The Details of my Demise

Ok. So as many of you have been piecing together from my random facebook status updates…things at my hagwon didn’t go well….and I am currently unemployed. The positive note…in no way was this my fault. I had known as early as my 6th week here that things at the hagwon were grim. The manager abruptly quit, followed by an almost immediate disappearance by his replacement thus leaving me with my 3rd manager in 8 weeks. It wasn’t until Lydon, a highly Americanized Korean I am proud to call my friend finally started working at the hagwon that he confirmed to me and Spencer what we had already kind of knew from looking at our attendance sheets and doing the basic math….our school wasn’t making any money. Even though I was gaining new students every few days, the basic turnover at our hagwon wasn’t enough to actually GROW enrollment. Spencer’s classes however, remained fairly sizeable…partly attributable (in my opinion) to him having all upper level classes and the majority of mine being beginner. See, the way it works is like this. If a student takes a beginner class, they work from a textbook called “American Headway 2”. This book is easily completed in about 2 months. Usually at this point the students will go to an upper level course, re-do the book, or go to another hagwon. The hagwon owner expects the students to want to re-do the text book which is ludicrous. Imagine taking Spanish 101 over and over again. This meant inevitably the students would either leave, or go to Spencer’s class. The hagwon owner, whom I have met once, must have taken this to mean I was a terrible teacher…and at first I might have been inclined to agree with him. However…let me pose you this question. If I were a terrible teacher, would students complain to the management on my behalf, bring me gifts, and in a few cases CRY when I told them the news? Luckily my students love me, and that has given me confidence.

By firing me…the hagwon is saving $300/mo. Yup. You read that. $300. What is funny about that…if I brought in 2 more students I would break even, any more than that…profit. Instead, the school will have to refund all the money my current students have paid including the girl who just last week pre-paid 6 MONTHS in advance for my classes.

What this all means for me…is that technically I have to start over. My visa will not transfer to the new school. I will need to fly to Japan for what is called a “visa run” where I stay in Japan for 2-3 days as my new visa is processed. This pisses me off on so many levels. First off, the owner of the hagwon held my documents for 4 months because he said he no longer had a job for me AFTER I signed my first contract. I had to pass on several jobs because he would not send me MY documents back or forward them to another school. When he did finally come back at me to tell me he had a job offer I was so excited to be going to Korea I didn’t stop to think that this dickface had already proven himself to be a snake. Even though it might sound simple to just stay the extra 3 months of my new contract…I can’t do that. I have plans to go to grad school after Korea, and I will have a LOT to do including interviews and visits before I begin. I can’t do that in Korea. I do not want to delay grad school another year…so this means I must break my contract early. Unfortunately for me…this will cost me about $3000. I would be forced to buy my own plane ticket home and I would be forfeiting the $2.2M+ won severance pay I would be entitled to had I worked the full contract. I met with my hagwon owner tonight, and he informed me that the school will be closing May 1st, so this means Spencer is out of a job as well…he just gets to keep working a few more weeks. As a sign of solidarity, and strong desire to get off a sinking ship, my fellow teachers have decided that my last day will also be there last day, so tomorrow we will be directing our students to get refunds. Since we are no longer under contract, for the time being I am going to try and convince my students to meet me at a café or something and let me teach them independently…and instead of paying the hagon…paying me, a least until I find a new job. I tried to strong arm the manager about going to the labor board for contract violations, but he wouldn’t budge. I wanted a plane ticket back to the states, my severance pay, or at least to get paid to the end of the month. No dice. I am however, exploring legal options…but I am not hopeful.
So since I found out the news…I have been looking for a new job. At the time of writing…I have 5 recruiters working for me. I am essentially quick and easy money to them (about $1000) because not only do I have a valid visa…I am already in country, which makes me VERY attractive to the schools. I have directed the recruiters to 2 areas…Seoul and Jeonju. Two recruiters set me up with interviews at schools in the rural area of Korea, and I have received offers from both of those schools, but there is one recruiter in particular who seems convinced she will have me working in Seoul…so I am putting my hope on her. Seoul would allow me to fulfill my dream of living in a HUGE city, plus I already have a friend in Allie who lives there…and to top it all off, it’s only 3 hours from Jeonju which means I can either visit my friends…or they can come visit me in Seoul.

The hagwon I work at in Jeonju is a shit hole. It’s old, run down, literally smells like urine, and is not at all attractive. The only reason I liked working there was the people. Lydon and Charlie…my managers and friends, as well as my very good friend Walter, who has translated for me so many times and helped make me feel welcome. Then of course, there is Spencer. My brother. It was him inviting me out for dinner with Walter my second week here that helped me begin to get over my culture shock and homesickness. As the only American I knew for the first 2 months here, we literally spent every day together and at least 1 meal…many days 2. I definitely feel like with him I have a lifelong friend and someone I will be able to call back in the states to reminisce about the crazy nights my first few months in Jeonju. Even if I do end up in Seoul…we will still get to hang out…just not as much. It’s like saying goodbye to your best college friend. You know it’s not forever…but it will never be the way it was.