ANET
- 2009-08-07
Hi Emily,
I'm guessing you were teaching at a hagwon. After my first 12-month term, I asked for the return fare equivalent in cash and put it towards my visit to Northern Europe. I was with one of the rare good hagwons at that time. Then I returned to another school. If your boss is reasonable, there should not be such a time limit. If you fulfilled your 12 months, it's payable.
My observation is that with Koreans, it's pretty much "Out of sight, out of mind." I would get closure first and take the cash equivalent.
Also, I don't know who Theo is, but what he writes is TRUE. Contracts are non-enforceable by the Labor office and Courts laugh them off.
Personally, during my 5 years in Korea, when I worked for a good school, and they are few and far between, I was in heaven, but generally, their word means nothing and the contract is not worth the paper it's written on, so don't take promises and deadlines too seriously.
Theo
- 2009-08-06
Emily, I never did the type of post-contract traveling that you describe. However, you can find all sorts of posts on various ESL-related Korea discussion forums regarding this topic. An overwhelming number of posts inform folks that most school/employers will not cooperate with such plans by teachers, making it basically impossble to use the return flight home, after traveling to other countries (or even within Korea) after completing the contract.
Don't expect your school to cooperate and schedule your return flight home according to your after-contract travel plans.
Good luck... and happy trails...
For all those who have taught English in Korea, I'm wondering if you or others you know travelled outside the country afterwards, and for how long. I would love to visit China, Japan, possibly Thailand and/or others, and am wondering how much time I should plan on leaving for travelling, as I have to be back in Canada by a certain time. If you travelled after finishing your contract in Korea, where did you go and for how long? Were you able to get your return flight reimbursed even though you did not go back home right away?
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks!