I’ve spent the evening reading up on the ol’ contract, since I’d be quite pleased at this stage to discover that my school is cheating me so I could shrug off some of the guilt about planning to do a midnight runner (still split on whether to actually do one or give notice). Unfortunately, after careful study and use of the Windows calculator, it would seem that my contract is very carefully worded so that it’s not actually lying, but still in no way resembles my actual workplace situation.
I won’t go into the details, partly because it’s tedious enough for someone closely involved in it and partly because an hour of mathematics is enough for one night, but suffice to say that I’m only supposed to work about 28 hours a week. I actually work between 40 and 45 hours a week. This seems like a breach, but it’s not, because they make it vague and confusing by drawing an arbritrary line between teaching hours and prep hours. I get paid overtime only if I teach more than 27.5 hours a week, whereas I actually teach about 24 hours per week. The other 16 hours comprise of lesson prep, writing tests and plans, serving the children lunch and the 5 minute breaks between every class which really add up and which aren’t useful for anything more than going up to the office and switching books and files. Apparently none of this qualifies as work. I beg to differ.
You can look at it two ways: either I work 45 hours a week and get paid 10 bucks an hour, or I work 24 hours a week and get paid 20 bucks an hour… but have to do a lot of unpaid work on the side. That’s the exact same thing. Why did I make that comparison? What the fuck am I talking about? Why am I still awake at midnight when I have work tomorrow? Why am I in this country slowly losing my mind? Why why why why why?
Long story short: only by reading very carefully will you realise that a standard Wonderland contract gives you a shit deal. Okay, so I should have read carefully. That still doesn’t exempt Wonderland from writing a beartrap of a contract.
Message to any prospective English teachers googling “Korea” and “Wonderland:” DON’T ACCEPT A WONDERLAND CONTRACT! Yes, their reputation is severely exaggerated by the moaning hypocrites at Dave’s ESL Cafe, and it’s nowhere near as bad as Jane Keeler would lead you to believe. But you can do better!
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August 12, 2009 at 3:09 am
Petite Mystere
i think your going stir crazy there. give them your notice and just leave.
oh and i have a favour to ask :D
could u please send me the two muse songs that have been released so far? the only system that i can use to download stuff here isnt working much to my devestation. i asked chris but he rekons his computer/server/one of the two is lame so yah. pretty please? im guessing u have my email adress?
August 12, 2009 at 10:30 am
Alex
Nah. I say fuck giving notice and just pull a runner. Giving them notice will just give them time to make your life worse.
August 12, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Smileyfax
I’m still in the “stay on, but half-ass the hell out of it” camp. It’s the American way!
August 12, 2009 at 7:52 pm
grubstreethack
I have to say I’m inclined to agree with Alex on this one!
elisha – don’t have your email address, and don’t actually have the second muse song, just the first, “united states of europa.” it’s not that great anyway. i don’t know if muse have grown cheesier or if i’ve just become a pretentious twat but i don’t like them as much as i used to.
August 13, 2009 at 2:15 am
elisha
true those weeks of notice probably will be shit, but it would be better than never being allowed back into the country ever again or being summoned back, both as a result of breaking ur contract and visa.
and maybe ur just one of those bandwagon types: as soon as everyone jumps on the bandwagon, you get off it. anyways, could u please send me that one anyways (elisharayner@hotmail.com)? chris thinks both of them are awesome…
August 13, 2009 at 7:57 am
grubstreethack
Elisha – a working visa is not a prison sentence. It doesn’t mean that you HAVE to remain in the country for a year; it means that you MAY remain in the country for a year IF YOU WISH. That’s it.
The contract is likewise nowhere near as serious as you think it is. Everybody signs a contract at every job they ever work. Have you ever gone to jail for quitting a job? Have you ever heard of that happening? Of course not. Okay, so the thousand dollars I’ll technically owe them is dicey, but once I’m on another continent there’s nothing they can do about it.
also lol @ the idea of them standing around in a basement wearing robes and “summoning” me back by black magic
August 13, 2009 at 1:03 pm
William George
Hey there:
Unless you have done everything you can to make sure that your employers and coworkers have remained unaware of your blog, you should remove every single mention of running you have here.
Your coworkers will sell you out to the boss and the boss will put the screws to you before you can get away, if found out.
If you plan to return to Korea in the future, and I personally advise against it, give notice. If not. Wait until the weekend after payday to run.
You won’t get your severance nor pension refund. But I guess it depends if you feel a few thousand dollars is worth sticking around for.
August 13, 2009 at 2:37 pm
grubstreethack
This blog is pretty elusive – googling my real name doesn’t bring it up, and I never mention it on Facebook (which one of my coworkers has friended me on… should be pretty awkward after I leave). Only three people I know in real life know about it, only one of those people is in Korea, and he’s not associated with my work at all. I’ve also not mentioned which branch of Wonderland I work for, and changed all the names.
My next payday is on a weekend and I’m planning to leave the weekend after that. I don’t get the pension anyway (only Americans and canadians do) and no way I’m sticking out 12 months of singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” in the hagwon of hell just for a measly two thousand dollars severance pay. That’s as much as I’d get on my tax return if I was working back home.
Have you ever done a runner, if you don’t mind me asking?
August 13, 2009 at 3:24 pm
William George
Nah, I never ran. Though I contemplated it a few times.
But in six and a half years there, I saw so many runners that the proper way of doing it became pretty clear. And despite the collection of freaks at ESL Cafe, they used to be pretty good at giving this sort of advice out.
“I never mention it on Facebook (which one of my coworkers has friended me on… should be pretty awkward after I leave)”
Yeah, your ex coworkers will hate your guts when they find out they have to cover for you. Just to keep on the side of good karma, I’d leave an apology for them.
Unless they’re assholes. Then too bad for them. :D
That is, IF you run. Personally, I’d give notice. Just my sense of fairness towards the other people in the same shit work situation.
August 13, 2009 at 4:02 pm
grubstreethack
Thats the only thing tugging at my conscience (though it’s tugging at it a LOT) – my coworkers covering for me. I don’t really care about management, because frankly I need that airfare money more than they do, and I find the whole hagwon industry pretty distasteful, and while they haven’t been overtly abusive they haven’t been particularly friendly or helpful either – my apartment is a hole, I was given no training, and I was given no help at all in applying for my medical or ARC or anything (which I also had to pay for myself).
I feel bad for my coworkers, but it comes down to a few people being slightly unhappy for a short period of time, or me being REALLY unhappy for a long period of time. And it’s not something I’m going to be flippant about. I know it’s a bad thing to do and I feel bad about it… just not bad enough to not do it.
I don’t know. I’m losing my fucking mind here.
August 13, 2009 at 6:42 pm
William George
Well, yeah, if the place is driving you out of your head, go. Your coworkers will grumble, but you’ll never see them again. I figure they may even understand.
We all do bad things for personal reasons. Part of life.
And really, on the scale of bad things people do, this rates pretty low.
August 13, 2009 at 7:05 pm
grubstreethack
Exactly! That’s what I said! It’s not like I’m setting up an elaborate long con to embezzle millions of dollars from the franchise. You are a gentleman and a scholar, Mr. George.
August 13, 2009 at 7:44 pm
William George
I do try…
December 30, 2009 at 3:06 pm
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October 27, 2012 at 5:54 am
Nico
I have worked as a consultant in 2 large corporations in Korea & I can categorically say that Koreans will not hesitate to grab credit of you & will circumvent in a flash, They are shameless. A professor at a reputable Korean University once told me “In Korea when someone stabs you in the back, you turn around & say I am sorry if my back hurt your knife”