|
 |
 |
|||||||
 | |
|
Employment Contracts | |
|
Top 25 Frequently Asked Questions
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The employer may not pay your air ticket to Korea if you are working less than 6 months, and definitely will not pay for any return ticket unless you complete 12 months. You would not qualify for the severance pay when you finish, as it is only applicable after a full 12 months work. If you do find an employer who will accept you for 3-6 months, you will not be in a good position to bargain for higher pay and extra conditions. The employer always has the cheaper option of taking someone for 12 months as the visa process costs the employer. Most employers are not keen to do 2 or 3 visa processes in a year, upset student classes and bear the costs involved if they can just as easily appoint someone for 12 months. You cannot work on a tourist visa as this is illegal. If you are offered a job while on a tourist visa the employer is intending to have you work illegally. If you do accept an offer to work on a 12-month visa and then leave after 5 months but remain in Korea, you would not be able to get other job in Korea until the 12-month period finished unless you have negotiated a special visa release with your employer. Also, you must leave Korea within 15 days of finishing any work contract, unless you have immigration permission to stay longer, or work arranged elsewhere.
USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland and South Africa The Korean immigration office lists these countries to ensure the employers will be able to select and hire a native born English speaker from one of the major English speaking countries of the world. These listed countries officially have English as their first language. Immigration does not allow citizens of other countries such as India, the Pacific Islands or Singapore, (who are all officially dual language countries) to obtain English teaching visas. No exceptions will ever be made, and this rule is tightly enforced. This eliminates many applicants who hold passports from other countries or have other ethnic backgrounds. Korean immigration rules apply solely to the passport you are holding, rather than any entitlement to citizenship or residency in a different country. If an applicant was born in a non-qualifying country or has ethnic heritage of that country, then shifts to a qualifying country and obtains a passport from that country, then they 'technically' qualify for an E2 visa. But they may still find it difficult to get a work offer because of their original ethnic background or birthplace. The applicant must also have fully completed a bachelor degree or higher (completed at a university that delivers education only in English) and have had at least 10 years of English schooling prior to the commencement of the degree. There are no other visas available for teaching English in Korea unless you are of Korean heritage and have family connections in Korea. Teachers on the 'Korean heritage' visa would not have the same benefits, such as airfares and free housing. Our company only works with candidates qualifying for the issuance of an E2 visa from the countries listed by immigration.
We have never had anyone gain a visa while only having academic records. There are now no exceptions and all applications with university letters were being refused at all offices across Korea. All officers were demanding to sight the correctly notarized original degree. Because of this fact, and the 99% chance you would be refused a visa if you were offered a job, we feel we have to fairly represent your application to an employer so that they are not inconvenienced by offering you employment, and then find out that have been refused a visa when the official paperwork is commenced. You may find that you get a variety of answers with respect to this situation. We have known of some agents who will go ahead and process an application totally oblivious to how immigration will view the paperwork. As long as the candidate tells them they have passed a degree, then that is all they want to hear! We try to keep up with the real situation and give all applicants correct advice so that they realize the reality of the situation.
If you have an original degree ready for notarization and Apostilling, then you can usually begin a job (with a visa) in 6-10 weeks. If you can't get an original degree then you will not be able to get a job or visa. There are no set terms for private language schools in Korea. They operate all year around because they are business ventures. Korean state school holiday times are July/August and January/February. During these times private schools will tend to offer separate programs that cover the needs of the students. Private schools work monthly sessions and employ all year around. So you can travel at any time, but more jobs are on offer when the public schools are hiring.
We usually have between 15-60 genuine jobs available, depending on the time of year. These jobs will be in all cities in Korea and will cover a variety of employment places. If you are firm you want to be placed in Daejon, we would not offer you a job in Busan, this is wasting your time and ours. However, we will interact and communicate with you regarding good opportunities you may be missing simply because some of your requests don't match the employer's criteria. Some general advertisements from agents which list available jobs (eg. on websites) are often falsely presented. These advertisements are intended to 'hook' applicants into thinking they will receive higher incomes and benefits. Looking through some Korean recruitment websites or reading promises made by agents about 'the perfect job' for you can be time consuming and confusing. It is common practice to tell an applicant that the job they saw listed is now taken BUT they have another good job to offer. This is a typical 'sales pitch' technique. There does seem to be over emphasis among many applicants on getting a job in Seoul. Unless you are an extremely suitable candidate it is difficult to get a job in central Seoul because of the very competitive market. Many of the jobs advertised in Seoul show high pay rates but are only available if you apply from within Korea. This is because an employer does not have to pay international airfares to bring you to Korea. Many inner Seoul jobs are taken months in advance and teachers often do deals to get their friends into good schools. Other jobs never get advertised at all. There are huge numbers of teachers applying from within Seoul all of the time. If you in Korea and present yourself in person you have a good chance if you appear flexible and are available as soon as they need someone. However, if a visa has to be organised from your home country and air tickets have to be paid, it can be more difficult to get a good job, unless you are a well presented and highly employable candidate. Some employer simply wait for a person to apply off the street or for a recruiter to bring an applicant around for an interview. This has been happening more recently. However, we do get a good number of jobs in Seoul and there will often be an eager line-up of applicants for the employer to select from. Some employers may even hold out for the 'perfect' candidate and will never compromise. To get this candidate they often give the job to ten different agents, who all advertise the same job simultaneously. In fact, many of the good employers never advertise their jobs at all. Instead they contract a select few agencies (such as our company) to find a teacher. many of our jobs are never advertised on the Internet and we never sub list with other agents. Many of our employers have obtained all of their teachers through our service for 2-5 years. This means we have good knowledge of the school and can easily arrange for teachers who have been placed at a school in the past to talk to an interested applicant. Just because an applicant qualifies for a visa does not mean they will be selected by an employer. The Seoul area is very popular and good schools will have more than enough choice. There are a variety of myths in the market (re. availability of jobs and pay rates) and the way some jobs are advertised or listed does not help a genuine applicant make an informed decision.
Many applicants often waste a lot of time and money buying Internet TESOL courses that are not applicable or needed. However, if you have completed an internationally well-recognised TESOL qualification and have relevant teaching experience, then you may be able to negotiate a higher pay rate. Some hogwons (schools) don't even take notice of the type of degree. It does not matter if it is a BA or a MA, just that you have a university qualification! Most schools need a general conversational teacher (70% of schools). While other schools may be trying to 'impress' the parents and want to promote the skill of the teacher as beneficial to the students. These schools may pay more and may only hire highly qualified people. We work with one such academy in Seoul. They only want us to show them applicants with masters degrees or higher, and they will not accept any teachers with science degrees as they do not see 'the sciences' as applicable to English language education. Some schools only want to hire graduates from Ivy league schools in the USA. This may be because they have classrooms with mini-universities themes and they want to sell the teacher as 'elite'. In these cases the teachers are often only employed for their image and not their abilities. Overall, there are no general rules regarding pay for your qualifications and all schools have different ways of assessing candidates. Please refer to this information about qualifiying for a good job.
We have had 'up and down' times as far as couple/friends placement are concerned. We definitely find it easier if one of the couple is a trained teacher with experience. Employers will be more interested in hiring and make allowances for a highly suitable person. The status of your relationship is also important to the employer. If you are a couple in a permanent relationship (but not married) and you are happy to 'pretend' to be married (even if you are not) then you may be treated better. Most schools have 1-4 foreign teachers and it is a huge problem if more than one teacher leaves at the same time. You may want to work at different schools and share the same housing. In practical terms this would be impossible unless you both obtained jobs that had 'key money' for securing your own house. Very few of our placements have this type of 'key money' housing and it is usually only applicable to inner Seoul. The housing situation is totally dependent on the employers providing for their own staff. No employer wants to provide free housing for a teacher who might be working at another school. If an employer has a two bedroom apartment leased for his teachers then they would expect two of their own staff to live there. Although some schools do provide single studio apartments, which are suitable for couples. Also, some employers get very upset if a teacher from another school is free boarding in their housing. As well as getting free housing this teacher is probably working for the competition. In situations where the extra person has been found there have been angry confrontations and the extra partner has been charged a rental fee applicable to the general market or asked to leave. The same policy applies to teachers allowing friends who are working illegally in the area to have free housing. In effect the teacher is subletting the director's housing without permission. The best thing is to be extremely flexible with your requirements and requests and allow us to do our best on your behalf. We research all the factors that apply to job offers before we present them to applicants.
A partner without a degree can't legally get a visa to teach English, and they will be totally dependent on you for income and support. Unless they can gain employment in another occupation, which is very difficult. There is no visa for a fianc�/friend/partner, but there is spousal visa. You have to provide proof of marriage, and it is only issued once the teacher has the ' visa issuance' number. Normally the partner's visa must also have a letter from the employer stating that they wish to invite the husband or wife as well. Be aware that the spousal visa can't be used for working. You must have a separate work visa if you wish to take up other employment. With no degree, the spouse can't get a job teaching English. If the friend/partner is between 18-30 years then you should check out the H1 visa as it allows you to get short term work (but not as a teacher!) An H1 visa is specifically linked to a few areas of short-term work, which allow you to earn money to fulfil the objective of a 'working holiday'. As far as we know all applicants for an H1 visa have had to write a covering letter to the Korean embassy explaining their reasons for travelling to Korea. Teaching English in any form while on the H1 visa is banned, as is anything in the 'entertainment' business. An H1 visa only allows short term work of periods up to 3 months. We know of an incident where a teacher's partner (on an H1 visa) started working at the same academy. The school had written a contract for her that recorded her activities as a teacher aid. However, immigration did a 'bust' at the school, and found this person in the classroom teaching. No excuse was accepted and both parties were heavily fined, and the person deported. A school cannot offer employment (in any form) to someone with an H1 visa. To do so is illegal. Any employment offered to someone with an H1 visa, will probably not include accomodation. In Korea a free apartment is only usually provided in the teaching industry. A general work sponsorship visa can be difficult obtain but the procedure is the same. You must be hired by an employer that has permission to employ a foreigner and has the capacity to do the immigration paperwork. Employers are more likely to give free housing to a couple if they think they can gain a second 'free teacher'. Some employers will take the risk of hiring the partner without a visa because they perceive the odds of being caught are low. It makes no difference whether the person is your spouse, has a dependent spouse visa or has an H1 tourist visa. They would be working illegally at the school. If you partner is just a tourist in Korea and does not a spousal visa then they must leave the country every 3 months. With a spouse visa they are entitled to stay for 12 months. Our company will give no employment advice or representation to any person or partner who knowingly works in an illegal capacity.
Your spouse's options are to apply for a spousal visa or to enter Korea as a tourist. If you are a tourist then will have to leave Korea every three months to renew your tourist status. A child can obtain a dependent child visa based on the work visa of the birth parent, or the married parent. You have to provide marriage and birth certificates. You would have to complete all visa processing before going to Korea and you would have to prepay air travel costs for yourself and your child. Only your own air ticket is refundable from the employer. The Korean state school system is not suitable for foreign children. There are a few international schools but they are expensive and only within the main centre of Seoul. Alternatively, you could arrange correspondence lessons and supervision of you child. Childcare facilities for foreign children are also expensive and hard to find. Because of the issues involved with the placement of families, we are reluctant to accept applications from people intending on taking dependent children with them. Especially if both the parents intend to be working. Unfortunately, many school directors are not very open towards employing teachers who have children. Especially if the person is intending to works as well as take care of the child. They think it is impossible to raise your child correctly and also be available for the hours you will be required to work. Your teaching timetable will be changing frequently. This makes it is difficult to plan childcare on a 9am-5pm schedule. You could still be at the school at 9pm! Also, there is concern for the child's health. There is no allowance in employment law for a parent to take leave to look after a sick child. The number of children is also very important. If a person is intending to bring 2-4 children of various school ages then the odds of getting a job are practically nil. If a couple want to travel together with one baby or young child, and only one parent will be working, then the likehood of getting a work offer and suitable housing from an employer is much higher. If both parents intend to work and they wish to arrange childcare and schooling in Korea then this can make it extremely difficult to get a job offer. As far as an employer is concerned they have to look at the most economical option, hiring a single person without family is always the first option. In many cases it is unacceptable for a married couple and child to share an apartment with other single teachers. The school will not pay for a family to live somewhere other than the housing provided. Only if the employer has a single unit available will it be possible to not share with other teachers. In this case the apartment may be a very small Korean style studio with only one bedroom and lounge area. Getting accommodation separate from the school can very expensive and hard to find.
Jobs are available every month. The timeframe for starting is dependent on your documentation being ready. When you have your diploma issued then you can usually begin a job, with a visa, within 6-10 weeks. We will send you information to help you with the paperwork and help you understand the employment process. If you were intending to go to Korea within a very short time frame (less than a month), you will now not be able to as your paperwork wil take longer than this to complete. Also you must now apply fron out of Korea for your first E2 visa. Any ordinary travel as a tourist will require that you have a return ticket or a ticket for onward travel. There are many other important factors that need to be taken into consideration as well. Please check our website regarding the time frame of the visa process. It is our company's policy to advise all applicants of the problems involved with a entry as a tourist. We always have some jobs available for ASAP (with a visa of course) . For instance, an employer may have been let down by a teacher not arriving as planned or they may have under estimated their staffing needs.
The teacher is not financially responsible for any payment to either the recruiter or the employer. The teacher pays nothing and gets free service and a lot of help. Your only financial responsibility is to pay for visa documents, passport processing costs and postal charges. 90% of the time, you will also be required to purchase your own one way ticket to Korea, with the understanding that this cost will be refunded to you once you commence work. Generally, recruiters do not require you to pay fees for the service of getting you work in Korea. If you are asked to pay for such a service please review carefully what you are paying for. We have known of some agents to charge fees for a service that is provided free by many other agents.
If you are from the USA and have a US passport but you were born in Korea or have family connections to Korea (such as relatives or parents born in Korea) you can qualify for this visa. Employers understand this visa, and often it allows them to employ American speakers for less pay and benefits than a person on an E2 visa.
For the government programs there is an official upper age of 55 years. In the private sector there is no official age but most employers prefer to hire younger applicants. Many employers specify the applicants should be between 22-38yrs. In most cases schools treat applicants individually and will consider employing older applicants if they are impressed with their teaching experience and personal character. The determining factors for older applicants is appearance (especially your photo) and resume. If you look old, grey haired, bald, or tired looking, then job offers will be minimal. It does not seem to matter to employers that you were highly qualified or have excellent previous teaching experience. Your appearance will be the major factor. It is usually more difficult for older men to gain work because many Korean schools are owned by men and they do not like to employ males older than themselves. There is a respect for elders and age in Korea but this is usually only applicable within the family and not applied to employment (especially when employing foreigners!) Most Korean employers make their decision based on their gut instincts, our evaluation of you, the phone conversation and what you look like in a photo! Employers usually want to know the following. Why do you want to come and work for them? Why did you chose Korea? If an older person has varied history of employment and travel the employer may see this person as transient and unsettled. The employer may fear that you will not like children if your resume doesn't show that you have worked with children of 4-12 years of age (90% of jobs in Korea have children this age). Your resume should be short to the point and only promote the aspects related to your suitability as a teacher. Details of clerical work, computing, HR management, finances, computer programming or certificates and awards from 20 years ago are not needed and may even work against you. Sometimes it concerns employers that older foreigners may make requests for employment based on their values and personal Western lifestyle criteria. As opposed to thinking that their lifestyle in Korea should be based on the reality and realistic capacity of successfully gaining employment in another culture.
Korean employment law does not have any regulations regarding housing provided by an employer. You have no legal right to complain or penalise your employer if the housing and furnishing is as described in your contract. If a recruitment agent promises you housing that is different from what you receive then you should take the issue up with the agent first. Always check the status of the housing (as set out in the contract) prior to going to Korea. Also, you can check our website for more information regarding housing and utilities. Usually a school director will lease an apartment from an apartment owner. He will do this through a real estate agent who will locate a suitable apartment. Your director is not usually your landlord, and if you have any issues with the apartment then your director must request the landlord to complete repairs. There is no guarantee that this will work smoothly and all housing issues should be dealt with carefully. It is extremely uncommon for a director to knowingly rip off a foreign teacher by providing them with substandard housing. The school director is not making any profit on your housing, in fact it is a huge extra cost. Having an apartment with a few cockroaches just mean that your apartment is the same as the majority of other apartments in Korea. Even in warm and sunny apartments you will find friendly cockroaches appearing from the bathroom plugholes. Often Koreans are used to seeing cockroaches and think foreigners are being fussy if they complain about them. These little creatures, along with ants and mosquitoes, are part of daily life in Korea, especially in the hot summer months. Your own apartment hygiene practices will often determine how many little visitors will eventually take up residence in your apartment. Be sensible about sprays and traps and keeping the mosquito net windows closed. As far as the growth of mildew on the walls ... again this is a very common problem in Korea because of the following reasons:
Scrubbing the floor and walls with bleach usually gets rid of the mould. But it will come back if moisture is not controlled. Koreans often just accept mildew on wallpaper as a normal part of life, where as foreigners might be unused to this. The wide range of housing situations often makes it impossible for an outside party (eg. a recruitment agent) to make a judgement on the situation unless digital photos and witness statements are given. Employers and foreign teachers often just have different expectation as to what is suitable housing. Also, simply comparing your housing to other teacher's housing may not be the best way to assess the 'norm' for Korea.
Problems with a number of schools and franchise organizations do exist but they are often a result of lack of knowledge with regard to the law. Also, many recruiters are only working as part of a chain of people and only receive payment for passing on a name. Unfortunately, some agents do not provide realistic information or give full facts about employment laws. This can lead to problems. Also, remember that private schools are not regulated by the government and their adherence to employment law is often naive and simply. Sometimes taxes are avoided and old approaches to managing problems are taken. Add to this the lack of knowledge about cultural differences and you have disasters waiting to happen. As you will hear about in some stories. Also, many people are unsuitable for work in the classroom because they have no training. Even if you are white, have a degree and a passport from USA, there is no guarantee it will be a success. Many people arrive in Korea and are shocked about what they learn of themselves and employment in general. Some try to apply their own attitudes and countries employment laws to Korea. Also, some people get demanding and nasty with the employers. 99% of the stories you hear happen because of these circumstances rather than a school setting out to harm and overwork a teacher. It costs the school a lot of money to employ a teacher and pay airfares. Why would they want to waste this money by deliberately hurting teachers? We recommend that you do as much research as possible. We provide applicants with a huge amount of employment information and often you can speak to teachers at the school. We do not work with middle agents and never have. Our company is based on working directly with head offices and schools. We provided a 12-month help and advice service and will investigate problems and breaches of the law. No one will ever be able to give you a guarantee. The same employment situations can happen anywhere in the world. You will not be doing yourself any favours if you arrive in Korea expecting something to go wrong. Many teachers are having fantastic experiences in Korea. It is a pity that they don't post their happy stories. Any agent should be able to give you an honest view of the work situation. We can assure you that the general market is not as portrayed in many stories. We have placed hundreds of teachers and have never seen a person fired after 11 months to avoid severance, yet we hear of this as a common horror story! Sadly we have encountered numerous teachers blatantly breaching their own contracts by teaching illegally in addition to teaching at their own school. Rules go both ways. If you are actively looking for the reasons not to work in Korea, then don't do it. Our company will help as much as possible, but we are not going to hold your hand when decisions have to be made. You are a mature adult making a rational decision. You must pick through the lies and distortion of facts. Please research as best you can. If you decide to use our company that is fine, but check everything else out yourself. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Try not to get caught in the hype of going to Korea and forget to check out where you are going as carefully as possible. You must learn when to trust as well and whatever you do it is your decision and you live with the outcome.
It is not an easy process or simple to organise, and can become a very stressful experience. Therefore, any decision to leave an employer after you have commenced work should not be taken lightly. If there is no breach of the contract by either party and the departure is agreed to by both parties, the following applies:
Leaving suddenly without notice. If you decide to leave without good manners (eg. giving suitable notice) then don't expect kindness or sympathy from your present boss, or any new employer you approach for work. Your first employer has the capacity to not clear you at immigration for the remaining months of your contract, and this would mean that any new employer will not be able to employ you. You will be unofficially blocked from getting a new visa job until your initial 12 months expires. Leaving if you think your employer is breaching the contract. If you are 100% convinced your boss is breaching your contract and you can provide correct proof of this (not emotional validations as to why you think he is breaching) then you should first consider applying to be heard at a local labour court. Perhaps contact your recruiter first, for their honest appraisal of the situation and for contract information. However, DON�T expect that your recruiter will accurately know the labor law and be able to clarify your situation. However, our company does have extensive knowledge of employment law in Korea applicable to foreign employees. We also provide a free advice service for teacher we have placed, but may be unable to assist and advise teachers placed by other agents. Do not always assume that you are being ripped off, and have no recourse. In fact, in many cases the teacher's initial assumption of their contract being breached has been based on misunderstandings of the employment law, lack of employment protocols and behaviours, listening to gossip, or reading unproven internet stories of past teachers experiences. Do not assume that because you have seen a 'blacklisting' or bad report for your school, that it will be true. No previous employee's 'grudge' can legally form any part in your own employment complaint. IMPORTANT. At the time of your very first concerns you should request information on the law and your contract conditions from your recruiter, and if needed ask for mediation with your employer to explain and solve the breaches you feel are happening. Most breaches of contract are 'naive' rather than 'malicious and planned'. And if mediation is done correctly you may find that everything is resolved easily. If you decide to confront your boss and demand an answer to a believed breach of contract, then you may very soon find an atmosphere of mistrust and anger forming. This usually happens because both parties do not understanding the extent of the situation and will not budge from their positions. A true example of a misunderstanding of a contract. "A young male teacher complained to us that he had not been paid correctly and had worked overtime without payment. What he failed to mention was that he had presented a note (in Hangul) to his boss on payday accusing him of being a robber and a cheat and that other Korean staff had read this. The teacher had not checked with us if the pay was incorrect, and when we checked the timetables we found that he had been overpaid for his hours! Things were now turning ugly at the school with a very stressed atmosphere. The teacher wanted to immediately run away rather than face the truth that he had been in the wrong and had made a false allegation. This whole problem could have been resolved early on if the teacher had checked first and later given an apology for his actions." Departure within the first 3 months. All recruiters and Korean schools have a written (or unwritten) agreement that ensures the employer has a 'guarantee' that the teacher placed is suitable for the job and can do the job correctly. It is important that you understand what will be in place (whether you have been told of this or not). If your employer deems that you are totally unsuitable within weeks of your arrival he may be able to demand that the recruiter replace you at no cost. Of course, if you have decided to arrive on a tourist visa then your chances of being dismissed are higher. For example, if someone better has applied for your job off the street. You do not have any rights if you are working without a completed E2 visa or if your documents are not in immigration. Think carefully about requesting a visa be completed before you arrive. You have no comeback if you don't have a completed visa and you are working in the school. You may find you are on the street with no job! Your recruiter should inform you of this '3 month phase'. For more information please refer to terms and conditions of employment.
You have simply offered your personal application to an agent to help you gain employment in Korea.Becasue the recruiter is giving you an 100% free service he/she does not have to jump to any demand and request you make. Nor can you blindly expect that if something goes wrng in your employment many months later that the recruiter will 'jump' to defend you. Any good employer will look at the situation without bias and offer mediation and advice, not just one-sided support. A Korean employer contracts a recruitment agent's service, and when a teacher successfully arrives in Korea and commences work, the employer pays a recruitment fee to that agent. This means that the employer is officially the business contracting and paying for a service from the recruiter, not the teacher. Unless you have a prearranged guarantee from your recruiter for advice and employment mediation for the term of your employment, then you are not entitled to expect any help, other than what may be offered to you out of goodwill. We offer a full advice and mediation service for the full 12 months of any contract- to both the employer and the employee. In conclusion, the teacher is paying nothing, but getting a lot of free service. Unfortunately, many teachers seem to assume that their recruitment agent should be responsible for everything that happens to them for the full 12 months of the work contract, NO MATTER WHAT! This simply is not the case. Employment agencies do not take the role of 'nurse maids' and 'mentors' for long periods of time after placing you in a job in the USA or New Zealand. Why should teachers expect that recruitment companies working for Korean employers would be different? You must take the time to carefully read all of your responsibilities and obligations, and the responsibilities of both the recruiter and your employer. Also, you cannot assume that other agents will conform to the recruitment standards our company uses. In fact, we are sure that a large percentage of agents will not have a policy for recruitment standards, let alone paperwork to back up their 'sales pitch'. The recruiter is NOT your employer and it is vital you understand the process of employment and how ongoing employment situations operate. Many applicants also have 'misguided assumptions' that all recruiters are simply looking for a 'warm body' to place in Korea (with little or no work involved). And that every recruiter is simply after the monetary rewards and is not concerned about the teacher's best interests. A large number of bad recruiters do exist, therefore, it is vital that all applicants do research, complete a legal visa process and get details of the recruiter's history. A well constructed, fancy rigns and bells website does not automatically make a good agent. It just means they have paid more for their website!!! 90% of agents that were operating 4 years ago have now closed down or remaned themselves. There are always new agents thinking they will make a lot of money, others making amazing service promises and some looking like they have historical tenure in the market, when in fact they don't. Try to get proof that the agent is adhering to standards and systems, has an excellent knowledge of the market and a proven history. In conclusion, in the Korean market many recruiters are seen as unprofessional and unorganised with no follow up services or assistance to either the teachers or the employers. However, once a teacher has settled in, has adapted to the new work environment and there are no problems, it is unfair to expect that after nine months a recruiter is responsible for a bad placement simply because an unexpected issue has arisen. You can increase your chances of having a successful time in Korea if you use an agent that promises (in writing) to offer help and employment advice for the full term of your contract. In the employment world, any employer and employee who have a written contract together should be able to follow procedures for resolving issues that arise before they seek mediation from a third party, such as a recruiter. Sometimes there is a false belief among teachers that recruiters will believe them, and agree with their version of events and if this does not happen they can be extremely hurt and may complain or even blacklist the agent for their lack of help. All teachers need to fully understand the roll that agents play in their employment before the employment commences. If an applicant contacts an agent who is promising amazing things and he/she believe them without first checking their claims, then sadly it is not always the recruiter who is to blame. In this case the applicant is part of the problem because they have not double-checking the claims presented to them. 'Sales pitch' and 'fast sell and sign-up' methods are rampant in this industry, so all applicants should try and balance the unbelievable offers against the honest ones. Any responsible and professional recruiter should provide terms and conditions for employment and should be working under professional recruitment standards. For further information please refer to our recruitment policy and our terms and conditions for employment.
Benefits:
Usually most people can live on 400,000-600,000 won a month, thus saving at least $1000 US a month. General taxes are about 5% and compulsory. Many employers try to avoid the 4.5% compulsory pension tax. If you get both taxes taken correctly it is about 9%. Do not jump for joy and consider you are saving more if your employer takes no tax from you or only 3-5%. It may be reassessed later at the correct rate!! Do not judge any job offer on the basis of tax, because tax laws are the same for every school and legally every employer is expected to tax you correctly. If a job offer is saying 'no tax' it is breaching the law unless they are a university or government institution with special tax exemptions for foreigners. Currency conversion rates tend to go up and down according to world events and this in turn makes it difficult to give accurate savings and costs at any particular time. However, it is always cheap to live well in Korea.
Public school contracts are usually for 22 hours classroom teaching but 40 hours total onsite. Only hours over 120 hours classroom teaching a month, or over 40 hours a week are considered overtime. In the majority of schools there is no guarantee of any overtime because employers plan staffing to meet the timetabled classes. Also, any hours up to 40 a week are paid at the ordinary rate as the Korean working week is 44 hours. The law only states that it should be time and a half after a 44 hours a week. Preparation and planning time is unpaid and so is time between classes (eg. 10 min breaks). You should seek clarification with your director or agent regarding expectations and your job description along with a simple explanation of unpaid tasks that will be part of your contract.
With the employer most likely refunding you the cost of your air ticket within 2 weeks of your arrival you should take enough to live on for the first month. Budget approx $400-$800US for the first month and expect the airfare repayment to cover part of that. But also plan that the employer may only pay the airfare back 3 weeks after you arrive, so you will need enough money for food and living until then. With a work visa in Korea you can open a Korean bank account and it is possible that your boss will open one for you and deposit your salary in it. Most banks have a debits card for cash withdrawals from bank machines. However, most stores don't accept direct debit cards. You can withdraw large amounts (over $600) from bank machines, so don't lose your card or give the pin number to others. Korean banks will not organize automatic or direct payments to overseas accounts. However, you can save in an US dollar account, purchase travellers cheques in US dollars and Euros, or just keep the money in the Korean bank until you need to transfer back to your home country. When you leave Korea you may have up to $10,000US cash on you.
if your employer later suspects you are in low health, mentally not coping, or taking drugs, he can legally request you to undergo another medical examination. Because of the adjustment to different climate, new culture and work stress some teachers may find that they have a reoccurrence of previous illnesses (eg. depression or anxiety). Therefore, you should understand your own stress levels and 'trigger points', and should be prepared to heed warning signs and seek medical help promptly . Korean employers will be very sensitive to your 'happiness' and general health, so it is important you manage these things properly. Our company asks that you honestly declare any previous medical mental illnesses so that we can clarify things with you and make a decision regarding how an employer would look at your medical history. This also helps us to give you relevant advice and help when you are in Korea. You will be asked to declare to the employer (if asked) any mental history, physical disabilities or medical conditions (eg. epilepsy or diabetes) as these are medical conditions the employer must know about if they are going to employ you.
The population of Korea is 47 Million. Just over 20 million people live in Seoul (11 million) and the surrounding province of Gyonggi do and Incheon (9 million). After the war in the 1950's new city plans were drawn up that located many of the new residential areas out of Seoul city. Some of these newer satellite cities such as Pyyonchon, Bundang, Ilsan and Songnam have grown to around 1 million in less than 10 years. Older cities such as Ansan, Guri, Suwon and Bucheon and Pyongtaek have seen enormous growth and economic development in the last 10 years as well. The inner city of Seoul is made up of 22 smaller cities or Gu's that encompass half a million people. This means that each Gu within Seoul is in reality a self-governing city of half a million people. Seoul is separated along its middle by the Han River. Most of the recent major developments and new housing areas have spread out to the southern areas rather than the northern areas. Seoul is only 64 km from the North Korean Border. The northern areas of Seoul and Gyonggi do province are also more mountainous and include many army bases. There are 38,000 US military personnel based permanently in Korea. The US bases are in the process of being moved (in the next few years) to the southern side of Seoul, with major bases in Pyongtaek and Osan. The US military bases are self-contained and the Americans involved in the military mainly stay on base. These bases are like small self-sufficient American towns. There are a number of other American bases in the southern areas of Busan, Jinhae and Gunsan. Seoul and the sprawling smaller cities of Gyonggi do are all networked with subway systems, but getting around above ground can be enormously time consuming. Pollution can also be extremely bad at certain times of the year. To get to the mountains and parks you will have to drive for some considerable distance. Foreign communities do exist in the smaller cities around Seoul, but there is no one area for socialising. In fact the subway trains in Seoul all stop operating at midnight, making visiting friends and attending social parties extremely difficult at times. In smaller cities without subway systems you may very easily find the hub of the city is more vibrant and your social life is more relaxed and you can get away out of the major industrialised areas much quicker. All of the ten largest cities in Korea now have vibrant foreign teaching community. In fact, the small city of Jinju has about 35 foreigners who have formed a fantastic social scene, and we often hear of the great atmosphere in this city. Please read this story from a teacher living in Jinju. The success of your placement location will depend totally on your own self confidence, the personal support structures, friends and family you have around you now, the ease of your assimilation into the local environment and the new friendships you form with the locals. Some cities will be ugly and unfriendly to some, and beautiful and vibrant to others. There are no instant answers, and just because you may have had a friend who went to Gangseo in Seoul and said it was a great place, there is no guarantee you will find this area great as well. Foreigners change jobs frequently so the 'great social scene' your friend talked about may not exist when you arrive. Please have an open heart and an open mind regarding all cities and areas in Korea as suitable locations to work. Some basic facts about Korea to think about when considering a location to work:
Koreans do not go to the beach as we know it, and when they do the coast from Sokcho down to Yeongdok are the preferred places. This large area of coastline has some smaller cities and very few language schools. Also, the coast line in Korea is mostly highly fortified because of the North Korean factor, thus barbed wire pleasantly surrounds the few nice beaches. All people must be off coastal areas by 7pm at night as patrols start then. The famous Busan area of Haeundae beach is closely packed umbrella to umbrella and not a beach resort, as we know them. Koreans love it, foreigners usually think 'oh my goodness.' In the USA, NZ, Australia and South Africa we are spoilt for beautiful sandy beaches, coast and scenery. Korean's best-loved and treasured places are the national parks and mountain areas, which are plentiful and easily accessed. Many ski fields exist and there are numerous places you can go hiking or enjoy water and outdoor leisure sports.
We operate a 7 days a week help and advice service to all employers and teachers for the full 12 months of a contract and if required we provide employment mediation in the event of contract difficulties. Management staff are qualified and experienced teachers in both Western and Asian education. We work directly with many Korean schools, head offices and franchises. We do not work with any Korean middle agents.
Any recruitment agent in Korea is required to be legally registered for tax and company statistics within the Korean system. If a Korean agent asks a teacher to work on their behalf sourcing teachers in a foreign country, then the foreigner in Korea becomes responsible under this law as well. An employer does not have to use any recruitment agent to get a new teacher and he can advertise for staff for his own school. However, once he seeks help from a teacher working at his school or at another school, and offers any form of payment or gift then he is acting in breach of the law. The teacher is also at risk of breaching their contract by accepting paid employment not acceptable to their visa status in Korea. Any teacher working in Korea as a teacher cannot legally work as a recruitment agent unless they get special permission from their employer and from immigration to conduct a business. They then must register this recruitment business in Korea for tax purposes. Many foreign teachers flout this legal fact and operate websites and actively advertise to source teachers in Korea and their home countries. On-selling the names of interested applicants to Korean employers for employment is definitely a severe breach of the law. There are a number of other problems you may encounter by using a friend or a local teacher to get you a job. You should make sure you get answers to the following:
Home
| About Us
| Sitemap
Our Program | Employment Contracts | Terms & Conditions of Employment Information about Teaching in Korea | Living & Surviving in Korea | Useful Links Applications & Contact Details | Korean Employers Application Form Copyright © World English Service Ltd. All rights reserved. Last updated 17/12/2007. Design & development by Karere.
|
Korean scenery |