random
- 2016-06-26
I worked there too. I would have to agree that this is best avoided. The manager was quite kind and I liked the people who worked there BUT, the manager was inept beyond belief. In the 3 months I was there 3/4 of the western teachers quit for the simple reason that they worked us non stop. They did not understand how to manage the time. Thus, there was no set schedule, it could change day to day. You could not plan anything in advance because the next day, the very next day, you might have a one on one class with a 10 year old girl at her apartment at 11am. Or 2 pm or a new class of high school students was starting the next day at 10 pm. Two of the teachers started teaching at 6 am at a remote location. Their day would end at 11 pm at a different remote location.
If the owner had even a scintilla of common sense he would organize his classes and teachers and give them time to rest and time to prepare. Instead he had them moving all over the city of Gumi (and beyond) at all hours of the day and night, giving them no time to rest during the day. It was like watching those 1000 monkeys typing endlessly trying to produce all the works of shakespeare. And the reason the school continued to exist is because he had an endless supply of new teachers, none of whom he had to pay return airfare for, in fact he was/is saving money. Every now and then the school gets lucky and has a good teacher drop in for a few months (they quit immediately as well) and the reputation of the school improves.
If it weren't so sad it would be funny. Do not work for this company.
The owner of this school and its HR manager, Gerald R[edited], lack integrity. When I arrived, I learned that many foreign teachers before me had been treated poorly and had been unethically forced to leave. My issues stemmed from my contract being incomplete - not including info about overtime work and my return flight. The owner said I'd receive the same hourly rate for overtime work, and that I had to work extra during the busy periods. I tried to negotiate with them because in Korea, workers are legally entitled to 'time and a half' and I had no obligation in my contract to work extra. The owner got offended that I didn't just do what he told me to, and he threatened not to give me the return flight home. When I pointed out that was not honorable since he had already said I was entitled to it (like all foreign teachers) he started accusing me falsely of being a bad teacher. I then went to the Ministry of Labor and the immigration office in Daegu to complain and find out about my rights. In the meantime, the owner refused my last month's pay, and claimed that I owned him for the plane ticket to Korea. This was 6 months into my contract. The reality was at that point, it was more cost effective to get rid of a teacher who stood up for herself than to keep her for the remainder of the contract & have to pay the bonus 6 months later. I was forced to stop work suddenly & without notice. I also had to leave my apartment a couple of days later. In the end, he paid for my last month of work, probably because I stayed in Korea and kept fighting for it. It was a terrible time for me, particularly because he had to agree to release me from my contract so I could get another job in Korea. I'll never forget how nerve-wracking it was for me. There is no excuse for taking advantage of foreigners in this way. Gerald R[edited], who was a fellow teacher of mine at the time, seemed only too happy to go along with the owner's crooked ways. I have little faith that he would add to the integrity of Yeonsei enough to put people before profit.