r/teachinginkorea

So I've been in this academy for a few months now and i just assumed that everyone else was getting salary deductions for rent that the housing the academy provided. Went through the contract and it's not very clear and I've also talked to other teachers who aren't paying salary deductions. I have also talked to the academy and they ain't backing down and simply saying if the housing is above 600,000 provided or not, the rest is up to the employee to pay for.

The rent is very high here which is understandable, but if the housing is provided isn't it solely the academy that should be paying the rent? What's the next step? MOEL?

https://preview.redd.it/p8tjmyap6nkh1.png?width=699&format=png&auto=webp&s=06a878b0b719f01fbb842c0e1ec0919f55cc2546

I just came across a tiktok post saying that anything less than 2.8mil in Seoul and 2.5mil everywhere else is not a liveable wage. One comment said less than 3.5 is unliveable. I thought this was a stretch. Obviously each person has different spending habits but looking at my spending habits and salary I had I’m genuinely confused. I made 3.05 (including housing allowance), my housing costs were 1.1, and I ordered delivery or went out to eat for almost every meal (not including school lunch), got drinks with my friends, travelled a tiny bit, and bought some other random items. In the beginning, I needed to watch my spending a little because my rent was high and start-up costs, but after that it was fine. Yes the amount of work you do for this much salary doesn’t feel great but it was definitely liveable. Also this was in Seoul. What are your thoughts on how much is a liveable wage in Korea? And is it significantly different in Seoul vs other cities?

I have been at my academy over a year. I don’t know how this year is even worst than last year, but it is. My mental health has taken a nosedive. I’m crying everyday before work, I come home and just go to sleep, and I have so much stress.

Honestly, I don’t even care about getting paid or anything like that. I don’t care about the money. I just want to freaking leave.

I’m like I’ll come back when my visa runs out next year. But I can’t do another six months of this. It’s not going to get better.

Is there anything my school can do to make my life hard, especially if I come back?

Edit: For some background info, I have talked to my boss multiple times about what is bothering me. I have asked for support, but none has been given. I also have tried twice to quit but they refused my resignation letter and to give me an LOR. I asked all the way back in April to quit at the end of August. Which I thought was extremely reasonable. But they kept arguing that I signed a contract and that they wouldn’t give me an LOR. So, I did try to quit nicely.

It honestly broke me when my school accepted this temp kid. He kicked me, spit in my face, and hit me. I asked that the kid be moved from my class. They told me no, he needed to be in my class (even though he was a whole year older than my kids). He was very badly behaved. So, my co-teacher and I had to just let him do what he wanted to keep his temper tantrums at a minimum. The kid finally is gone, but he taught my kids some bad manners. And I’m trying to work with them, but I can’t enforce any meaningful consequences. Also, no support is given to help me.

I think most people have probably come across this kind of thing, people from Europe or Russia working as English teachers in Korea.

Even if they speak English well, they’re not native speakers, and the fact that they can get those jobs partly because they’re white. In a way, you could even say it’s cheating the children and their parents.

What makes it even more ironic is that there are plenty of actual native English speakers who have trouble getting hired simply because they’re Asian.

I’m curious what everyone thinks about this.

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?

Have you ever taught an English rule that your Korean students understood but continued to struggle with in real sentences?

Korean and English organize meaning differently. Some functions expressed through Korean particles and endings are divided among English word order, articles, prepositions, and separate expressions.

Perhaps the problem is not simply that Korean students need more practice. They may need a learning method that begins with what their first language already does—and shows where that function moves in English.

Just as left-handed people need left-handed scissors, could Korean speakers need an English-learning method designed around the Korean language?

What do English teachers in Korea think?

For teachers that have left or plan on leaving, what are some final day activities you've done/plan on doing?

Hi,

I work at a hagwon in Seoul and it’s gotten really out of hand. Management has targeted me, treats me differently than all of the other foreign teachers, blatantly disrespects me in meetings, and my co teacher has been feeding management lies about me while saying the opposite to my face.

I’m considering going to the labor board for the hostile work environment they’ve created for me. What are everyone’s thoughts?

We had a replacement teacher start last monday 8/3. She flew into Korea Sunday 8/2. She was let go today. Friday she passed out due to high glucose sugar levels in her blood and then today she went for her health check up and it didn't count because again her glucose sugar was off the charts. She's only been at work 7 days but I've also heard so many complaints about her but where we work has a ton of stuff to do and learn. I freaked out at this place for about 6 weeks. I assume it's a combination of both things as to why she was let go. It must be something extreme to have a third of foreign teacher come in one school year.

Anyway my main question is that my job says they're still going to take her to immigration tomorrow to go through with her e2 Visa to process it to give her more time to find a new job even though her last day here is technically friday, and they will give her an LOR. Is this the best move for her to make?

I find it kind of weird they're still taking her to immigration even though she's been let go.

She has to be out of the school provided housing tuesday, and she has a cat and just bought a bunch of furniture, so she really needs to find a job in the next few days. I feel really bad for her, she did come and teach here over 6 years ago but she does kind of need some hand holding so I'm trying to help her best I can.

Thanks for the advice!

Looking for a reputable hagwon/school in Busan! 🇰🇷
Hey everyone! 👋
I’ve been searching for a great hagwon or school to work at in Korea for a while now, and honestly, finding a reputable one has been mission impossible

If someone wants to be a saint and help a girl out, I’d really appreciate any recommendations! I’m a Canadian certified teacher with teaching experience in Korea, as well as experience working with young children/early childhood education.
I’m looking to start as soon as possible and am especially interested in Busan!!

If you know of any reputable hagwons, international schools, or schools that are currently hiring (or will be hiring in the next few months), please let me know!

I’d especially love to hear from people who have personally worked there and can speak honestly about the work environment, management, workload, etc.

Please PM me if you have any leads or recommendations! 🙏🏼 Thank you!!

Basically the title. First time ever teaching.
The school lied about so many things.

Saying i would be training 4-5 hours a day before the offical school year starts, yet im working a full shift. People get upset with me when i dont know where things are and what to do.

I’ve already heard people talking bad about me behind my back? Seriously? All these people have had years of experience, are years older than me (22f) and they’re already doing that?

Like yes i felt awkward and still do but the kids like me.

I also dont know what level I’ll be teaching when axtual school starts, I’m not getting adequate training for actual teaching since its summer camp, and apparently i could either be a bilingual korean and English teacher or a native english teacher? That also upset me bc i only found out that I’m a bilingual teacher the DAY i got to class and wasn’t told beforehand. I have a certificate in korean but theres just so many movement verbs in korean to where i cant translate a lot of stuff let alone accurately and sometimes its hard to understand the kids/i dont know some words they use. Its just frustrating bc i couldnt even prepare for this beforehand.

I’m just so frustrated and im really not one to quit early on something new but im not sure if its realky something i want to continue and i dont want to risk my mental health for it either. Im so exhasted everyday and i dread the next day already. I know its the beginning so i feel i should give it time but :/
Another thing holding me back is my korean bf lol… (I’ve knows him for a year and a half now and we’ve met multiple times)
Anyways just need some opinions of people who have more experience

Edit: E2 visa and a hagwon that’s run like an international school without the government qualifications..(heard this from a teacher a few days ago)

Hello All.

I am starting the process of going through the application process. I know there are questions about mental health, and I recently started taking Buspar for generalized anxiety. I have not been diagnosed with anxiety, I just asked my doctor for something to help with the generalized stress of everyday.

My question is: should I put on the application that I have "anxiety?" I have also seen other posts where people say that some medicines for anxiety that they take show up in their tests as like, a drug? I DO NOT want that. I'm not sure of what BusPar has in it or if it would show up on a drug test as a drug, but this is my dream to go teach in Korea, and I don't want anything jeopardizing that. I also don't want to lie and then end up jeopardizing myself, but I'm also thinking of just stop taking it for the last two months before I leave, bring it with me to Korea, what until after the drug tests, and then just start it again. Or, if anything, I'm sure they have a similar pill in Korea.

Any advice?

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..

Hello! As the title says, I (26F, Black) am starting at my first hagwon just outside of Seoul later next week. It’s been a long process to get here, but no matter how cautious I was about the interviews I did and the jobs being offered to me, I still feel like I signed on too easily to the contract I have now. No matter—what’s done is done. Thankfully, this sub and others like it have provided very valuable advice for a longtime lurker like myself on green/red flags. I also have family and friends who wouldn’t judge (and may in fact be secretly elated) if I were to decide this isn’t for me and come back home.

First ever teaching job, too. I’ve worked around children (both in a childcare and somewhat educational capacity) and thoroughly enjoy doing so, and my degree is in Psychology with a concentration in Childhood and Adolescent Development. A lot of what attracted me about my current hagwon was the philosophy they had written on the website, though I also realize that invoking the name of Piaget is different from actually applying these principles in practice.

That being said, I have done the research and preparations but I know from stories on here that 1) what you prepare for may be far from what you find once you land in Korea and 2) you won’t know much about the job until you are actually doing it. In the interview I can say that I’m great under stress, I am able to come up with plans and adjust on the fly, I communicate well with both staff and customers, blah blah blah. But I know I am walking into a new and different ballgame.

So…what is some advice you have for a first time teacher? How do you juggle organizing lessons or creating materials, etc within the prep time you are given? Anything you wish you had known going into your first—or second, or third—hagwon job? Self-care techniques you swear by to get through particularly tough days? I’m looking at three more days in my home state before shipping myself off, so literally anything at all is helpful. Have a great day!

I am a licensed teacher with about 7 years of teaching experience in the US. Teaching abroad is something I have thought about doing since I started my career and Japan was always a desired destination, but lately I have been hearing more about Korea. Side note is that I have a vocal cords disorder and teaching in the states can be difficult depending on the environment. I have heard that teachers with EPIK do not teach very many hours. I havent seen any recent posts on this topic so wanted to get some more recent feedback about EPIK as a program, preferably not from newbie grads who have never stepped foot in a classroom but from experienced teachers going to teach in Korea (of course any comments are helpful, but I think the experience for new grads is likely very different and thats not my case.) Any insights about schedules, responsibilities desk warming, class behavior, and school culture, also the program of EPIK as a whole, are appreciated. Also a caveat- I understand I would be a coteacher - kind of looking for a more lowkey teaching experience and cultural immersion, not really career advancement right now. Thanks for your thoughts!

How are your experiences?

Sorry, I didn't know which flair fits best.

Can I use my Korean co-teacher as a reference if I leave my hagwon early?

I’ve been working at a hagwon in Korea for about 6 months, but I’ve decided to leave before finishing my one-year contract. I’m currently looking for another teaching job.

I’m worried about references because I’ve only been there for 6 months and I’m leaving before the end of my contract. Do you think my hagwon would still be willing to provide a reference?

Also, can I use my Korean co-teacher as a reference, or would a new employer/recruiter usually expect the reference to be a supervisor, head teacher, or manager?

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Which English app or computer program does your hagwon use? Do you like it?

Help please!!!! I’m curious about other teachers’ experiences with open classes in Korea because I recently had one and honestly found the whole process really frustrating...

I work for a teaching company that connects teachers with kindergartens as a freelancer The kindergarten itself requested the open class, and my teaching company asked me to teach it

I had an open class recently that was thirty minutes, while my regular classes are twenty minutes. I also had to spend about one hour before and one hour after preparing, setting up, and cleaning up.

Despite the extra time and work, they paid me the same as my regular twenty-minute class.

Is this normal for Korean kindergartens? Should an open class usually be paid differently? .