Gaegum

Does anyone know anything about the Callan school in Gaegum?

Excellent and excellent! It's

Excellent and excellent! It's a sure thing and guaranteed you can't go wrong!

I worked there for a year and it was the easiest and the most relaxed job I have had in Busan. The director is super nice, friendly and most of all fair and honest! I've talked to every teacher that has worked there after me and it's all good! And I'm not just saying that because I'm the recruiter for that school!

Dear Sally,  when I hear

Dear Sally,  when I hear advice like this, I personally run for the hills. 

It might be the best hogwan gig in Busan, do your home work though and ask for email addresses from former native speakers. Koreans sometimes try to pawn themselves off as native speakers via email. I had this happen before, it was the director of the place pretending to be the previous foreigner teacher. When it rains dog and cats and not cats and dogs it's easy to figure out that quick.

On jobs in general: What I've never understood is if a job is so great.... why did a person leave?  If this job is so great why has it had 'many' teachers? It should be the opposite. It should be one teacher for 3 years and then that in itself might be good enough to gain a college job. 

Wow! For someone that is

Wow! For someone that is teaching at a university, it seems you know a lot about hagwons.

And Korean teachers pawning themselves off as native speakers..LOL! Are you Mr. conspiracy theory? I deal with well over 100 hagwons in Busan and I've never heard of anything like that before. I've heard of schools not letting an applicant contact a teacher for whatever but Korean teachers impersonating native teachers! LOL! I've heard many stories but this is a first. You've given me a funny conversation topic for when I go out this weekend! Too funny!

And why do teachers leave a job? Seriously, do you not know anyone at all teaching at hagwons? Not everyone can be a 'lifer' in Korea like you and me!

-End of contract and I want to go home. Believe it or not but the vast majority of people come for a year and then go home. Maybe they'll be back but how many stay without taking a break? Most want to go home and see friends and familys or at least travel for a while.

-Even if you are going to take a month vacation, the school is not going to go a month without a teacher. duh! The school hires someone else, the window is closed unless you want to wait 11 months for the next hiring.

-The school wants a new teacher. This is common! For whatever reasons and the school does not offer a 2nd year.

-You don't want the same students! You had them for a year and you need a change! This is very common!

-Or you just want a change! new school or new books or new city, new anything.

-You move! I lived in Gaegum for many years. I moved to Gwangali. They asked me to come back after the teacher that replaced me was about to finish but I didn't really want to mainly because of the commute. 30 minutes isn't bad I guess but at the time, I didn't want to do it.

Lots of others!

It seems you love to criticize but you know very little about the topic you're complaining about! Stick to what you know and that seems to be university jobs.

''Wow! For someone that is

''Wow! For someone that is teaching at a university, it seems you know a lot about hagwons.''

I worked at a hogwan for three years before I got my first college job. Back in the day you needed 3 years in a hogwan as experience to get an entry level college job. I've been at my current university for awhile. My first college wasn't a great job and therefore I move to a great job and remained.

It isn't fiction that Koreans will go to any length even disguise themselves as a foreigner in emails to get a teacher. I would hope that people would contact former employees, this should be step number one in the decision process. If the school is reluctant to give former employees addesses that should be red flag #1. In my case I was given a shag email account of the managers, yes dlee koreans WILL and IN FACT DO sink this low to try and catch a naive foreigner.

So yes it could be a hot topic for you and your pals to talk about this weekend; the level that Koreans will go to tricking a foreigner into working for their hogwan.

 

Well, even you must agree

Well, even you must agree that things have changed since 1995.

And considering you've been in Korea for so many years and you have an excellent university job, I find it strange that you have such a jaded view of Korea and Koreans?

I mean, do you even have any Korean friends?

And is it your assertion that Koreans have some sort of monopoly on being dishonest? Have you never been anywhere else in the world? You sound like a bitter old man.

They say you can count your

They say you can count your good friends on one hand. I have five good friends and one of them is Korean. I have many Korean acquantences but like I said I wouldn't call them true friends. I'm leery of anyone who says they have many friends because people like that are usually suckers.

In my experience dlee I've found that most Koreans want something from me. Free English lessons or they want a white puppy to play with or they think it's cool to have a foreign friend. Like a wet t-shirt contest I can see right through them.

I have to disagree about the 'change' in regards to employment. Other things sure Korea has come along way but just because you have interlock brick sidewalks now doesn't mean people don't throw up soju-ed ramyeon on them.  It's apparent that the same problems people faced in 1995 are those faced in 2010; pay issues, housing and contractual. In part-time jobs the fact that 25,000w was a standard pay then and people are still trying to get away with it now? it is mind boggling to me.  

No, Koreans don't hold the monopoly on being dishonest but in the English education industry they certainly deserve to be put on alert, high alert, def-con 2 or 3 anyway.

I'm far from old but grizzled somewhat because I don't like to see foreigners(naive or otherwise) being taken advantage of.

Good night