have you long left? You might just be best riding out the endof it and getting a new job somewhere else.

Also, you might want to make sure they have been paying all your taxes, pension etc. if you think the school is in trouble.

Andy!!

LaurenR wrote: »

Thanks Andy!
I've read good things about Suwon, there seems to be good nightlife etc and from what I can gather taxis in Korea are pretty cheap. There's two of us so I think it would be too much of a risk to turn it down in the hope of being offered something a little bit closer. Although could be jumping the gun a tad!! We haven't been offered it yet, going to find out tomorrow but our recruiter said she's expecting a positive answer. She spoke to him after our interviews this morning and thought it went really well.

We got offered public school positions in Ulsan and an interview for Busan BMOE. It's so hard to know what the right choice is but I'd be afraid we end up being placed ages away from each other in public schools.

The hours in the hagwon are 2 to 10 though which seems pretty unsociable. In general do a lot of teachers finish at this time? Would there be much happening after you've finished school during the week?

Yeah I do these unsociable hours.

Yeaaaah, it can be a drag sometimes. But also, I'm not on the subway line nor that near a big hub like Suwon so it's a double hit on the weekday socializing. That's gonna be the reality with hagwons though. Ulsan has a decent community just from how much I hear people from there talking about it.

Taxis are indeed hella cheap here. Not like in mainland south Asia or anything but still enticing if you're exhausted from a days shopping. :P

I wouldn't worry about risk because you're going over as a couple. Couples are more desirable generally because oftentimes hagwons want more than one teacher; only one place to pay for then :pac: If you see a couples job chances are you are replacing a couple so it would be a whole load of hassle for a director to get another place to accomodate two singles. You are actually at an advantage being part of a couple, IMO.

Andy!!

camoramo wrote: »

Should I ask them about it then? Did they tell you about it when it happened?
The reason this happened is because they fired a foreign teacher recently, won't replace him and are too cheap to pay us more overtime because we're already being paid overtime for winter intensives.
Since we're one teacher down it's not actually possible for all classes to be covered, we've have to merge classes and parents have complained, but they still won't hire a new teacher! oh Korea!

And just to clarify camoramo; your thinking is still very westernized. In Ireland and other countries contracts are serious business but they aren't here. They aren't worth **** because employers don't obey them. Therefore they are worth nowt. There have been eight, or nine, can't rightly remember now, people fired from my hagwon since the new director started. Very talented, capable, nice people. Some were 'too expensive' to keep, some, well, our boss prefers 'her own hires', so she just turfed them. Their contracts meant nothing in the end. These are full Korean Native Teachers I'm talking about. If they could have fought the decision they would have. But often this is a futile and costly move. When we all go out to drown our sorrows when someone else gets done in, all I hear from the Koreans are how little the agreements they signed help them. They help the employer make sure you do your job, but they don't do too much for the employee.
And I'm in one of the countries biggest chains too. Not some shady operation.

Of course this is the Hagwon environment, EPIK is a government scheme and is therefore under more serious scrutiny. They won't fire you for no reason, they'll just make your life hell. :pac:

Well that post seemed very negative, and posts like this terrified me before I came over, but to those making that move I would say that there's nothing really to fear. S.K. is a great place to live and you will have a great time here and make a fair bit of money, and travel etc. The negative aspects to Korea only amount to about 10% of the entire experience.

daesu

LaurenR wrote: »

Thanks Andy!
I've read good things about Suwon, there seems to be good nightlife etc and from what I can gather taxis in Korea are pretty cheap.

Suwon's grand, nothing wrong with it. Lots of foreigners, some foreign bars etc.

The hours in the hagwon are 2 to 10 though which seems pretty unsociable.

2 to 10 is common.

In general do a lot of teachers finish at this time?

In private schools yes. Some finish much later (even after midnight, though it's technically illegal)

Would there be much happening after you've finished school during the week?

Most bars, restaurants etc don't close until 3am+

camoramo

Thanks Cloneslad, I want to stick it out am almost halfway through. It's just very badly organised even the Korean teachers agree it's bad as far as hagwons go. The school will only be a year old next month and has lots of investors so won't close anytime soon but they're focused on the money and cutting it wherever they can.
Andy I'm well aware that I'm in Korea and I know how things work in hagwons, I've seen it first hand! I'm in one of the biggest chains too, it doesn't make a difference to them trying to screw you over when they can.

Andy!!

camoramo wrote: »

I'm in one of the biggest chains too, it doesn't make a difference to them trying to screw you over when they can.

Nope, none at all

daesu

camoramo wrote: »

I'm in one of the biggest chains too, it doesn't make a difference to them trying to screw you over when they can.

Well think about it like this;

- Your employment term is 12 months. You are not a 'permanent' employee under Korean labour law. In this category you would have a weak position even if you were a citizen. (Many koreans are hired as 'contractors' these days, it's a big labour issue)
- Your employer sponsors your visa so you are, just like people on work visas everywhere, under some control of the employer.
- If they break the contract what do they have to fear from you ? If you go to the trouble of going to the labour board and appealing it you will likely win but will you go to all that trouble and cost ? Employers usually bet no.

Andy!!

daesu wrote: »

Well think about it like this;

- Your employment term is 12 months. You are not a 'permanent' employee under Korean labour law. In this category you would have a weak position even if you were a citizen. (Many koreans are hired as 'contractors' these days, it's a big labour issue)
- Your employer sponsors your visa so you are, just like people on work visas everywhere, under some control of the employer.
- If they break the contract what do they have to fear from you ? If you go to the trouble of going to the labour board and appealing it you will likely win but will you go to all that trouble and cost ? Employers usually bet no.

This is all true, except I do wonder whether the Labour board would vote in favourof the waygookin? Any instances of this happening that people know about? I get the feeling that they'd vote against just because the waygookin had the balls to affront Korean 'rules' by taking it to them. :pac:
Even if they did the director would probably tell the board you dangled kids out of the window on a frequent basis or something

daesu

Andy!! wrote: »

This is all true, except I do wonder whether the Labour board would vote in favourof the waygookin? Any instances of this happening that people know about?

Yes many instances. The issue is, as I said, that getting money owed is rarely worth the time, effort, and cost that it takes to remain in Korea to pursue it. People who do pursue it generally do so while already in a new job with a new visa.

Paying for a return flight somewhere to get a tourist visa added to the cost of living and accomodation for a few weeks/months is almost certainly going to be much higher than anything you are owed from the employer.

Plus, the employer is not fined or penalised to any substantial degree by the labour board except for what he would have originally owed you. By trying to cheat you out of a couple of months salary, for example, he risks very little considering the employee probably won't pursue it and even when he loses the punishment is minimal.

Andy!!

daesu wrote: »

Yes many instances. The issue is, as I said, that getting money owed is rarely worth the time, effort, and cost that it takes to remain in Korea to pursue it. People who do pursue it generally do so while already in a new job with a new visa.

Paying for a return flight somewhere to get a tourist visa added to the cost of living and accomodation for a few weeks/months is almost certainly going to be much higher than anything you are owed from the employer.

Plus, the employer is not fined or penalised to any substantial degree by the labour board except for what he would have originally owed you. By trying to cheat you out of a couple of months salary, for example, he risks very little considering the employee probably won't pursue it and even when he loses the punishment is minimal.

Oh sorry, I thought you were talking about going to the board to save your job, not to get money you were owed.

squeakyduck

Going to travel around the world after this contract and lo and behold I don't think I have enough passport pages to go where I want to go. Emailed the embassy and they were super helpful. Might help someone else out here too!

wrote:

I would like to inform you it will take 5-6 weeks approximately to get the new passport issued and dispatched to the Embassy by the Passport Office Dublin (PPOM) after lodging your application at the Embassy. A list of fees in both Euro & local currency (Korean Won) is as follows;-
* a 10-year standard passport - Euro80 (equivalent of KRW120,000 -subject to change due to monthly exchange rate)
* a 10-year large passport for a frequent traveller - Euro110 (equivalent of KRW165,000 - subject to change due to monthly exchange rate)

* urgent processing fee on the top of the application fee above - Euro55 (equivalent of KRW83,000 - subject to change due to monthly exchange rate)

* A postal charge of KRW2,000 for each postal transaction will be added to the overall fee when documents are sent from the Embassy by registered post.
Appropriate Korean fee(s) should be paid directly to the Embassy in the form of cash or postal money order. The Embassy can not accept a credit card for payment of the fee(s).

Your current Irish passport is required as documentary evidence of your Irish citizenship, if you are an Irish-born citizen (i.e. born in Ireland). If not, we may need to see other documents to prove your citizenship, for instance Foreign Birth Registration Certificate. We will return your current Irish passport after the submission of your application form to the PPOM, if you wish keep your current passport in your possession while the new passport application is being processed in Ireland. You then have to send that back to us for cancellation when the new passport turns up at the Embassy. The cancelled passport will be returned with your new passport. You then may go to or make contact with the Korean Immigration Service to get your Korean visa transferred from the old passport to the new passport.

In the meantime, you may visit the Embassy's website www.embassyofireland.or.kr, click on 'Passport/Consular/Visa Info' among the side-bars on your left-hand side and select 'Passport Service' to read further information on the passport application or view a scanned copy of the application form.

When you have your new passport (with a new passport number) in your hand you may need to go to the Korea Immigration Service to have your current work visa transferred to the new passport. As we are the Embassy we can issue or cancel a passport not a visa issued by another country. In this regards please contact the Korean Immigration call centre by ringing 1345 without prefix (for further information please find the attached) or a local immigration office in your region.

WindSock

Have to get my crc copy apostilled apparently. What is this and how do I do it?

Andy!!

WindSock wrote: »

Have to get my crc copy apostilled apparently. What is this and how do I do it?

CRC as in background check? You need to get it notarizes THEN apostilled. And it has to be an ORIGINAL. Head to http://waygookseoul.blogspot.kr/2012/08/ireland-korea-how-to-for-new-english.html

squeakyduck

WindSock wrote: »

Have to get my crc copy apostilled apparently. What is this and how do I do it?

This is your Criminal Record Check, to say that you've not done anything illegal while in Ireland.

It's already notarised as its been singed by the superintendent of your local garda station. You need it apostilled by the department of foreign affairs

Andy!!

Oh yeah forgot a superintendent's signature is valid as a notarization.

Yeah you just need it apostilled. The Department of Foreign affairs you do that in is at the exact opposite corner of Stephens Green from where the shopping centre is.

WindSock

What's the craic with this EPIK thing? Is it better to go through them than normal recruiters?

Andy!!

Apply for everything you can basically. EPIK is a government scheme but that does not guarantee it will be a good job; also, they are making serious cuts at the moment.

Orizio

Guys please answer this please - I've just been told that my diploma, that is in Latin, needs to be translated for immigration - true or not?

Andy!!

This has come up before and was as far as I am aware was found to not be the case, who told you this?

Orizio

Andy!! wrote: »

This has come up before and was as far as I am aware was found to not be the case, who told you this?

The recruiter 'Teach ESL Korea'. First I heard of it, but they seem adamant.

daesu

Orizio wrote: »

Guys please answer this please - I've just been told that my diploma, that is in Latin, needs to be translated for immigration - true or not?

The rules change all the time and can depend on who you deal with. But yes I've heard from several people that they had to get their diploma translated and the translation certified in some way.

Orizio

daesu wrote: »

The rules change all the time and can depend on who you deal with. But yes I've heard from several people that they had to get their diploma translated and the translation certified in some way.

Oh dear god. How do I find out for sure? I'm supposed to get my diploma apostilled on Monday. And how does one get his diploma translated, do I have to go to UCC and get them to re-print it in English...? That will take ages.

R.D. aka MR.D

Orizio wrote: »

Oh dear god. How do I find out for sure? I'm supposed to get my diploma apostilled on Monday. And how does one get his diploma translated, do I have to go to UCC and get them to re-print it in English...? That will take ages.

Ask the recruiter again. My degree is in Latin and i've not had problems with it.

Honestly recruiters tell you things just in case, i'm not sure if it's because they don't know or they are trying to cover all bases.

For example this past week a recruiter told me i needed to bring a bunch of documents to my new school, i knew i didn't need them so i didn't worry about it and lo and behold when i got to the school they didn't need the extra stuff that the recruiter had told me. :rolleyes:

Just send the guy/girl a quick email saying that you've talked to some people in Korea and they said they didn't need a translation. See what s/he says.

(in case it matters: i've only been in hagwons)

Andy!!

Yeah if you aren't already set on a job just tell that recruiter to get lost and look for another one. All that translation lark is gonna take a fair while, you're right. Oh and don't forget it's a photocopy of your diploma you're getting done.

Berberis

Hi folks,
Anyone know how long it takes for someone to renew their visa for a 2nd year teaching in korea. can it be done in 3 days from the time you come home from korea

Choccie Lover

Orizio wrote: »

Guys please answer this please - I've just been told that my diploma, that is in Latin, needs to be translated for immigration - true or not?

When I was applying a few years back, I had the same request from a potential employer. I never got it translated and was okay.

But not sure how things stand now.

Nascimento

Applied to epik.go.kr and footprints today.

Do they put much emphasis on your essay and lesson plan?

How long should it be before I hear back from them?

EDIT: Just heard back from footprints, and they stated the following: "Note: It is important to recognize that the majority of our positions in South Korea or China require a TEFL certification of at least 120 hours. For South Korea it must be an in-class TEFL certification. You can start the interview process without certification, however, it must be completed before you are offered a contract."

An in-class certification? Is this new?

daesu

Nascimento wrote: »

EDIT: Just heard back from footprints, and they stated the following: "Note: It is important to recognize that the majority of our positions in South Korea or China require a TEFL certification of at least 120 hours. For South Korea it must be an in-class TEFL certification. You can start the interview process without certification, however, it must be completed before you are offered a contract."

An in-class certification? Is this new?

The recruiter said they require it, very few schools, public or private, in SK (AFAIK) require it. They likely have many applicants and simply want to have more qualified ones in order to be more competitive getting jobs. They can go to a potential employer and say "See, all our teachers have TEFL certificates".

Go with another recruiter.

From what I gather from talking to friends these days it's becoming increasingly difficult to get a job here. A lot of public school jobs have been cut and add that to the economic situation in most of the English speaking world and you have more supply of teachers than demand for them.

Plus, to be frank, parents and students here as a whole are far more concerned with studying to pass the English test to gain entry to University. As a result there is less demand for classes with foreign teachers as they are not qualified to teach children what is required for this. Classes with a foreign teacher is a luxury not a necessity.

A lot of the parents these days are young enough to have gone through schools with foreign teachers and they are fully aware that classes in private schools with foreigners are largely a waste of time and money which could be better spent on English classes with a Korean who knows the intricacies of the University entrance exam.

So it's not surprising that demand for higher qualifications is going up while demand as a whole is going down.

Orizio

After applying to 8-9 different recruiters over the past couple of months and unfortunately right now I'm being ignored by all of them, even though my documents are complete (well getting apostilled tomorrow). Can I ask is it just really hard/impossible to get work in South Korea if you aren't good looking/slim/photogenic? Thinking of just forgetting about South Korea at this stage.

Andy!!

Orizio wrote: »

After applying to 8-9 different recruiters over the past couple of months and unfortunately right now I'm being ignored by all of them, even though my documents are complete (well getting apostilled tomorrow). Can I ask is it just really hard/impossible to get work in South Korea if you aren't good looking/slim/photogenic? Thinking of just forgetting about South Korea at this stage.

If its taken you a few months to produce completed documents they may have just given up on your application based on that to be honest. But I would be lying if I said applicants were never judged by their picture. But I think thats not the reason behind your issue.

Orizio

Andy!! wrote: »

If its taken you a few months to produce completed documents they may have just given up on your application based on that to be honest. But I would be lying if I said applicants were never judged by their picture. But I think thats not the reason behind your issue.

So should I just get back in contact with recruiters when I have everything apostilled, just as a reminder? Going to do a introductory video as well in a couple of days as well, hopefully that will improve things as well.

squeakyduck

Orizio wrote: »

Can I ask is it just really hard/impossible to get work in South Korea if you aren't good looking/slim/photogenic? Thinking of just forgetting about South Korea at this stage.

Recruiters work on a commission basis. If they think that you are wasting time they will give up. I was incredibly choosy with my first school but my recruiter stuck with me.

Korea is a very good looking nation. But being different is beautiful to them. I have seen very big/fat teachers and downright ugly (to my eyes) teachers. Looks are important as is personality but don't forget they want you to teach their kids too!

Don't give up. I guarantee you will love it here when you do eventually get here!

Orizio

squeakyduck wrote: »

Recruiters work on a commission basis. If they think that you are wasting time they will give up. I was incredibly choosy with my first school but my recruiter stuck with me.

Korea is a very good looking nation. But being different is beautiful to them. I have seen very big/fat teachers and downright ugly (to my eyes) teachers. Looks are important as is personality but don't forget they want you to teach their kids too!

Don't give up. I guarantee you will love it here when you do eventually get here!

Well lets hope so, but I'm pretty demoralised and unexpectant about the whole thing at this stage. Hopefully a video and the apostilled documents will make a difference.

daesu

Orizio wrote: »

After applying to 8-9 different recruiters over the past couple of months and unfortunately right now I'm being ignored by all of them, even though my documents are complete (well getting apostilled tomorrow). Can I ask is it just really hard/impossible to get work in South Korea if you aren't good looking/slim/photogenic? Thinking of just forgetting about South Korea at this stage.

Recruiters have to compete with other recruiters and they will choose the person they feel the school will want most. The school generally wants who they think the kids/parents want.

So usually;

Female > Male
North American > British > Australian/Irish/South African (some want British accent)
White > Asian > Black (Mostly. Some will specifically want people of african descent or someone of Korean descent)
Slim > Fat
Hair > bald(ing)

Do you have a beard/facial hair ? Do you have piercings ? Get rid of them for the photo.

Nascimento

daesu wrote: »

Thanks daesu.

Your reply has me kinda worried though. I've all but handed in my notice at work. Told my family I was doing this, so hopefully I can get a job relatively quickly.

Didn't realise jobs were getting scarce over there.

Andy!!

I would put Irish above Aussies personally, they seem to have copped on to their very strong accents.

Haven't met a single Aussie or Kiwi here actually, strangely. Tons and tons of South Africans though, despite their equally odd accents and the fact that English is not their first language (except a minority of them).

daesu

Nascimento wrote: »

Thanks daesu.

Your reply has me kinda worried though. I've all but handed in my notice at work. Told my family I was doing this, so hopefully I can get a job relatively quickly.

Didn't realise jobs were getting scarce over there.

I wouldn't say scarce necessarily but compared to how it was years ago it's definately getting more difficult.

I'm amazed at the number of Irish people who have come here during the past 3/4 years.

camoramo

Recruiters and schools definitely have their preferences but it won't stop you getting a job.
I was told in my school their ideal candidate was white, tall, slim, single, attractive person with an American accent.
My school is suprisingly diverse we've had 3 South Africans, 1 Welsh, 2 English one of Indian descent and now our foreign teachers are 2 Asian Kiwis, one Korean American, one English and one American. The kids and parents don't seem to have a problem with it either.

Tenzing

Have an interview with Wonderland coming up soon, looks like it has lots of bad reviews online. Anyone here have any experience with them?

Andy!!

Tenzing wrote: »

Have an interview with Wonderland coming up soon, looks like it has lots of bad reviews online. Anyone here have any experience with them?

I was actually at dinner last night and they were mentioned. They hired two friends of mine, brought them over (AFAIK) then suddenly closed. :pac: Of course Hagwons are franchises so their quality depends on the individual licensee/headmaster but I would be very wary personally...

Nascimento

Had an interview with Gone2Korea last night, and it went surprisingly well. Although I was told they can't help me as I had already applied to EPiK directly, she was fairly confident that I would get a job in a public school for Feb/Mar in a"small" provincial city.

I say small, but I was told it could have a population of around 100,000!

cavanmaniac

daesu wrote: »

I wouldn't say scarce necessarily but compared to how it was years ago it's definately getting more difficult.

I'm amazed at the number of Irish people who have come here during the past 3/4 years.

+1

I am in Korea over two years at this stage and even back in 2010 when I applied my school director remarked that at immigration, the spike in Irish applicants for an E2 visa had been noted by the officials there, such was the jump. Now I am meeting bigger numbers of Irish fresh off the boat so I expect that situation is even more pronounced than it was, as our economy continues to plumb the depths and Irish job hunters become more and more aware of the Korean opportunity.

I am glad I am not applying from home right now as it would be more difficult at this stage I believe, but nobody reading this from Ireland should be disheartened. A cursory glance at any of the main websites will show that jobs are still quite plentiful, but unfortunately the power has swung back to the schools because of the supply and demand turnaround so they're being more picky, hiring in-country more often and wages have stagnated. But there are still jobs here for sure, just keep the faith!

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

How much, on average, does fedexing the necessary documents for a visa to Korea cost?

Orizio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-ZbjcVNi4

Helpful or harmful to my job prospects...?

daesu

Orizio wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-ZbjcVNi4

Helpful or harmful to my job prospects...?

I got a friend (korean) to look at it.

They recommend recording it again but try to speak more 'proper' for lack of a better word. Try to loose the accent as much as possible and speak clearly even to the point of slowing down your speech a little. Try and pronounce words fully, don't let the sounds run into eachother too much.

For example, check out these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ob2lN8rMU4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLkaztrfa74

Personally I think they slow down too much but you get the idea.

I assume you're applying for teaching children ? If so you should act energetic and 'happy'. Show them you're going to have fun with the kids.

Most private schools couldn't care less about your teaching skills, they want a foreigner who speaks English to be a clown for the kids and keep the little bundles of delight happy so mommy and daddy will continue paying the schools ridiculous fees.

Also say "movie" not film (It's far more commonly used and understood), don't say South Korea just say Korea (it's not wrong or bad when you say it in English, it's just unnecessary). Don't say secondary school, say highschool.

Write out what you're going to say and make sure you make everything really clear and easy to understand. For example, you said you have a CELTA. I would explain clearly what it is and not use acronyms.

And of course you know you (just like most Irish people) said "Tank you" at the end ? Took me months living abroad to stop doing it. You need to pronounce your TH. It's very noticeable.

Andy!!

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

How much, on average, does fedexing the necessary documents for a visa to Korea cost?

Far too much, around 60/80. Use DHL through an Post, it will cost you twenty and be there in 2 business days.

R.D. aka MR.D

Orizio wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-ZbjcVNi4

Helpful or harmful to my job prospects...?

I don't think you're accent is too bad but you need to liven it up a bit. As the other poster said you need to be fun!

Smile LOTS. To you, it might seem like you're a grinning maniac but it goes down well here.

Orizio

Eh yeah I think I might just jettison it and do another one if a recruiter badly badly wants one. Unfortunately I speak like a potato which is something that is hard to get away from, and my smile is really weird if I'm not actually laughing at something. :P

As an aside, anyone here have any experience teaching in China? I've heard largely negative things.

Orizio

Eh yeah I think I might just jettison it and do another one if a recruiter badly badly wants one. Unfortunately I speak/look like a potato which is something that is hard to get away from, and my smile is really weird if I'm not actually laughing at something. :P

As an aside, anyone here have any experience teaching in China? I've heard largely negative things.

Orizio

t_t Andy. Should have kept that stuff to yourself.