Signed the Hagwon Contract: Is it all about to go pear-shaped?

I am currently sitting at my home in London waiting for the Fedex man. It’s a Wednesday.

Yesterday I finished negotiating my contract with the recruiter, and today I am about to post it to Korea.

The tentative plan is that they’ll be submitted to immigration by Monday, and my visa number will be ready the following Wednesday. Then I book my flights to depart a few days after that. So basically, in about 2 weeks I will be in Korea, provided everything goes smoothly.

Right now it doesn’t feel real. Despite spending the last month scouring the internet for reputable recruiters and jobs, waking up early to dress smartly from the waist up for Skype interviews, reading about Korea, listening to Korean, trying to read Korean; after all that, I still can’t get my head around it.

Now the nerves are setting in. I’ve put a lot of trust into many different people during this process – most notably my recruiter, my director, the teachers I’ve spoken with at the school and more unexpectedly, an expat who I met in an interview who has since advised me not to take that job because he felt that his school was immoral. I like to think I am a good judge of character, but doesn’t everyone?

Sometimes pear-shaped can be a good thing. Right??

Sometimes pear-shaped can be a good thing. Right??

People, when presented with statistics that suggest things are highly likely to go pear-shaped, are extremely good at convincing themselves that they are the exception to the rule.

Every day I stumble upon yet another blog post written in a stern, forboding tone set against harsh black backgrounds, warning everyone that teaching ESL in Korea is the absolute worst decision you could possibly make in your life (here is today’s). I wade through the endless forum threads regarding evil hagwon directors who have disregarded contracts and forced employees to teach 364 days a year, surrounded by 30 unruly Korean children whilst having to phone teach, change nappies and chopstick-feed 3 year olds their lunch.

So I’m doing a pretty good job of convincing myself that it won’t happen to me. But I have to admit, there is an underlying current of fear racing round my body right now. It would be fair to say this is the biggest risk I have ever taken…

Please someone take this away from me.

Please someone take this away from me.

I just wish that Fedex man would get a bloody move on and take the contract off my hands. Then it’ll all be out of my control and there’ll be no use in worrying.

Rarrrrrrrr.

6 thoughts on “Signed the Hagwon Contract: Is it all about to go pear-shaped?”

  1. zannahrose says:
    Reply

    Hey! Followed you here from the comment you left on my blog. I vividly remember how you’re feeling right now. I was absolutely freaking out before I left for Korea! But it’s all so exciting too! I’m pretty jealous of you right now — I left Korea last November after teaching in Incheon for three years, and I’ve really been missing it lately.

    I think you’re going to enjoy Korea because it’s just an awesome country. So many people just seem predisposed to be negative, and then surprise, they hate it and go on to write negative blog and forum posts. The experience is largely what you make of it, so being positive, open-minded, and excited will make a huge difference. Also! I second the advice about Facebook groups — awesome for finding the expat hangs, recommendations for food/haircuts/doctors/etc, and also for getting cheap/free stuff for your apartment!

    Best of luck! I hope everything works out well, though I’m sure it will — sounds like you’ve done your research and are well-prepared. And to echo the comment above mine, feel free to ask me any questions you may have. 🙂

    Like

    • Lal says:
      Reply

      Thanks for taking the time to comment! It’s very encouraging to hear your opinion. Seeking out the positive experiences on the web has been a bit difficult, but it’s good to know they exist.

      I may well take you up on your offer of advice, and in exchange you can relive your Korean adventure through my updates haha 🙂

      Good luck in New Zealand by the way – also quite jelly!

      Like

  2. ketaninkorea says:
    Reply

    While there are lots of bad hakwons out there, there are some good ones too. Do your research thoroughly. Don’t let the bad reviews get you down and see for yourself. Sometimes the bad reviews are written by foreigners who come expecting a vacation and not an actual job; sometimes those bad reviews are perfectly legitimate. Even the good places aren’t perfect, but the management is accountable for their actions and keep up good communication with their foreign employees.

    I hope your place is good. Where will you work, by the way? If it is a big chain then it might be okay (sometimes those franchises are terrible, it depends on that location’s director). Those small, relatively unknown hakwons are the ones you really need to watch out for though.

    When you arrive, make sure you get hooked into whatever local network of foreign teachers in your area. Facebook is a great place to start. It makes life so much easier and many groups have info on places to go for food, shopping, post office, etc.

    Like

Leave a comment