You've been searching for a new teaching job in Korea for weeks and you've finally got the dream gig in front of you.   You grin smugly to yourself, pleased because its a dream deal--2.8 million won a month, a well-referenced hagwon (private language institute or academy) located by Hongdae station, 21 days vacation a year, and a place to live.   You've even gotten advice on teaching from a foreign teacher currently working at this particular school in Korea.  

Photo:  You signed a contract without asking the 10 Korea Questions?  Don't panic...yet.

The recruiter smiles broadly, and gently pushes your new employment contract and a pen across her desk to you.  Your steady hand grips the pen as your eyes absently scan through the agreement one. last. time.  

WAIT!

Before you even think about signing that paper, I've got 10 questions that you must ask that recruiter or hagwon owner.   Probe them with these inquires, and take a step towards insulating yourself from the disappointment or resentment from a major miscommunication down the road.   Ignore my advice and I've got no sympathy for you.


#1.  When is the first day that I need to be in Korea?  Teaching contracts in Korea often specify only the start date of classroom teaching.   Korean language schools, private and otherwise, frequently expect a new instructor to arrive well before the first day of classes for orientation, planning and to help prepare their own lesson plans as well as those of their Korean co-teachers.   Last minute flight changes can be painful.


#2. How many foreign native-English teachers are currently working at the school?   Not that this is always a suitable proxy for having a pleasant experience with the same school, or to invest your trust in the recruiter/principal, but having 20 teachers on staff that have worked more than 1 year at a school speaks volumes.   Don't always put your full faith in references from current teachers, either (past teachers, however, are great sources of information, if you can track them down).  Some schools or institutes will connect prospective teachers on the phone to a current teacher in the staff room, with the principal standing by - making it difficult to have a candid discussion free from implicit coercion.


#3. How many classes will I have each day?  An agreement to teach English in Korea usually has a general set of hours with it:  9:30 am to 3:30 pm, 2 pm to 10 pm, etc.   Clarify how many hours of that are classroom time vs. prep/grading time, as well:
     --What time do I need to arrive at work to not be considered "late"
     --When is the start time for the first class each day?
     --How many classes will I teach each day?
     --How long is each class?
     --How long are the breaks between classes, if any?
     --Are Saturdays and Sundays always free days?

As easy as you may think it will be to teach 5 classes a day, the reality is that teaching is much more draining than swimming across the Han River.  Teaching English means you must be "on" all the time.  You may have 30 sets of expectant, searching and hope-filled eyes trained on your every syllable for an entire hour at a time.  Anything more than three 50-minute classes a day would require a Herculean effort; anything less than a 10 minute break between classes and you'll be able to sign up as an extra on the next Romero film.

Photo:  Think you can teach 5 classes a day in Korea without a break?  So did she...

#4. Will there be a Korean teacher to help me during my classes?  Knowing that you can work a buddy system in class to ease your "go time" will help you keep your energy up and your burn rate down during the school year.   Sure, you'd like to mold those eager little learners of English into your own image, but sometimes having a native Korean speaker on hand to gently guide the napping student back to alertness or to bark out clear and concise orders in Korean will help you maintain order, structure and a respectful working environment for you, without having you resort to a feverishly high-pitched "I SAID STOP THROWING SPIT WADS!"


#5. What are the ages of the kids and the sizes of the classes?  If you have a hard time organizing an intramural tennis matches or playing wingman for your buddy, its going to be hard for you to handle a class of 25 angst-filled high school students at once.  At the same time, if you bask in the sparkling light of performance center stage, or enjoy moderating mock UN debates, a class of 5 third graders may not provide you with the stimulation you need to feel challenged.

#6. What's my actual take-home salary?  The 2.8 million won a month you signed up for is not what you'll earn each month teaching English.   Korean taxes are favorable compared to many Western countries, but will consume 5%-16% of your gross salary, with some exceptions.  In addition, you need to ask whether your housing allowance (typically 400,000 to 600,000 won a month) is already included in the 2.8 million won, or paid separately.   Moreover, you'll owe mandatory monthly medical insurance payments to the government, which is around 4.3% of your salary.   What about overtime pay?  Make sure you ask whether you'll get overtime pay if you go beyond the hours stated in your contract and, if so, how much will you get paid?  Lastly, consider whether you are expected to pay for your own teaching materials or course books.   In the end, your goal is to confirm just how much of that 2.8 million won ends up in your pocket.

On the upside, that salary figure might not include your "severance pay," which is a bonus paid upon conclusion of a year-long contract, equivalent to one month's pay.   Your salary may also not include a "Settling" or "Entrance" allowance--the money you'll need between the time when you move to Korea and when you receive your first paycheck.  This can range from 300,000 won to 1.5 million won.   And speaking of pay day, did you even bother to find out when and how frequently you get paid?  In some instances, you might not see your first pay check for 6 to 7 weeks!


#7. When can I take my Holidays?  As tempting as 21 or even 30 days off for vacation sounds for the new teacher suffering through a Korean winter with visions of Southeast Asian beaches dancing about in her head, you must be as crystal clear on the terms of your vacation time as are the blue waters off of Bali.                  

       --First, check whether you can take time off at any time with minimal notice, or if you are restricted to certain days only.  If you are only able to take a week off in the high seasons of Summer and Winter, be ready to pay high dollar for plane tickets and/or hotels if you are going to travel.    The best situation is where, with a month or two of notice, you can take off at least 10 working days to travel about.

     --Next, confirm if your vacation days already include National Holidays, of which Korea has around 15 days.   If so, you are really only getting a few days off of "pure" vacation.   Also, check on "sick days."  Are these separate or included in your vacation allotment?  Confirm that Saturdays and Sundays are "off" days.

     --Can you take off as many days as you want?  Some schools ask that you only take 2-3 days off at a time, which will greatly curtail your ability to travel for extended distances.   

In summary, most contracts will state two weeks vacation, so the clueless Mr. Hey-I'm-A-New-Graduate instantly thinks that they'll be taking two weeks to tour the deep hidden pockets of Angor Wat in Cambodia, trekking through Northern Thailand, traveling to some deserted beach in the Philippines, hiking around the vast expanse of the Great Wall of China or even taking a leisurely two week break back home.  Not the case.  If you see a clause in the contract for vacation that states "time off must correspond with teaching duties, and cannot be taken at once without approval from the school principal," then caveat emptor, my fine friend. Caveat freaking emptor.


#8. Where is my new school located?  Whether you live in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Bundang or Daejeon, public transportation is key.   Any destination not close to a subway station will eat up your time and/or your wallet.  Often, job descriptions state that a school is located "at" a certain subway station.  But that description just isn't good enough for you.  You need to ask the distance from that particular subway station.  Because 10 minutes to the subway station, plus a 5 minute walk to the bus, which runs every 20 minutes, and another 10 minute walk from the station to the school, means suddenly being located "at" Kangnam station means you are actually teaching somewhere out in the East Sea.  

 
Photo:  Find out exactly where you will be teaching so you don't end up at Dokdo Island. (Thanks Wikipedia!) 


#9.  Is this hagwon really part of the _____ Franchise in Korea?  Or is it run as an independent?  Just because a language institute or academy has well-respected franchise name attached to it, published on a "white list" and far removed from any blacklist, does not necessarily mean that it is operated in the same manner as its parent company.   Usually, franchises do bear the same standard policies, benefits and curriculum as the parent.  Sometimes, however, a school that bears the same name of another program that ostensibly is fantastic to its students, teachers and staff, may actually have no relation at all.   In fact, that school may be run completely independently of a head office even though it has franchised the brand name, and operated in a manner that is not as stellar.  Find out before you sign and then do your research on that particular institute.   There's a big difference between working at the "Official Berlitz Language School" and the "Berlitzee Institute of Eastern Healing Arts & English Language."

#10.  All these terms are negotiable, aren't they?  This isn't as much of a question as a fact.  Everything is negotiable, and if you are far enough along in the process that your recruiter and/or school is ready to sign you, then you've got the leverage to make some reasonable demands.   Be prepared to make trade-offs, but there is no reason for you to accept terms of employment that you will not be happy with.   You'll be working here at least a year, so do it on terms that will make you happy and productive while you are here!  Stick to your guns, stay calm and always be courteous and polite.  Remember, the party you are negotiating with may be your future employer!

My goal of this blog has been to make you aware of the questions to ask when reviewing your contract of employment as an English Teacher.  By no means am I advocating a particular course of action, or suggesting that the above is an exhaustive list of topics.   In fact, you'll find most folks you work with in Korea are as above-board as anywhere else in the world.  Still, I'm sure everyone has a good story or "lessons learned" to share, so add some in the comments or drop me a line and I'll add your experience in above. 

Good luck, and get ready to have a great time teaching English in Korea!

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