ANET
- 2009-07-25
Sorry, in addition to the reply I just posted, I should mention that the Korean woman who trail-blazed ahead of me blowing away the language barriers in the case against Tom&Jane later lost her job as a result of helping me win my case.
She was not there when I faced the biased and bigoted Administration in the case against Ahil English School.
So, even though some good Koreans will bend over backwards to help foreigners, Yes, Theo, you are absolutely right when you expose delinquent hagwon owners.
ANET
- 2009-07-25
Thank you Theo. You can add Tom&Jane English School in SunAmdong, Namgu Ulsan to the list.
This hagwon had a history of firing teachers after 11 months to avoid paying the 12-month completion severance and for deducting medical insurance premiums from the FT's pay and then pocketing the money.
It's a shame those lousy employers give all Koreans a bad name.
In the course of my 5 years in Korea I met some Koreans who were genuinely ashamed and embarrassed by these despicable employment practices. They were the force behind my first article "Exultant in Ulsan" by ANET. The hagwon in question was Tom&Jane. Those who came forward to help me were Koreans. The director of Tom&Jane paid her dues but Ahil English School in Ulsan, Nammok has yet to be deterred.
Ok, folks, here's the first edition of the Korea "Hall of Shame".
Thanks, Silverboy for the inspiration.
Additional contributions are encouraged!
PUBLIC SCHOOL Programs
EPIK (English Program in Korea)
SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Offfice of Education)
These are both government-run public school ESL programs catering to elementary to high school-age students
Searching ESL websites, one will find a range of opinions, but of course LOTS of negative ones, especially regarding lousy, deplorable housing conditions, and the challenges of dealing with Korean children and their parents.
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HAGWONS (private training schools for adults and/or children)
Private "Hagwons" -- also known as "cram schools" (for middle high school students -- a dreaded part of their daily life for most) or adult ESL training centers -- "Hagwon" has a very broad meaning in Korea
YBM
The largest and most "reputable" of all (of hundreds) of ESL franchise operation Korea (and unfortunately the one I worked for/endured for a thorughly miserable seven months)
Standard practice for most adult training centers in Korea is that NO housing is provided. That might not sound so bad, but what they won't tell you prior to arrival is that when one rents an apartment/studio in Korea (at least in Seoul where I was), NOTHING is furnished. The tenant is expected to purchase/supply ALL appliances and furnishings (refrigerator, A/C, TV, bed -- I'm NOT kidding!) and then is expected to get rid of it all at the end of the lease (most FTs want out of Korea after a year).
"Key money" is also a standard part of renting a place to live in Korea -- which is another term for HUGE deposit -- on average 5-12 million won. Most hagwons will post this key money on behalf of their FTs, but some (YBM for example) will subtract about 300,000 won for doing so. There's more I can tell you, but suffice it say that renting one's own dwelling in Korea is cumbersome, confusing, and very expensive!
YBM ECC (YBM's nationwide franchise of children's schools)
This arm of YBM also has a very bad reputation among FTs in China -- on lots of ESL-related websites.
As with most companies and public schools that cater to young children, YBM ECC does provide housing for the ir FTs, but again, there slots of complaints from FTs about the provided housing and other contract terms and working conditions. Definitely avoid YBM ECC.
Other hagwons/hsgwon franchises to avoid in various locations throughout Korea (based on numerous negative posts on this and other ESL websites):
PAGODA
NEW BRITON
MODERN ENGLISH STUDIO
AS ENGLISH TRAINING ACADEMY
POLY SCHOOL
KID'S COLLEGE
What readers should alos know is that Korea's policies/regulations for issuing proper and legal E-2 visa (visa especially for foreign teachers of English only -- no other type of employment) is complicated (and becoming more so every month), risky, cumbersome, and expensive.
South Korea requires propsective FTs to send ORIGINAL diplomas to the employer, who in turn will take to local immigration, a crimnal backgraound check from state/local area of home country that must have apostille affixed, lots of other documentation, and last but not least, a visa "interview" which must take place in person, at one of only five Korean consulates (in the U.S.).
Mine was a complete waste of time (as my visa had already been approved in South Korea) and expense (flight to and from my home town and one night in hotel -- interview was early in the morning and was refused a later interview time in order to go and return in the same day). When I blaked about the cost (about $800 in the end) my employer (YBM) pledged to reimburse, but of course after I arrived the made up a ridiculous excuse why they would NOT to reimburse me.
For a country so eager to attract and hire more and more FTs (the ESL business for children is currently skyrocketing) they make it amazingly difficult, unreasonable, inefficient, and expensive to do so. Simply idiotic.
Be very careful when deciding to accept a teaching position (public or private) in South Korea.
Here are some other ESL websites that have "blacklists" or at least Korean school/hagwon reviews:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p5Zor6fK824Q7OcjZlH6dGA
http://teflblacklist.blogspot.com/2008/01/korea-times.html