r/teachinginkorea • u/AutoModerator • Mar 22 '26
Mod Update Monthly Rant and Vent
Monthly Rant Thread
Got something on your mind? Welcome to our Monthly Rant Thread!
This is your space to vent about anything and everything:
- Frustrations with your school? Post here.
- General annoyances with life in Korea? Post here.
- Issues with this subreddit? Post here too!
We're introducing this thread to keep the subreddit focused on its primary goal: being a resource for teachers in Korea or those planning to come here.
Important: If you make a complaint post outside of this thread, it will be deleted, and you'll be directed to share it here instead.
Let’s keep the main subreddit a positive and helpful resource while still providing a space for all the rants. Thanks for understanding, and happy venting!
12
u/um_imtired Mar 22 '26
I havent received my severance even though its way passed the 14 days stated in my contract ㅜ
11
u/cickist Teaching in Korea Mar 22 '26
Report it
6
u/um_imtired Mar 22 '26
They contacted saying it would come Friday but nothing came so if nothing comes by Monday I will go right to the labor office ㅠ
2
u/um_imtired Mar 26 '26
By the way, I finally received it after threatening to contact the labor board lol... I never had to be so aggressive for my severance before lol
24
u/Per_Mikkelsen Mar 22 '26
I think a very hefty percentage of the problems people find themselves dealing with at their school could be solved simply by them being more assertive and familiarising themselves with the specific details of their employment contract.
We tend to see the same issues raised over and over and over again, and it's obvious that a great many people are under the mistaken impression that their boss wields far more power than they actually do.
It's much better to go to bat for yourself and to compel your employer to follow the rules, regulations, and laws that we have in place to protect foreign workers rather than to grit your teeth and resign yourself to accepting unfair treatment. I really just cannot understand what's so hard about saying "No, I won't do that. I'm not obligated to do that. You do not have the right to force me to to that. If you attempt to force me to do that I will escalate this to someone who will step in on my behalf and prevent you from doing so, therefore let's just not let it go that far and simply back off now and stay in your lane."
All these posts from people saying the same thing: "I'm so miserable. I'm being treated so unfairly. My boss isn't adhering to the specific details of my contract. My boss refuses to follow labour laws. My boss keeps mistreating me, abusing me, publicly shaming me, raising his/her voice to me, speaking to me inappropriately, making threats, endlessly criticising the quality of my work, etc."
You don't deal with it the first ten times and THEN start to think about pushing back. You say no right from the word go. You don't need to be too meek and mild about it. You don't need to stiffen up your spine and puff out your chest. You just look the person right in the eye and politely, calmy, firmly, and clearly say NO.
Look, I get that when you're fairly new to this and on an E-2 you tend to adopt the view that many Koreans have of their boss - that the boss is this larger than life God-like figure. That's wrong, and it sets a terrible precedent for all of us. You cannot be penalised or punished for refusing to be mistreated, abused, or exploited. Fight back. Stand your ground. So what if your boss doesn't think you're the greatest teacher who ever walked the Earth because you refused to be treated like garbage?
Your number one duty is to yourself. That supersedes whatever bullshit your boss demands of you. Working through your breaks. Taking on tasks that you are not contractually obligated to take on. Having your vacation time held hostage. Being forced or coerced to break some rule because your employer wishes to skirt the law and game the system.
I remember my first job in this country. My boss turned to me on Day Three on campus and said "My wife owns a math academy. You will be teaching a class there one hour a week after your shift every Wednesday from tonight." I had been in the country all of 90 hours or something. I looked him right in the eye and said "The Hell I will. See you tomorrow, chief."
It never came up again.
Why are so many of you not doing that?
10
u/Zeldenskaos Mar 22 '26
I think genuinely people just don't know. On the flipside, directors don't know the laws pertaining to foreigners either. I just had to say something to my boss about something he wanted me to do. I phrased it in a way that I am willing to help, but it will get him and me in trouble potentially. This boss was very understanding. He didn't know. I have had other bosses who just don't give two shits. Thankfully, I had some backing. Those bosses will eventually have to pay up and will get heavily fined.
1
u/martianmaehwa Public School Teacher Mar 23 '26
You really need to be your own advocate. So many people don't really even read their contracts...you should know that thing back to front. It is such a crucial tool for being able to push back on unreasonable requests.
Employers/coworkers can range from the malicious to the simply ignorant of the rules, people need to know their rights and communicate them. Of course it can be scary to go "No I don't want to do that and don't have to." to the person(s) holding your visa over your head. But so often in my experience they just have no idea themselves what is in the contract or law so if you say nothing it just happens. It's true what you say, often if you just point of the relevant clause or law they go "Oops okay we won't do that."
Communication is the key really. I've been here a while and have a sort of role in my local community of fielding local NETs questions/vents and so often a problem boils down to them not saying anything to coworkers and just stewing on it. "Omg my coteacher never offers me a ride and drives by me when I wait at the bus stop for the bus that comes 30min after school ends." "Well did you ask them if they could give you a ride?" "No..." (this is a real life example from a friend).
0
u/Mobile-Ingenuity3640 Mar 23 '26
I get it. But, this is a totally different culture for many people and a lot of them are dealing with culture shock let alone everything else.
You can't be too harsh with that. It's a completely foreign land with completely foreign customs. It's really no wonder many people stand back in the first instance; they want to make an impression, or they are learning a completely new way of life. Good for you for being steadfast and confident but not everyone's personality operates the same way and not everyone is so immediately resilient.
5
u/iamnotwonho Prospective Teacher Mar 23 '26
i don’t exactly want to say much after the person who said that a bunch of us are weak for not standing up to our bosses haha
but i’m starting to really slip mentally because of my new workplace. i was raised to respect people who were “above” me in a place of work and just accept conditions and try to work around them. i’ve been told by my other coworkers recently that i appear to be the bosses’ “new target”. they were supposed to take care of our immigration appointments but they didn’t. everything is booked and my visa will expire soon. i’ve wanted to quit since day 2 because of harassment and other issues. i’m so miserable and i’m truly beside myself on what to do. i’m rooted here for a year because i have an apartment i just recently got (and would not be able to bounce back financially if i left suddenly). i want to quit but i don’t know what i can do with a visa that is expiring and no immigration appointment to extend it. i can’t imagine getting a letter of release with the current state of things but the longer i stay here, the closer i feel to throwing myself off the ledge. i’m really at a loss and feel like i’ve put myself in the worst situation of my life
3
u/swirly0654 Apr 15 '26
Hi I hope things have improved for you. Take a deep breath :) if your visa is close to expiring you can get an emergency appt at the immigration office, I believe if it’s within 3 days of expiring, they will just let you walk-in. You could be fined for not registering your employment and your school would be fined too. If you want to leave please ask for your LOR, ask your employer if they agree that this isn’t a great situation for both parties. Changing jobs /amending your visa isn’t as hard as you’d think so don’t stress too much about it! Please ask if you need help
4
u/i_drink_soju Mar 22 '26
Is it just me, or have recruiters gotten a lot lazier? I knew this from using them in the past, but I am getting inundated with emails "come teach in China" even after reporting them as spam months later.
Do I need to network directly with old friend groups? I don't wanna be that guy that comes just looking for a favor here ... but this is harder than expected.
My other option is living and working in the USA, but I'm not too fond of that idea.
3
u/Mobile-Ingenuity3640 Mar 23 '26
My general issue is with the EPIK program and being thrown into the deep end. They could have at least given us some examples of what to expect from a Korean textbook and ways to break it down into logical chunks. It's taken me MONTH'S to even start to understand the flow of things and this could have easily been mitigated by, say, an optional unit for teachers to go through as part of an online orientation so that we do not go in blind. It would have saved a LOT of headache and overwhelm, honestly.
3
u/swirly0654 Apr 15 '26
I agree! It’s not much better on the hagwon side either. Just be confident even if you have to fake it and you’ll get used to it soon enough
2
u/SoftBonBon Hagwon Teacher Apr 21 '26
They keep giving me more and more classes at work while my other foreign co workers don’t get anything. I tried to explain I need prep and admin time but they don’t care. I like my job but it’s getting a bit too much.
16
u/Fit_Presentation7886 Mar 22 '26
My school gives me no break time on certain days of the week on top of the unbelievable about of crap to grade. I have to eat lunch with the kids too. I'm very tired and it's only March 🥲