u/neozodiac88

Boss is being difficult about annual leave. Basically, they only want you to use it when it helps them not look for someone to cover your class so that is why a half day off is always met with no resistance cause there is not class to cover. In my mind, I am well within my right to request annual leave with enough notice. After they signed off on it begrudgingly, they came back to me and asked me to move it to a day without classes.. In my mind I am thinking that is a manager issue to sort. I refused to budge and honestly made up a story about an important appointment with a doctor at a hospital that is hard to reschedule to get them off my back. Any other teachers ever have a similar issue when trying to use annual leave?

I find myself mentally checking out when talking to Korean co-workers these days. One reason being, they change their story often. Another reason being, they say communication should improve but even the boss themselves can't even convey simple messages like classroom changes. So I could care less for whatever they say since their actions are always different. I try to cover my ass as much as possible (doing the minimum at the same time). I have paid and unpaid paternity leave coming up later this year and feel totally fine to stick it to them. Not that worst hagwon I have worked in but at the same time mentally draining..

I had one of those "Am I supposed to be a mind reader?" moments today.

Last week I was told the materials for a science summer camp class I was teaching would be prepared, so I didn't think anything more of it. Today I asked where the materials were, only to be met with a response that made it seem like I should have known there weren't any. When in fact there was...

That got me wondering... how do you not lose your rag with them?

At my school, it often feels like the emphasis is on making the in-house workbooks look polished and presentable, while basic management and communication fall by the wayside. I don't mind adapting when plans change, but I do mind being expected to know about changes that nobody tells me.

How do you deal with this? Do you check on everything multiple times just in case, or is this just something you've learned to live with? For me personally, I am at the point already of just counting down the months with this hagwon already. For personal reasons, I can't just leave.

I'm a dad raising two young boys here in Korea. It's still early days. They're both very young, but even now I can already see my eldest's personality. He's outgoing, curious, confident, and generally a very happy little boy.

As a father and a teacher, I can't help thinking about the future.

One of my biggest worries is what happens when they reach elementary, middle, and high school. I see a system that often seems to value academic achievement above almost everything else. I've had 8 and 9 year old students tell me they don't eat a proper dinner until after 10 p.m. because they're at academies all evening. As someone who grew up very differently, I struggle to imagine that being my sons' childhood.

I know every family is different, and many parents make those choices because they want the best opportunities for their children. This isn't meant as a criticism of Korean parents at all. It's just something I genuinely worry about as a father.

For those of you raising your kids in Korea, how do you approach this? Have you found a balance between helping your children succeed academically and protecting their happiness, curiosity, and childhood? Is there anything you wish you'd known when your kids were still toddlers?

I'd really love to hear your experiences.

I am a long-term resident myself. I am fairly well adapted to here and how things roll. Still however, there is tiny little things that touch a nerve from time to time. Currently, the little things that bother me are people walking straight out of an entrance and never looking to see if someone is walking past at the time. You are just forced to stop or adjust course. Another one is where some drivers who are parked don't seem to understand that pedestrians are passing by and just keep reversing anyway. For the people who have lived here long-term. What little pet peeves get at you these days?

Just curious about others' experiences with Korean hagwon bosses. I know there is a lot of bad stories out there. However, I would like to hear about the good ones too. For myself, my current situation isn't too bad. I can manage the boss and their expectations usually. Recently, though, there has been a power struggle between the boss and the 2nd in charge. Which has resulted in the 2nd in charge being pushed out. The 2nd in charge didn't do anything bad, per se. Normal mistakes we all make from time to time. The 2nd in charge has tons more hagwon experience than the boss but the boss doesn't value it from what I see

The boss has been at them over anything they doesn't like. Difference of opinion, books etc. My issue with the boss is that they will ask me to do something. I will put a lot of effort and time into it. The 2nd in charge also assisted with the task. Passes it, says it quite good and ready for class. The boss has a different opinion though. The vision of what we made didn't fit their vision at all and ripped it all apart. Also, recently, I was asked to assist in another task and before digging in and making worksheets and materials, I asked several questions about what they wanted, to which I got only vague answers. So I decided to just not do it, unless they come to me directly and give clear instructions. I don't want to waste my time making materials for nothing.

All in all, the boss is a perfectionist and only wants things made in their vision but we don't know theirvision cause they never clearly explains it even we you ask for it before starting any task. I can manage them fine with professional answers (no drama, no emotion). But yep, I don't feel motivated enough to do tasks to the best I can. Just good enough is ok, since I know they will redo it to their liking anyways. And finally, the 2nd in charge backs up this cause they have the same issue with the boss too.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

With the currency conversion being pretty awful between the dollar and won. I am just wondering if anyone knows of a Asian company that possibly stocks them. Because I want to get the 10,20,30lbs plates which on Amazon comes out to about $100 give or take. But after shipping and taxes it triples to that amount in the currency I have to pay in. Which is a hard pill to swallow.

I work in a small hagwon. Less than 10 teachers. When I first started out, the vibe was great and everyone got along fine. 4 months in and the divide is very evident. I am not in the thick of it. I don't care about the tiffs or arguments others have here. I just do my work and go home. But jeez, sometimes I wonder what goes on in the mind of Korean coworkers. So many masks..

Finally got my Rucker in the post the other day. It is 32 degrees in the daytime here. Also, my achilles is a bit fickle these days. Deep dorsiflexion is a nono.. Haven't trained properly for 5 weeks, trying to let it mend and get back to normal. Was worried about rucking with it being a tad sensitive. Anyways, I had to try it out. Just a roundtrip to my kid's kindy and back home. Tops 25 mins in total walk. I am starting out with 20kg in the bag. It doesn't faze me. With the late afternoon heat and the weight of the backpack, with my achilles being in this state. I was very conscious of my walking. Everything went well, though it wasn't easy thanks to the heat. The next morning, I was surprised to see my achilles was feeling very happy and light. Rucking seems to be helping the muscles in my feet and ankles strengthen back up to what they were before the injury and probably will bulletproof my achilles even better than before.

I'm guessing it's universal for native English teachers here that when you mess up or make a mistake for the Korean teacher to immediately make a big deal of it and kinda not just leave it at that when you say you will fix the mistake and do better.

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I always wonder what happens when the Korean teachers mess up, because you rarely hear about it. Maybe they get the same treatment, but from where I'm standing it often feels like native teachers' mistakes get highlighted much more than everyone else's. It is easier to blame the native Englisg teacher since parents don't have much of any access to them.

I ordered the rucker 5.0 at the very start of the month from Asia. It seemed to move at a decent speed at the beginning. But once it was fully in the hands of the international shipping company. It has been frozen for over 11 days with no updates. Goruck themselves have said the bag is likely lost and they said they will ship out a new bag very shortly. Very nice of them to do this of course but its a headache at the same time. 1. The bag is pricey. 2. Shipping is expensive. 3. The shipping company blames the war in the middle east for the huge hold up (they only told me this after I enquired) 4. the weight plate I ordered through Amazon came within 2 weeks of the day I ordered it. Looks like I am waiting at least 2~3 more weeks to get my backpack.

So I am just asking on here cause I am getting curious but is Goruck especially slow with international shipping? I ordered the new rucker 5.0 on the 1st of June. Goruck themselves were quick enough to package it and send it on its way. But the delivery company is moving slower than hoped. Anyone else on here have this kind of experience with shipping a goruck product? Especially as shipping is not cheap, you would kinda expect or hope for some kind of expedited shipping.

These days, too many of the wrestlers are all toned down. Promos lack the wow factor, the wrestling is fine if a bit of the art is lost. Finishers should finish a match. Maybe only El Grande Americano is resonating with fans these days in a way a lot of wrestlers can't. But he would never get pushed in the WWE like he does in Mexico.

Anyways, I find myself watching Aew more these days, just cause they are willing to try more and have fun with it.

I am looking to buy the GR1 but I am in South Korea. So yes, the bag itself is expensive but on top of that, there would be a decent chunk of tax for me to pay. I really should just bite the bulltet and invest in a high quality rucking backpack right? Was looking for cheaper options from China but can't bring myself to pay it knowing the quality could be hit or miss.

This might be a bit niche full. But I was wondering if there is any shops or online stores in korea that specialize in rucking backpacks. I don't want to buy from foreign websites because the price skyrockets. Anyone on this subreddit who might possibly have some valuable info?