[susan53]

Quote mesmark

Wow! There's no way I'd get anything done.

I think you need to distinguish between contact hours and working hours. Like Eric, I'm only teaching about 12 hours a week at the moment but those hours are scattered all around the city. Last year I too taught 30hrs a week at one point, but only in one place per day. That meant I could start at 8am and, even with a couple of breaks, be finished by 2.30. If every hour you teach is in a different place then thirty contact hours may involve 45 hours or more, including travel.

Then you need to take into consideration preparation time (which I talked about before) and any other work you do - I'm currently writing three different courses and monitoring students on an on-line course, for example. But the contact hours are the most draining psychologically. I reckon I work 50-60 hours a week, but I still wouldn't want the majority of those to be contact hours.

[livinginkorea]

Great topic guys! I love to hear about other places, the working conditions, pay etc...

Here in Korea it's similar to Japan. The average wage is about 2 (1,600 Euro) million but I have seen jobs for 2.4 or 2.5 million depending on your location and experience. All contracts here include an apartment (different than Japan I think) and an airplane return ticket from your home country. That's all for 30 hours a week. And oh yes I nearly forgot, you get a month's bonus when you are finished too. Not bad I think. Majority of contracts last for a year. I heard that something like 70%~80% of first year teachers leave after a year. Majority of the teachers are fresh out of college and loads of them come here to pay off their loans.

There are many private schools here which are similar to the cram schools that Mark mentioned. There are certain schools teaching only English, others for math and others that inculde all subjects for elementary, middle and high schools. The Koreans are crazy about English. Seriously crazy about it. I say that about 80% of students go to a private school to study English more after school. They pay on average 150,000 won (125 Euros) a month and that is just for English about three hours a week. Include some other subjects and sending your kid every day to a private school and you can easily hit the 400,000 (330 Euro) mark. Parents care a lot about education but sometimes it looks like that they are throwing it down a hole.

The standard here is very different too. Some chain schools who would avoid due to the stories that you would here. Other schools are brillant but it's hard to find the right balance. I have met some great and some useless teachers. I have met a lot you really don't care and just want to hit the bars and count down the days until they get their airplane ticket and bonus.

Right now I am working part time about 23 hours a week teaching kids and adults in 3 different places. I am making just under 2.8 million (2,330 Euro) and have Tuesday and Thursday afternoons/evenings off. It's fits me perfectly as if I want to work harder I have the time and if I want to cut back then that is possible too.

Korea is definitely not for everybody. Koreans can be very direct. Some of my friends were a little big and Korean would tell them to their face! You have to be thick skinned that's for sure but it's very enjoyable for us and we will stay here for another 2 years at least enjoying the good life

(p.s. sorry it's a long post)

[mesmark]

Quote livinginkorea

There are many private schools here which are similar to the cram schools that Mark mentioned. There are certain schools teaching only English, others for math and others that inculde all subjects for elementary, middle and high schools. The Koreans are crazy about English. Seriously crazy about it. I say that about 80% of students go to a private school to study English more after school. They pay on average 150,000 won (125 Euros) a month and that is just for English about three hours a week. Include some other subjects and sending your kid every day to a private school and you can easily hit the 400,000 (330 Euro) mark. Parents care a lot about education but sometimes it looks like that they are throwing it down a hole.

It's amazing and since I work at both (public school and private) I can see the waste. The sad part is that the Japanese school system has become reliant upon the after school (private) system to sustain the level of education, IMO.

I may be part of the problem.

[livinginkorea]

Price wise things are pretty cheap here as long as you stick to Korean food and beer. I like to have a nice steak once in a while but as long as you are not doing that everyday you will be fine. We eat in about 5 days out of 6. We get Pizza Hut every Friday which costs 30,000 won (25 Euro) and have a nice meal and drink on most Saturdays costing usually 60~70,000 (50~60 Euro). I never like to stay out late as there is always football to watch on TV and besides Saturday night is full of people and I'm not fond of that so usually we are home by 12.

For the house bills, it's all very cheap. Electricity, heating (which is electric), Internet, apartment management (for the lady who cleans the halls and takes out the trash) and the phone are all very reasonable. I am really suprised how cheap living is here. If you stick to Korean food and Korean products (clothes etc) then you would save a lot of money here! I know some guys who have saved 1,500,000 won a month out of 2 million which is very good. Generally I am saving that much but make more than others.

Also the housing system here is different. If you have some money then you can put the "key" money down on a house, let's say 20 million won (16,600 Euro). The landlord then takes that money and invests it and you don't have to pay any rent. After a year you can take the money back or stay there. Either way you are literally getting a house for free!

It's true that Korea, Japan and some places in the middle east are the highest paying for English teachers. I guess that not many people come here and since there is such a huge demand there has to be an attraction to entice people to teach here. Good pay, free housing, airplane ticket and a month's bonus seems to be enough to draw people here.

[Whistleblower]

Quote livinginkorea

Also the housing system here is different. If you have some money then you can put the "key" money down on a house, let's say 20 million won (16,600 Euro). The landlord then takes that money and invests it and you don't have to pay any rent. After a year you can take the money back or stay there. Either way you are literally getting a house for free!

Got to agree with you LiK. The housing system in Korea is really really good. I like the fact that if you work hard and save some cash up you can become more independent and live in your own pad. I like it that I don't pay Council Tax which was about one to two thousand pounds per year (2 million to 4 million Won per year) for local Government to spend on a lousy service.

I also like the fact that to buy your own apartment is relatively cheap in Korea and that it is cheaper than the UK. The same goes for gas, electricity etc.

All in all my happiness in life is greater here than in the UK. My wife was my greatest source of encouragement to travel to Korea and experience something which I would be unlikely to experience again.

However, local Government in Korea is a double bladed sword. They are very good at getting things done but there is the stories of corruption. I hope that Korea becomes more acceptable towards foreigners to emigrate to Korea and offer more support for opening new businesses etc. But all in all, a great experience to be had in Korea.

[livinginkorea]

Quote mesmark

It's amazing and since I work at both (public school and private) I can see the waste. The sad part is that the Japanese school system has become reliant upon the after school (private) system to sustain the level of education, IMO.

I may be part of the problem.

Very true. The public schools have so much money that they seriously don't know what to do with it! A school nearby where I used to teach has about 8 computers and they are not even connected to a power source or Internet! They are just there for show. The problem is here (with everything in this government) is that if they don't spend all the money that they get every year then they will get less next year. In that case no forward planning is taken into account. If you come to Korea now you'll see lots of roadworks, most for no reason except to use up the money the government gave them before the year is out.

[clivehawkins]

Quote mesmark

The sad part is that the Japanese school system has become reliant upon the after school (private) system to sustain the level of education, IMO.

It's not just where you are - don't worry. Here in Sardinia the number of kids who take private English courses on top of the stuff they do at school is astounding. Astounding in the sense that it's actually necessary - I've seen the stuff the state school teachers are doing with the kids. They, the teachers, seem unaware of the level or what the kids are capable of. Upper intermediate level readings for kids that struggle to put a present simple question together.

I had one boy who came to me with the lesson he had just done on the verb HAVE. In an hour they did have and have got as well as have as the auxilliary for the present and past perfect. On top of that was also have to for obligation. I mean, what's that all about? Poor kid didn't have a clue.

But it seems acceptable for some strange reason. Private schools offering 'catch-up' school and university courses are springing up like mushrooms. Clearly there's a demand.

[clivehawkins]

Quote livinginkorea

Right now I am working part time about 23 hours a week teaching kids and adults in 3 different places. I am making just under 2.8 million (2,330 Euro) and have Tuesday and Thursday afternoons/evenings off. It's fits me perfectly as if I want to work harder I have the time and if I want to cut back then that is possible too.

Korea is definitely not for everybody. Koreans can be very direct. Some of my friends were a little big and Korean would tell them to their face! You have to be thick skinned that's for sure but it's very enjoyable for us and we will stay here for another 2 years at least enjoying the good life

Nice. That's certainly more than most teachers here would get.

It's interesting to hear what yourself, whistleblower and mesmark have to say. I guess it's right that Korea (or Japan) isn't initially the most attractive of destinations for the reasons you've stated, hence the juicy carrot. But you seem happy enough there.
I'm settled here now - school, house, wife and baby daughter so I don't imagine I'll be heading over to the far east. Pity though, it seems really interesting, at leat for a year or two.

[livinginkorea]

Come on over Clive and I'm sure that you will never leave!

I like Korea a lot but will never live here forever. I want a more stable enviroment for my kids especially one where they can be accepted (half-Korean/American and half Irish) more than what Korean kids are doing now. It just takes time for society here to accept them more. Also students are hit in class by teachers. I have seen it many times. Not going to bring up my kids in that. Also there is the possibility that they will start to learn Korean more than English and I won't be able to communication with them much!

Of course there are international schools but they are very expensive and I have heard of some parents even home schooling their kids but if I can get a good teaching job somewhere in Europe then things will be a lot better. Of course I have to get the masters first before I even think about a decent job and have kids first before I even think about schools!