First and foremost, I have to say that this is the most ridiclous review of Bucheon Poly. I have even worked with these two people and I can firmly say that the people who wrote these had such negative views on the school that they only looked for negative aspects and blew them way out of proportion. At the start of my contract it was difficult for me to adjust as these two previous teacher would not stop spewing negative 'facts' and responses about the administration and even about their fellow foreign teachers. Not only did they make it hard for us to work with, but I have seen their negativity affect their classes and especially their children. They would stop caring and refuse to be professional and teach. So in short, please do not take anything what they said seriously. If you do, you would be missing out on being able to inspire wonderful students and meet a fun group of teachers to work with as well.

With those two gone, now I can say without a doubt that it has become easier to laugh and smile with my co-workers and the children without fear of being 'chastised'. As any Hagwon or job, there will obviously be work and things you need to get done. Bucheon Poly does not go so overboard that you can't leave when the day is finished and miss your dinner. This post has so many outlandish lies that I don't even know where to start. I emplore you to actually talk to other teachers, including myself, from the school. It's a great opportunity and we are only growing. As you have been told before, don't believe everything you read on the interent without doing your own fact check.

I worked here during this time too. I think I know who posted this positive response and I can say it is unequivocally false. If my assumption on who this is is correct, it was posted under the pressure or "suggestion" by the director on a nervous foreign teacher.

Rest assured, kiddos, many teachers have walked away from this campus with plenty of horror stories. Bad management, deceitful director, and shady tactics are the MO of this Poly. The excessive turnover and non-existent contract renewal speaks for itself. Also, workload here increases monthly. This is due to the fact that students are leaving in droves and the director's "solution" is a nose to the grind approach, not realizing that lessons suffer because of this and -gasps- more students leave.

As far as payment goes? Sure, you get your paycheck. But they still find ways to stick it to you and save a few dollars. I've seen several people get their utilities "messed up." Often they try to get new teachers to pay for their entire first months utilities even if they come in at the end. Funny thing is, the previous teacher pays up until the day they leave, giving the director a nice meal that weekend. They also don't start paying into pension until maybe a month after you've started, so you even though they deduct it, you don't get it back.

There is a constant state of confusion there. Management never had a clue what's going on, and when you don't do something hat magically appears, it's your fault. There is also an exorbitant amount of grading, comments, and corrections on top of lesson plans and the 10 classes you teach a day.

Bottom line, up front: there are tons of hagwons out there. Don't bother with this. Some people go because the pay is a bit better, but when you do the math on hourly wage, you're working an extra full week a month for maybe $180 more. Take lower hours and enjoy your time there. Don't bother with this place.

Hello,
Before I begin, I would like to introduce myself. I have been teaching here in Korea for the past 9 years as an English teacher. There have been quite a few challenges working in a country that is not native to my own. One of these is mis-communication. I have also seen many teachers from all parts of the world come and go. Some have come with the determination to pursue education as a life-long goal. And others have simply come for the experience of living abroad. It goes without saying that everyone’s experiences teaching here in Korea have not been the same. So, before you consider coming, here are some things I would like to express.

As a teacher here at Poly school, it has been a challenge and a joy seeing the school develop and grow. However, it has come to my attention that there have been several talks of certain branches being better than others. I would like to address this matter with my deepest of concerns to you as a fellow teacher.

Currently, I have been working at the Bucheon campus. Although there have been some challenges here and there, my experience as a whole has been a pleasant one. Pay has always been on time and with each passing year, resources and the curriculum have continued to develop. Without beating around the bush, this post is a direct response to a previous post that was made by one individual who expressed his/her concerns about this school.

First and foremost, I would like to say that the negative post was made several years ago. For teachers who are considering to come, Bucheon campus is not how he/she has written and expressed. The children here are adorable and their English skills are quite good. The staff are always available to help and there have been no problems involving payment or other contract related things. In fact, if anything, there have been many teachers who have challenged or questioned something they felt was wrong only to see that it was all in the contract and apologized for their mistake. What I am trying to get at is this: Researching ahead of time and looking for the school you would like to work at is important. However, I ask that you take precaution on basing your decisions on what others have said. When it comes down to it, posts (even those based on experiences) are mixed with opinions and can be one-sided. It is important to take each and every person’s posts (especially those online) with a grain of salt. But for the most part, whether the things that people have said about Bucheon Poly in the past are true or not, the fact of the matter is that things are definitely not that way now. The teachers who have come recently have expressed how surprised they were about the working conditions here and how pleasant they have been. Again, in the end, the choice is yours. However, I wanted to express things how they are now here at this school and how much I have been enjoying my time here. As a teacher to a fellow teacher, I would like to wish you the best and hope that your time here in Korea be filled with wonderful memories and stories that you can share and keep with you always. Thank you.

Wow,

Most of this thread has gone in a completely ridiculous direction of attacking the Chinese for some strange reason. I don't really understand how that happened. I am posting my real name unlike the people who are bashing this school. I have worked at Bucheon Poly for almost two years, as has half of our native English teachers and Korean teachers. It is rare to find a large number of teachers who will re-sign with a school. Especially if it's as bad as "Kaylee Upton" claims. When I first arrived at Bucheon, there was an incredibly toxic atmosphere created by the teachers that were working there. Once they moved on, the rest of us were able to come together and work well. Is Bucheon Poly perfect? No. But there is no such thing as a perfect school, in any country. However, we get ample support from our directior and academic coordinator. We've never been paid laid and have always received the exactly how much we were supposed to be paid.

Websites like this can be an invaluable tool for people looking to teach abroad. However, they can also be a big problem when people such as "Kaylee Upton" write false statements for no other reason than because they have too much time on their hands. In all the time that I've worked in Bucheon, there was only one employee that was fired and believe me, it was completely justified. He didn't follow the curriculum and walked out of meetings for no other reason than to try and look "cool." We've also had two female employees that left their contracts early, one because she couldn't handle being away from her fiance and the other because she thought that she was above the work of a hagwon teacher. Every time that one of them left, the work environment improved. A big thanks to those three for leaving. I only wish they had done it sooner.

If you think that I'm a "paid lackey" then you've got your head up your ass. I'm a regular teacher, from the States who doesn't like it when people manufacture drama and lie because they want to bring people down to their level of immaturity.

If you're thinking about working at Bucheon Poly then try out a phone interview. If you don't like what you hear then look into other schools. But to take the work of the bi-polar creator of this thread would be a major mistake.

"Kaylee" why don't you tell and the other people bashing Poly school reveal your real name instead of hiding behind a pseudonym. I have a decent idea of who you might be and if I'm correct, thank you for leaving when you did. Although, it was still a little too late.

I would like to respond to the many negative reponses towards positive reviewers in this forum. This forum is meant to be a critical outlet for people who have actually worked and experienced the particular job in question. Posting comments which accuses all three of us positive reviewers (current Poly employees) of being hired Koreans under the guise of a cunning employer, is neither fair nor true.

If you have had a negative experience with hagwons in Korea, I feel sorry for your situation. You should, however, post negative feedback about your school in the proper place, and allow those of us who have actually worked at the school a chance to speak about our experiences without attack.

I have been working in Korean Hagwon’s for three years now, and have been with Bucheon Poly almost a year. It is by far the best place I’ve worked which is why I felt the need to respond to the above criticism. In the time that I’ve worked in Korea I have never had a director who was more upfront, direct, and professional about finances and housing. Our housing is the nicest I’ve seen and our paychecks have never been late. She is also the only director I’ve encountered who has been honest enough to give us updates on our pension accounts and return our tax return money.

No Hagwon is perfect, but if you are honest with yourself about what you are looking for you can find a good fit here at Poly. This is not a school for those looking to take a paid vacation to Korea for a year. We work long, hard hours, and are consistently busy. On the other hand, if you are a teacher, coming here to teach, and not afraid of hard work it doesn’t get much better. Our students are incredible. I wouldn’t trade my Poly students for anything. I have never worked with such gifted and wonderful children. Our co-teachers are top notch, as are our materials.

In short, I have seen none of the issues described here at Bucheon Poly. Instead I have found a challenging, but rewarding job with students I love. I hope to stay for quite a while longer, and I would whole-heartedly recommend working here to anyone.

Something is just not right with the post above. It is TOO glowing. It is TOO perfect. Everything is SO wonderful in this school. It's heaven-on-earth.

To speak frankly, I suspect that the school-in-question put up this post. It smells so much like an "inside job". It is truly rare that any hogwan in Korean is that perfect. Usually, it is just the opposite -- more like h*ll on earth.

The above poster is going to have to do a lot better than this to make us believe.

I do not see how that is an appropriate response to my post. Are you suggesting that all hagwons be "Blacklisted?" I find it very unfortunate that your bitterness toward this country has resulted in you searching ESL boards, looking for someone to throw insults at, simply for recommending a place of employment.

I came to Korea to make and save some money; I stayed because the money is decent, the hours have not killed me yet (I couldn't do this for more than a few years... talk about burn-out), I love my kids, my boss is reasonable, the contract I signed has been honoured, and I enjoy this country. Again, if you're willing to put in the hours and keep the weekday social life to a minimum, Poly School is a great place to work. I have friends at about 4 or 5 different campuses across the country and have heard very few reasonable complaints. The hagwon system is a messed-up system by North American standards; young children doing book work all day rather than playing, 4-10 year olds stressing about tests. This however, is the schooling system that is an everyday reality in this country. If you can not accept it and "go with the flow," don't work here.

I don't know when you worked at this campus, because myself as well as a couple of other staff members have been there for over a year and a half. One of our foreign co-workers is in their 3rd contract. This campus is nothing like you have described. While the job is demanding, I knew that before I signed the contract. The hours are just as stated in the contract. We are always paid on time, and are paid early if pay day happens to fall on a weekend or during a holiday. Our boss only asks that we do our jobs to the best of our ability, and that we help her run the school as she sees fit. If you are on time, are respectful, responsible, professional, and do your job there should be no problems. I have not known my director to ever freak out on anyone unless she was justified in doing so. I have seen quite a few employees come and go for a variety of reasons: Korea isn't what they envisioned, the job was too much for them to handle, the age level of the kids did not suit the teaching style of the teacher, and some due to an incredible lack of professionalism. We have a great staff, and great kids. The only reason I would recommend that anyone turn down this job (anyone who is serious about having a real job, and anyone who knows what any hagwon is all about) is the hours. If you can't handle the hours, don't accept the job. It's a long day.

Hello,

I'm writing to blacklist a hagwon that I just finished a contract with. The school is a privately-owned "branch" of Poly School, located in Bucheon, South Korea. There are numerous problems with this school.

There are a host of problems with this school. The pay is not always on-time; some months, teachers have been asked to wait an extra week for their paycheck. The Poly School organization itself in the middle of a class action lawsuit about an illegal division of payment on their contracts, and they have changed their contracts, but the Bucheon branch continues to use these contracts, since they aren't part of the actual Poly organization. On top of all this, the director has fired three good teachers within one month of their contract ending to avoid paying their severance and plane fare home. Those who make it to the end unscathed are those who have the ability to kiss her you-know-what without it hurting their pride. She has terrible people skills, frequently yelling in the literal face of her staff, when she is frustrated (which is often), sometimes even yelling in Korean. What else...? She takes out more for the apartment deposit than is in the contract. Also, the contract promises prep time for classes, but teachers are so bogged down with NON-contractual grading that the Korean staff is supposed to do that many classes end up being taught on the fly. Resources are virtually non-existent. All in all, this is not a professional school by any means and it discredits the Poly reputation, which throughout Seoul, is good on the whole. Salaries are at least 600,000 won/month lower than other Poly Schools offer, so my recommendation is: if you're going to work for Poly school, find one in Seoul and don't come to Bucheon.