Teaching English in Korea

monosharp

Alright lads.

Well a few people have asked me what the situation is with teaching English in Asia both here and by email from friends of friends of friends I barely know.

I think this is a fairly common topic, maybe the mods could make it a sticky or something ? I can provide information for South Korea, maybe others can provide it for Japan/China/Thailand etc.

So people have asked me a lot of questions and I'll try answer the most common ones.

Q: Do I need to speak the language ?
A: No. Absolutely Not. Schools hiring you specifically do not want you to use any of the language even if you do speak it.

Q: Do I need CELTA/Some other certification for teaching English.
A: No. All you need is a degree in anything, be a native speaker of English and have a pulse.

Q: Where can I work ?
A: Public schools, private schools (children), Universities (hard to get), Adult private schools, after school programs etc.

Public schools: Good money. Good hours (9-5). Treated well. Good vacation time.

Private schools (children): OK to good money. Late hours (1pm-ish - 9pm-ish). How your treated varies a lot, some are very good, some very bad. Vacation time too can vary a lot.

Universities: The holy grail. Great money. Few hours. Long vacation. (3 months paid for some).

Adult private schools: Good money. Hours can be strange, usually a split shift. e.g > 9am - 1pm(work) - Break - 6pm - 9pm(work). Treated usually well. Vacation time usually good and not a problem to get.

Q: How difficult is it to teach ?
A: Not at all. For children all your expected to do is talk to them and read with them. For adults all your expected to do is talk to them. Literally talk.

You won't be teaching grammar or anything of the sort except if you go to a Uni job.

I'm not exaggerating when I say its one of the easiest jobs you'll ever have.

Q: What are the students like ?
A: If you go to the public schools, private schools (children) then they are kids, obviously. Just think back to your school days, its pretty similar.
If you teach adults in the adult private schools etc you'll be teaching university students and businessmen/women.

Q: Is the money good enough to save/good enough to live well ?
A: You will get paid better then the average industrial wage for the locals, plus you will get free accommodation and probably free lunch and half your medical insurance paid for (insignificant).

Saying that, it depends where you are and what you like to do. If your going to be on the piss every night then obviously your not going to save and you might end up a bit short at the end of the month.
To put it into perspective the average pay is about 2,200,000 won.
A pint of the local beer is approximately 3,000.
Dinner (local grub, barbecue beef) 10,000.
Taxi (10 minutes) 5,000.
Subway 900 per trip approx.

Q: Are there many foreigners/Irish there ?
A: Yes. Too many.

Q: Wheres the best place to go ?
A: Seoul, Busan (beach) or one of the other big cities if you want to associate with other foreigners. Although saying that, almost anywhere you go there will be other foreigners even the small cities will have foreigners teaching English.

Q: What are the locals like ?
A: Great. Love to drink, love to eat.

Q: Where can I find jobs ?
A: http://www.worknplay.co.kr/ Good site.

Anyways gonna run now but if anyone has any more Q's just ask away.

K4t

Hey great post, thanks for the info:)

I'm doing an English and economics arts degree at the moment and will be finished it in two years time. Just wondering what other types of skills/qualifications would further aid me in being chosen to teach abroad?? Thanks.

Wudyaquit

@ K4t - not sure about Korea, but doing an internationally recognised TEFL course (Cambridge RSA or CELTA) is a massive help in China and Thailand.

International House on Camden street do the CELTA course, but it's quite expensive and by all accounts is fairly demanding. Not sure of anywhere you can do Cambridge RSA in Ireland. Otherwise you can do one of the standard 100 hour courses - these will be enough for a lot of jobs if you're degree educated, but some of the best jobs demand the "proper" courses.

Ajarn.com's the place to go for jobs / information on working in Thailand if anyone's thinking of heading that direction.

FruitLover

you're
you're
you're
you're


I know complaining about grammar is generally frowned upon, and I normally abstain, but for Jaysus' sake, you're supposed to be an English teacher.

monosharp

FruitLover wrote: »

I know complaining about grammar is generally frowned upon, and I normally abstain, but for Jaysus' sake, you're supposed to be an English teacher.

Touché, but 1. I never said I was an English teacher and 2. your not expected to teach or even know that much grammar here. Your literally a conversational aid, little more.

I used to teach English here but I'm at something else now.

monosharp

K4t wrote: »

I'm doing an English and economics arts degree at the moment and will be finished it in two years time. Just wondering what other types of skills/qualifications would further aid me in being chosen to teach abroad?? Thanks.

Absolutely nothing unless you want a University job, and they usually want people with Masters at least.

Getting a job here teaching English is as difficult as sending an email off with your resume. Demand always outstrips supply.

monosharp

monosharp wrote: »

Touché, but 1. I never said I was an English teacher and 2. your not expected to teach or even know that much grammar here. Your literally a conversational aid, little more.

I used to teach English here but I'm at something else now.

I disagree. You're not expected to teach grammar the way you would here (although a lot of the posters on the TEFL in Korea thread were offended by that suggestion), but surely you wrote things up on the board? I think anyone teaching any sort of English should know the difference between your and you're. It's really basic. You are right though, they will hire absolutely anyone with any degree for hagwons or even public schools.

clarelad

how much per week could you expect to earn?

monosharp

[quote=[Deleted User];66890315]I disagree. You're not expected to teach grammar the way you would here (although a lot of the posters on the TEFL in Korea thread were offended by that suggestion), but surely you wrote things up on the board? [/quote]

Depends on where 'you're' teaching. If 'you're' :pac: teaching kids, especially in a hagwon (private school), then 'you're' not expected to teach any grammar whatsoever. In my experience they explicitly don't want you to. The reason is that they are taught grammar by Korean teachers who can better explain the grammatical rules through Korean. This is especially important because of the University entrance exams here. They are taught grammar in a very specific way just for the entrance exam.

If your teaching adults then yes you'll be doing grammar with them.

I think anyone teaching any sort of English should know the difference between your and you're. It's really basic.

Jesus lads give me a break, I know the difference between them just as I know the difference between 'being' and 'been' but when I'm writing an email or a post I just spew it out.

I mean honestly, where is this grammar obsession coming from ?

Speakers of all languages use incorrect grammar all the time, even when they know its incorrect. Sorry, know it's incorrect :rolleyes:

Am I upsetting anyone by using its instead of it's ? been instead of being ? your instead of you're ?

monosharp

clarelad wrote: »

how much per week could you expect to earn?

The average monthly wage would be about 2,200,000 South Korean won which is equal to 1,446.90689 Euros according to google.

You will get free accommodation on top of this so you won't be paying any rent. Its good money relatively speaking. 2.2 million won is about the same as a decent industrial wage for the locals but they don't get free housing, you do.

monosharp

monosharp wrote: »

Depends on where 'you're' teaching. If 'you're' :pac: teaching kids, especially in a hagwon (private school), then 'you're' not expected to teach any grammar whatsoever. In my experience they explicitly don't want you to. The reason is that they are taught grammar by Korean teachers who can better explain the grammatical rules through Korean. This is especially important because of the University entrance exams here. They are taught grammar in a very specific way just for the entrance exam.

If your teaching adults then yes you'll be doing grammar with them.

I don't think that's universal. My boyfriend worked in a hagwon and he wasn't teaching grammar the way he'd have to teach it here, but he was still expected to know his stuff. The kids would make reference to things they'd been taught by the Korean teachers and it would have looked bad if he hadn't had a clue. Some of the hagwon teachers on the Korea thread on Boards insisted that they did have to teach grammar to a high standard (like you would in Ireland) and were offended that I suggested otherwise. Generally, I'd agree with you, that you just go in and chat and work though a workbook, but there are people who disagree with that. From what I've seen, what you say is true, but I haven't seen too many hagwon classes.

Jesus lads give me a break, I know the difference between them just as I know the difference between 'being' and 'been' but when I'm writing an email or a post I just spew it out.

I mean honestly, where is this grammar obsession coming from ?

Speakers of all languages use incorrect grammar all the time, even when they know its incorrect. Sorry, know it's incorrect :rolleyes:

Am I upsetting anyone by using its instead of it's ? been instead of being ? your instead of you're ?

I'm not upset but I am confused as to why someone would purposely use incorrect spelling or grammar. If you're that used to doing it, surely it'd be easy for it to creep onto the board when you're writing something up for the kids? You didn't teach grammar, but you must have written up words/sentences?

LemonheadIII

Don't mind these grammar facists Monosharp, you're doing a bang up job. I registered there just to get in on the action.

I'm hoping to go to South Korea in mid-October (leaning toward Busan at the minute), with the ball and chain. What's the deal with couples??

Is any time of the year a bad time to go?

How long did it take you to get to Korea after you set the ball rolling at this end?

Is there any no-go (i.e. completly sh!te towns/cities) that you'd recommend stayin away from?

Thanks

Onthe3rdDay

Nice thread,

How often had you been to Korea before you decided to work there?

If you're starting from Scratch, How long would it take to get all the documents needed (Visa etc.)

Do you like Korea? Would you view it as a place you could stay for a long time?

monosharp

[quote=[Deleted User];66894596]Some of the hagwon teachers on the Korea thread on Boards insisted that they did have to teach grammar to a high standard (like you would in Ireland) and were offended that I suggested otherwise. [/quote]

Well in my 4 year, 12 job (children and adults) and friends experience, no. You don't teach grammar in hagwons (children). You are expected to teach it in adult hagwons and you might be expected to hand hold the children through basic grammar lessons in public schools.

Of course you're expected to know it, the same way a Korean is expected to know Korean grammar, but your not expected to teach it.

Of course you will get asked about grammar by co-workers and students alike, they expect you to know everything about the language. My point is, you are not expected to teach grammar specifically because the Korean teachers teach grammar through Korean.

I'm not upset but I am confused as to why someone would purposely use incorrect spelling or grammar.

Surely you joke ?

Because reaching for the apostrophe followed by the r and the e wastes that extra nanosecond of time.

I speak relatively good Korean and everyday I get messages or emails from people (in Korean) full of incorrect spelling or grammatical error, which they know are wrong but they use it because 1. no one gives a toss and 2. Its completely 100% understandable to native speakers regardless of the error.

You see the above ? Can you honestly say that its not understandable to you because I used its instead of it's ? If you were in a hurry would you even notice ?

If you're that used to doing it, surely it'd be easy for it to creep onto the board when you're writing something up for the kids?

1. I am doing it here because this is a message board. If I was doing anything vaguely serious, associated with work for example, then of course I wouldn't do it.

2. I am not a teacher anymore but just to answer you, no. It wouldn't creep onto the board. The same way that I wouldn't say 'tree' to refer to the number, the same way I wouldn't speak with Irish slang to non-Irish people, the same way I slow my speech down slightly when I'm talking to non-native speakers.

When I talk to Irish people I can relax, I can throw away pronouncing my th's, I can talk as fast as I want to, I can throw out incorrect Hiberno-English grammar with my Irish accent and people understand me.

monosharp

LemonheadIII wrote: »

Don't mind these grammar facists Monosharp, you're doing a bang up job. I registered there just to get in on the action.

Cheers. I must learn to speak (insert posh English accent) 'proper' all the time :pac:

I'm hoping to go to South Korea in mid-October (leaning toward Busan at the minute), with the ball and chain. What's the deal with couples??

Busan: Great place, winter can have terrible weather though.

Couples: You can get jobs specifically for couples, check out http://www.worknplay.co.kr/. The school would likely give you one apartment and you'd work at the same place for the same hours.

What I'd suggest, if you want to milk a little more out of it, is the following;

One of you get a job now from Ireland and come over here, get the free apartment. The other one gets all the necessary documentation (degree, etc) and hop on a plane, meet up with your better half and stay here on a tourist visa with your partner. Get a job and tell them "No, I don't need an apartment so you can just give me more money instead" Or "No, I already have an apartment so you can just give me rent allowance instead".

So basically one person gets a job and a free apartment, the other gets a job without the free apartment but with more cash.

You'd get maybe 150-200 yoyo's extra a month if you did this.

Is any time of the year a bad time to go?

For getting jobs ? Depends on what jobs your looking for. Public schools will be hiring between semesters (now-ish), Universities the same. Hagwons hire all year round but especially before University breaks and after Christmas.

How long did it take you to get to Korea after you set the ball rolling at this end?

It took me 2 weeks but I'm probably the exception. Applied for a job and they needed someone desperately. Also the rules have changed dramatically since I came here the first time and I haven't had to get a visa since then.

Is there any no-go (i.e. completly sh!te towns/cities) that you'd recommend stayin away from?

Depends on what your after.

If you want to have your options open regarding bars/places to go/people to meet then I highly suggest you only go around the metropolitan area around Seoul (Seoul, Bucheon, Incheon, Suwon, Bundang etc etc), Busan, Deagu, Ulsan or one of the larger cities. Actually to be honest, I highly recommend somewhere around the Seoul area just because theres so many options available.

If you want a quiet time for yourself and the missus and don't mind spending a year with the same 10-20 people then go to one of the smaller cities. Some of them are fantastic but maybe ye'd find it a bit boring.

Thanks

No problem

If you are thinking about coming in October, I suggest getting the ball rolling now and applying for either A. An adult hagwon B. A public school or C. an after school program.

Adult Hagwon -> http://www.jobpagoda.com/ These guys are always looking for people and the recruitment manager is a Canadian lad, Ian Windsor.

An after school program is basically public school but your technically working for a private company, for a public school after normal classes.

monosharp

Onthe3rdDay wrote: »

Nice thread,

How often had you been to Korea before you decided to work there?

Never. Just decided one day to quit my 9 to 5 and head off in China's general direction

If you're starting from Scratch, How long would it take to get all the documents needed (Visa etc.)

I honestly don't know because I don't know what documents are needed anymore besides your degree.

Do you like Korea? Would you view it as a place you could stay for a long time?

Yeah I love the place, probably end up staying here for the foreseeable future.

Great food, great cheap beer, hot women, cheap cigarettes.

strobe

monosharp wrote: »

Q: Do I need CELTA/Some other certification for teaching English.
A: No. All you need is a degree in anything, be a native speaker of English and have a pulse.

Cheers for the info Mono. Just in relation to the above, is a degree in something necessary if you have a TEFL course or certificate for teaching English? Would you be more likely, less likely, or equally as likely to get a job if you were CELTA or TEFL qualified but had no degree as opposed to having a degree in something but no English teaching qualification?

monosharp

strobe wrote: »

Cheers for the info Mono. Just in relation to the above, is a degree in something necessary if you have a TEFL course or certificate for teaching English?

Sorry but in Korea (and Japan AFAIK) a degree (3 year degree/diploma is OK) is necessary, not for the job requirement but for the Visa requirement.

The Korean government are very strict regarding visas. You cannot get a Visa to work here as an English teacher without a degree.

From a Korean perspective, TEFL certificates, CELTA etc are useless except they might help you personally to get into the teaching mindset quicker. They may be a slight aid in getting certain jobs but overall they are a waste of time and money, in the case of Korea anyways.

As I stated previously, demand for English teachers always outstrips supply. All employers want is for you to be from an English speaking country, have a degree (to pass the government visa requirements) and have a pulse. The vast majority of employers couldn't care less how good a teacher you are, especially in private schools. You are little more then a foreign curiosity, a conversational aid. You are there so the parents can see their little bundles of joy are learning English from a foreigner.

Would you be more likely, less likely, or equally as likely to get a job if you were CELTA or TEFL qualified but had no degree as opposed to having a degree in something but no English teaching qualification?

Without a degree it is impossible. (legally)

No amount of CELTA's TEFL's etc will make any difference whatsoever because in Korea you cannot get a visa without a degree.

Although saying that, a few people in the past have bought degrees off the net and have gotten away with it. But I don't advise this, you won't be put in prison or anything like that but I think this practice is nearly gone, government crackdown and all that.

If you want to teach in Asia but have no degree then I'm pretty sure Thailand, China, Vietnam etc are open to you. I have a friend in Thailand teaching and he has no degree.

edit: Actually if you wanted to risk it, you could teach in Korea on a tourist visa. People do it but it is illegal.

Please see this thread; http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=4997

monosharp

monosharp wrote: »

Well in my 4 year, 12 job (children and adults) and friends experience, no. You don't teach grammar in hagwons (children). You are expected to teach it in adult hagwons and you might be expected to hand hold the children through basic grammar lessons in public schools.

Of course you're expected to know it, the same way a Korean is expected to know Korean grammar, but your not expected to teach it.

Of course you will get asked about grammar by co-workers and students alike, they expect you to know everything about the language. My point is, you are not expected to teach grammar specifically because the Korean teachers teach grammar through Korean.

That's what I thought. The posters who insisted I was wrong must not have taught in typical hagwons.

Surely you joke ?

Because reaching for the apostrophe followed by the r and the e wastes that extra nanosecond of time.

I speak relatively good Korean and everyday I get messages or emails from people (in Korean) full of incorrect spelling or grammatical error, which they know are wrong but they use it because 1. no one gives a toss and 2. Its completely 100% understandable to native speakers regardless of the error.

Why would I be joking? I think it's a lot more strange to miss out letters and apostrophes to save a few milliseconds.

You see the above ? Can you honestly say that its not understandable to you because I used its instead of it's ? If you were in a hurry would you even notice ?

Yes, I'm a proof reader, stuff like that jumps off the page Of course it's understandable, but I don't see the point in using sloppy spelling/grammar on a forum. It does make it more difficult to read for some people and can confuse people who aren't native speakers of English.

1. I am doing it here because this is a message board. If I was doing anything vaguely serious, associated with work for example, then of course I wouldn't do it.

Fair enough. I was just agreeing with the poster who pointed out the error.

2. I am not a teacher anymore but just to answer you, no. It wouldn't creep onto the board. The same way that I wouldn't say 'tree' to refer to the number, the same way I wouldn't speak with Irish slang to non-Irish people, the same way I slow my speech down slightly when I'm talking to non-native speakers.

When I talk to Irish people I can relax, I can throw away pronouncing my th's, I can talk as fast as I want to, I can throw out incorrect Hiberno-English grammar with my Irish accent and people understand me.

Pronunciation and spelling are two different things, though. Nobody is going to write 'tree' unless they're a complete idiot. Plenty of people write 'your' instead of 'you're' because they don't know the difference or are so used to spelling it wrong, they don't notice it anymore. You'd be surprised how often it happens. I've seen plenty of teachers write up the wrong spelling on the board.

monosharp wrote: »

I honestly don't know because I don't know what documents are needed anymore besides your degree.

I'll butt in here and say it was a total pain in the arse for my boyfriend. He needed all sorts of things and they were really particular. It took him a few months for everything to get sorted out and then when they were happy, they told him to pack his bag and be ready to leave in about 4 days.

Yeah I love the place, probably end up staying here for the foreseeable future.

Great food, great cheap beer, hot women, cheap cigarettes.

Do you feel at home in Korea? I love the country but couldn't see myself living there long term. I don't think I'd get used to being The Foreigner all the time. At least in most other countries, I look like a local until I open my mouth.

monosharp

[quote=[Deleted User];66910969]Why would I be joking? I think it's a lot more strange to miss out letters and apostrophes to save a few milliseconds. [/quote]

I wasn't really serious with the few milliseconds thing, I was simply trying to say to my friends and on message boards like this, if its (it's) intelligible then thats* all that matters. (that's)

but I don't see the point in using sloppy spelling/grammar on a forum.

Theres (there's) no point to do it, theres (there's) just no point not to do it.

Me to my Irish friends. "Well hows it going ?"
Me to my professor. "Good morning. How are you today ?"

It does make it more difficult to read for some people and can confuse people who aren't native speakers of English.

Hence why I wouldn't talk or type like that to non-Irish people. I've lived abroad for years and I can switch on and off my Irish accent/slang at will.

Pronunciation and spelling are two different things, though.

But both are equally unintelligible to non-native speakers. None of the people here would understand me if I spoke like I do at home.

Look at all the incorrect English us Irish use on a regular basis. Example "Is the breakfast ready ?", "Have you change for fags on you ?" etc

I speak incorrect Irish-English when I'm at home. I speak it when I'm talking to my olde pair or other Irish people.

I don't use it when I speak to foreigners.

You'd be surprised how often it happens. I've seen plenty of teachers write up the wrong spelling on the board.

Well they shouldn't be teachers then should they ? Its (It's) one thing to do it informally, its (it's) quite another to do it in a teaching capacity.

Do you feel at home in Korea? I love the country but couldn't see myself living there long term. I don't think I'd get used to being The Foreigner all the time. At least in most other countries, I look like a local until I open my mouth.

I feel at home wherever I am because I make it my home. I'm comfortable here at the moment, I don't know whether or not that will change in the future.

onemorechance

This is a great thread, thank you for creating it! There may be an influx of Irish going to South Korea as result!

With one of the sites you linked, http://www.jobpagoda.com/, it seems that they help out massively with the process.

Apply to them just like any job, degree, cv, references etc.

Then if successful, they help you through visa application.

Then you have accomodation (and wages!) provided.

Do you have to cover your own flights?

monosharp

onemorechance wrote: »

This is a great thread, thank you for creating it! There may be an influx of Irish going to South Korea as result!

No problem, any questions just ask.

Do you have to cover your own flights?

No, they pay for your flights. You may have to pay for your own one way ticket to get here but they will reimburse it and after you complete your contract they will pay for a one way to get home.

onemorechance

It almost sounds too good to be true! I have a year visa for Canada, going in January. I will do this if Canada does not work out, or else at the end of the year!

makeorbrake

What sort of salary expectations should you expect? How does this compare relative to the cost of living?

I investigated this a good 8 years ago (to the point where they were about to send me tickets but I chickened out and opted to return home to IRL).

From what I understood before, there are some places (schools n' agencies) that are more reputable than others. Some work the bones off you and others don't. Is this the case guys?

monosharp

monosharp wrote: »

I wasn't really serious with the few milliseconds thing, I was simply trying to say to my friends and on message boards like this, if its (it's) intelligible then thats* all that matters. (that's)



Theres (there's) no point to do it, theres (there's) just no point not to do it.

Me to my Irish friends. "Well hows it going ?"
Me to my professor. "Good morning. How are you today ?"

Hence why I wouldn't talk or type like that to non-Irish people. I've lived abroad for years and I can switch on and off my Irish accent/slang at will.



But both are equally unintelligible to non-native speakers. None of the people here would understand me if I spoke like I do at home.

Look at all the incorrect English us Irish use on a regular basis. Example "Is the breakfast ready ?", "Have you change for fags on you ?" etc

I speak incorrect Irish-English when I'm at home. I speak it when I'm talking to my olde pair or other Irish people.

I don't use it when I speak to foreigners.

I wouldn't even consider those things 'incorrect', it's just colloquial usage and Irish expressions and you naturally know not to use them with non-Irish people. I don't think it's the same thing as 'there/their/they're' used incorrectly or spelling something wrong, but we'll have to agree to disagree.

Well they shouldn't be teachers then should they ? Its (It's) one thing to do it informally, its (it's) quite another to do it in a teaching capacity.

The thing is, none of them knew they were doing it. I make a point of trying not to use sloppy spelling, because I know the more I do it, the more tolerant my brain gets and mistakes stop 'jumping out' at me. If you're confident that you'd never do that, fair play to you. I'm just pointing out that I see people doing it all the time.

onemorechance

onemorechance wrote: »

It almost sounds too good to be true! I have a year visa for Canada, going in January. I will do this if Canada does not work out, or else at the end of the year!

monosharp would know better than me, but I don't think it's too good to be true. You are expected to work really hard, you get virtually no time off, you aren't really involved in any decisions at the school, and that's if you have a good employer and everything is above board. if you go to Dave's ESL Cafe, you'll find pages and pages of people moaning about how awful Korea is. I personally think they're mostly a bunch of Moaning Minnies, but a lot of what they say is true or partly true. Most people have a great time over there, but there are downsides and I think it takes a particular type of personality to get the most out of it.

makeorbrake wrote: »

What sort of salary expectations should you expect? How does this compare relative to the cost of living?

I investigated this a good 8 years ago (to the point where they were about to send me tickets but I chickened out and opted to return home to IRL).

From what I understood before, there are some places (schools n' agencies) that are more reputable than others. Some work the bones off you and others don't. Is this the case guys?

The salary is almost always very generous. You get accommodation provided but this varies. Some people get amazing, huge places and others just a small studio room, but the pay is really good. Some schools are more reputable than others, yeah, but I would expect to work hard wherever you go, as this seems to be the norm. The problems people have are usually to do with pay or time off or the unrealistic expectations of the school. My bf had a great employer compared to most of his friends (he brought us out to lunch, took us to the station when we needed to go, stuff like that), but he still got screwed on his final pay packet and ended up working way more hours than initially agreed.

makeorbrake

[quote=[Deleted User];66920744]..but the pay is really good.[/QUOTE] If you can provide a range, that would be great - just ball park?
[quote=[Deleted User];66920744]The problems people have are usually to do with pay or time off ....he still got screwed on his final pay packet and ended up working way more hours than initially agreed.[/QUOTE]This is the sort of downside I have heard about before - particularly the working hours.

makeorbrake

makeorbrake wrote: »

If you can provide a range, that would be great - just ball park?
This is the sort of downside I have heard about before - particularly the working hours.

At least 2 million won, so that's 1300 EUR a month. The money goes much further in Korea than it would in Ireland because almost everything is much cheaper.

sideshowsue

Thanks for posting all this information. It has been most helpful. I'm curious though whether the salary of 2 million won is net or gross. In short, what is the actual take home pay net of taxes?

makeorbrake

sideshowsue wrote: »

Thanks for posting all this information. It has been most helpful. I'm curious though whether the salary of 2 million won is net or gross. In short, what is the actual take home pay net of taxes?

And if I could add a couple more questions (apologies in advance but only ask as i'm interested).

What hours did your b/f end up working per week on average? Also, how many days annual leave did he get?

This might just be a very fast option to setup if redundancy kicks in later this year (which is a posibility).

Pope John 11

Very interesting thread, what about working parttime outside of work hours too, is this an option