Alrighty douchebags, this is my final kick at the can, so soak up the brilliance for the last time. I briefly skimmed the other posts, so I'll cover some points and if i forget others...ah well.

1. To xman - you proved my point. The very first thing you mention about your new job is how little you work. Let me tell you, laziness is not a characteristic of a professional. Also, exactly what sentence in my first post is a complaint? Xman is an appropriate handle...cuz you certainly are not a man.

2. To ex trainee - You had no experience, but also no clue, ie. incompetent. CDIs kids were the easiest, best behaved kids i ever taught. Though i did have a couple of massive advantages going in (see below). Also, the lies and deceptions and what not that you whine about are trivial. Lying is not being paid for 3 months and then having the owner flee...or working at a place for 11 months then being fired so they don't have to pay your return airfare. Never happened to me...but I know it has to others. Fighters know how to pick and choose their battles. What you raised is not an issue; you are clearly not a fighter, just a complainer.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT KOREA

1. Learn their language. Korea has been dominated by Russia, China, Japan, and the US at different times throughout their history. There are many folk sayings about how little they are among their neighbours (the shrimp among whales). Because of this there is a pervasive cultural inferiority complex about foreigners (strong wording perhaps, but if you've lived there you know what I mean)....and nothing reinforces that like a foreigner who has been there more than 6 months and speaks only rudimentary korean (as you;re basically saying i don't give a shit about you or your country). I studied Korean for 15 hours a week for 9 months...at a cost of $250k won/month. I wasn;t fluent...but damn close. Nothing brings out jung in koreans like a foreigner who can talk with them. Don't know what Jung is?

2. Jung - I think I mentioned this in the other post...but it's defined as sympathy in the absence of reason. Warmheartedness, is how I'd put it. You want to come down on someone, but cuz you;ve been their shoes and like them, you don;t. Nothing will bring this out like speaking Korean. I showed this to my students by pretending that they were my kids in my mind...it was like fatherhood practice. And they loved it. They listened to me and my retention rates were sickening. This is a very complex subject...but if you;re hearing about it for the first time you need to know more. It's something Koreans have but Chinese and Japanese don't...though many southeast Asian countries do as well.

3. Social psychology. it really helps to know this...I recommend the book "Influence: Science and Practice" by Robert Cialdini, and maybe any book written by Mystery (a famous pick up artist). You may laugh at this...but all of the principles are applicable to the classroom environment(people in general, actually). And once you understand it, you'll have unbelievable control.

Of course, you have to have personality too. All teachers are edutainers, and if it's really boring...you're gonna have a tough go of it.

So to ex trainee...that's why I did well. I knew those things, plus had a couple years experience beforehand. So while i think your complaints are baseless, i can understand feeling a little over your head if that was your first kick at the can.

To the rest wondering if its a good place to work...theres a reason why it has been so successful and charges the most for students. Its stable, the material is excellent, and the students are the best in Korea.

If you work hard and have at least 1 years experience (or teachers college) there wont be a better place. Otherwise...look elsewhere.