Monthly Rant Thread

My school surprised us and changed ownership this month. I have signed my renewal letter, but am unsure whether I can renew online or if I need to visit the immigration office in person. Should I book an in-person appointment, or am I lucky and able to submit all of my documents online and save myself the hassle?

I've been working at a hagwon in Korea since September 2024 on an E-2 visa. My contract has been renewed a few times with the same employer: Sept 2024–Sept 2025, Sept 2025–Sept 2026. I was ready to leave and the hagwon owner said she would really appreciate it if I could stay just 3 more months because of other teachers leaving and timing. After a lot of thought, I agreed and just renewed my visa for 3 more months and signed a contract through Sept 2026 - December 1st.

But just recently, some changes in my job search in the US have occured and I might have an opportunity to leave earlier than Dec 1, 2026 — possibly with less notice than my contract requires.

My contract requires 90 days' notice before resignation, but doesn't specify any penalty clause for violating it. A few questions:

1. If I left before September 1st 2026, how much severance would I be able to get? I'm under the assumption that I'd get 23 months of severance, is that correct?
2. If there's no explicit penalty clause for violating the 90-day notice, does anyone know what actually tends to happen in practice? Can severance legally be withheld, or is a notice clause like this mostly symbolic without a stated penalty?
3. My employer set up a separate bank account tied to severance at some point during my employment. Would that affect whether early departure impacts access to those funds?
4. Any general experience with how hagwons handle instructors leaving mid-contract, especially after being asked to extend, for a legitimate career opportunity elsewhere?

Just curious about others' experiences with Korean hagwon bosses. I know there is a lot of bad stories out there. However, I would like to hear about the good ones too. For myself, my current situation isn't too bad. I can manage the boss and their expectations usually. Recently, though, there has been a power struggle between the boss and the 2nd in charge. Which has resulted in the 2nd in charge being pushed out. The 2nd in charge didn't do anything bad, per se. Normal mistakes we all make from time to time. The 2nd in charge has tons more hagwon experience than the boss but the boss doesn't value it from what I see

The boss has been at them over anything they doesn't like. Difference of opinion, books etc. My issue with the boss is that they will ask me to do something. I will put a lot of effort and time into it. The 2nd in charge also assisted with the task. Passes it, says it quite good and ready for class. The boss has a different opinion though. The vision of what we made didn't fit their vision at all and ripped it all apart. Also, recently, I was asked to assist in another task and before digging in and making worksheets and materials, I asked several questions about what they wanted, to which I got only vague answers. So I decided to just not do it, unless they come to me directly and give clear instructions. I don't want to waste my time making materials for nothing.

All in all, the boss is a perfectionist and only wants things made in their vision but we don't know theirvision cause they never clearly explains it even we you ask for it before starting any task. I can manage them fine with professional answers (no drama, no emotion). But yep, I don't feel motivated enough to do tasks to the best I can. Just good enough is ok, since I know they will redo it to their liking anyways. And finally, the 2nd in charge backs up this cause they have the same issue with the boss too.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

Does anyone have any recommendation for English books that can be read to kindys aged 3-6? I’m struggling finding some that aren’t too hard. Bonus if you have used a book alongside activities!

I've lived in Korea for almost 20 years and have taught for most of that time - with a few periods in other fields here and there. I am looking at wrapping up my time here and moving on, which has me reflecting on some of the more obtuse experiences that I've had here over the years, especially in my first few hagwons.

• Being taken to a jimjilbang by my boss' brother and his 3 y/o kid in my first week and being rather surprised at how naked we all had to be without any prior warning or knowledge. Apparently, when he said 'spa' my mental image was very different.
• The very same bu-jang-nim taking me to a noraebang after we'd just had dinner with his wife. Yes, it was THAT kind of noraebang. Again - without warning or explanation.
• His sister, my real boss, being an absolute psychopath for a whole year. I'd teach 14+ classes a day ranging from 5 to 55mins in length while being micromanaged to hell because "Foreigners can't work more that 5 minutes at a time"
• She also withheld half my first paycheck till the end of the year as a 'deposit.' Apparently, people didn't stick at her school for very long. I wonder why.
• My second boss trying to convince me to come to his farm in the Philippines where he would go for 'business trips' a few times a year by telling me how cheap and 'friendly' the locals were... in front of his wife and kids. ewwww.
• Being sent on a paid flight to Japan by an airline I worked for to go on a visa run. Nice! With 3 hours notice. No luggage. No accommodation. For 4 days. And as my passport was going to be at the embassy - I wasn't able to book anywhere to stay... even a Manga Cafe wouldn't accept me. It was also my birthday. (I Should note this was just before smartphones were everywhere and I for sure didn't have one then.) Fuuuuuuuun times.

There are a lot of things over the years that have happened, but I wanted to hear some of your obscene stories as well, for a chuckle. What are some of the things that you have experienced or been told in your time here that is a 'Classic Korea' moment? The kind of thing that probably sucked at the time, but now you can look back and laugh about?

Additional Items:

-First time teacher in Korea, mostly just want to know if this is fair

-Employee is required to attend 2 events per year, if event is held on Saturday it will not be compensated as overtime

-Admin work: Biweekly staff meetings, student comments due monthly, report cards every 3 months, parent teacher conferences once a year

The past six years have been some of the hardest of my life. I dealt with eviction, job loss, moving back in with an emotionally chaotic parent, ending a green card marriage before things got worse, and realizing that my family was not the support system I hoped for. Restarting my career has been difficult, but I am still here. I survived Wisconsin winters, earned a master’s degree, and completed a 120‑hour TEFL certification. Those achievements remind me that I am resilient and capable of rebuilding.

I am a 41‑year‑old from Georgia, turning 42 in September, and I want to love life again. The United States is something I can handle in small doses now, but I know I have about thirty strong working years ahead of me. I do not believe in traditional retirement for now, I can imagine an eighteen to twenty‑year international teaching chapter before transitioning into pre‑retirement leadership roles.

Professionally, I have more than twenty years of experience in information technology, teaching, food service, coaching, youth development, and international education. I spent the past four years being an independent contractor.

I taught in South Korea for nearly three years. I served in AmeriCorps as an after‑school program coordinator for three years. I later became a substitute teacher to explore certification. I stepped back to give IT a real try, spent two years in the field, and realized it was not my long‑term path. I earned my master’s degree to move into educational technology or international student advising. It was a challenging but meaningful achievement, yet afterward I felt overqualified and unsure where I fit in the job market.

Now I am ready to restart my life and career by teaching overseas again. My plan is to spend one to two years abroad to rebuild financially, regain confidence, and live in a stable environment. After that, I will return to the United States to pursue teacher certification and move into higher‑level educational roles.

I am looking for recommendations on the best countries to teach in and the most effective way to get started within the next month or two. I am also open to other ideas based on my background and goals.

Just a short post but im sure its valuable to a lot of you here.

2 years ago I started a new job. I worked less than 20 hours per week and my boss wanted to pay me only 2,000,000₩ plus housing. However the national minimum wahe was 2,096,000.

The immigration office said they refused to approve the E2 visa to my boss unless she paid 2.1, which dhe did.

Many of you may not know this, but E2 visas require the natiobal minimum wage for a full time 45 hour per week job regardless of your working hours!

There has been a decent pay rise announced for 2027. Every single job contract which extends into 2027 must now pay the new minimum wage. If the boss doesnt want to, show the immigration officer at your appointment. If you directly point out your contract and the new minimum wage they will contact your boss and demand its changed.

They might not do it unless you point it out to them, but this is really useful knowledge for anyone else working a low hours job or just low wage generally. The minimum wages for the last few years are as follows.

2021 - 1,822,480₩

2022 - 1,914,440₩

2023 - 2,010,580

2024 - 2,060,740

2025 - 2,096,270

2026 - 2,156,880

2027 - 2,236,000₩

So please keep in mind everybody. The nrw legal minimum wage, for all intensive purposes, is now 2,250,000₩. Nobody at all should be paid less than this. Arm yourself with this knowledge as it may be used to some of you noobie teachers accepting 25 - 30 hours per weep jobs where 2.1 used to be normal.

When I arrived in Korea I had to do a Visa Health Check to get my resident card. It was bare bones basic, just, eyes and teeth ok, no TB/HIV, passed the drug test. At some point in the last year I went to the doctor for something and they mentioned that because I was born in an even year, I am eligible for a Full Physical (among other preventative items) this year.

I just renewed my visa and my employer informed me that I need to do an Employee Health Check because it’s an even year. I tried to ask if that is the same thing as the Visa Health Check and was told it is not tied to my renewal and can be done any time this year. I tried to ask if it is a Full Physical, but they were very unclear. They just kept saying it’s all the “basic stuff.” Which could mean either. From what my coworkers tell me, it sounds like it’s probably the bare bones basic like the Visa Health Check.

I get vasovagal syncope, so I try to minimize blood draws. If it’s the bare bones basic version, I want to ask if I can just do my Full Physical at the same time. My employer did not understand the difference or what I was asking, so I come hat in hand for the wisdom of the crowd.

Does anyone know if these health check processes are two vs three meaningfully different categories? How do I ask in Korean for the insurance-covered Full Physical, and where can I go to find out what it includes (I assume things like cholesterol, blood sugar, vitamin levels, etc?). And would asking to do both the Full Physical and the Employee Health Check at the same time make their heads explode the way asking for vanilla syrup in my flat white does at Starbucks? (Which apparently is NOT possible, because flavored syrups are ONLY for lattes, even if I’m willing to pay latte price and just want milky coffee rather than a glass of milk that vaguely tastes of coffee. First world problems. But my question is really about the difficulty of getting someone to deviate from standard operating procedure stands.)

I know there are large hospitals that have international departments or occasionally interpreters, but I am far from Seoul and have been told to go to a specific hospital. It’s the same place I went when I first arrived and no one spoke a word of English.

Thanks for any guidance!

ETA: E2 Visa, if there are different health check!

If payment stays the same, it’s going down. Why? Inflation and the weakening won. A million won now is worth a heck of a lot less than a million won was even just a year ago. With each passing month that million won buys less and less. That’s why it’s important to increase your salary year after year. 

In 2024 I saw a job posting for teaching nuclear plant workers weekdays 9am-6pm. Applicants needed a uni degree, to be a native English speaker, plus a CELTA or other similar TESOL cert, plus an F visa, plus years of business teaching experience. The location: out in the sticks where most people would not want to live. The pay: 5.5 a month. 

Into 2025 I saw the this ad posted again; the positions across the country at the nuclear plants were not yet filled. 

Now in 2026 I saw this job posted again but this time instead of listing the monthly wage upfront it said, “Salary: According to company policy”.

So what is the company policy? 

I emailed to find out. 

3.8-4.0. 

That’s a hell of a drop. 

I explained the same job was paying 5.5 a year ago and two years ago but was told 3.8-4.0 is now the ceiling and can’t be negotiated higher. 

I’m utterly shocked. 

For context, “the average monthly salary for a metropolitan bus driver is now between 5.2 million won and 5.6 million won.”

Korea’s economy is growing every year. Korean salaries are going up every year. But English teaching salaries for Westerners are going down. This is really disappointing. 

Looking for any advice or knowledge of how to go about finding public schools open to direct hire. Has anyone went this route? Is contacting a school directly acceptable. For reference I'm living in the countryside and have a life here with my husband, but looking for new work to get back into teaching.

I'm a bilingual korean and I tutor international school students / adults who have to build English skills for work. A lot of people asked me how I was able to reach full bilingual fluency. I tell them I consumed a lot of English media (audiobooks and social media) and going to college in the US was kind of a tipping point that caused me to go from reasonably fluent to full bilingual, but I want to give out more actionable advice.

Another question I get a lot: most of my students say they route through Korean when they try to speak English, and they want to stop doing this but don't know how to drop it. I think I spontaneously dropped this practice at some point, but I don't really recall how this happened. How can I go about helping students in this situation?

It's been some time since I've been in Korea to get an ARC. The criminal background expires within 6 months (my current one expires on October 14th, 2026). The hagwon job I'm ideally starting happens on September 1st so do I need to get a new one to apply for an ARC?

I’ve worked in fake “international” schools in Korea for 4 years; 2015-2017 and 2024-current. I didn’t fully realize how stupid, dangerous, and illegal that was because I took things at face value and didn’t do my research (100% my fault).

Now that I’ve realized the situation and with the government crackdown coming, I want to find a legally safe option.

The problem is that I’ve become accustomed to the “international school” calendar. Specifically, I’m looking for 2 weeks off in both summer and winter so that I can visit my family. I would even take the time unpaid.

Am I being completely delusional?

Also, what is the safest kind of work for an E2 visa?

My current requirements are:

-safe E2 work

-day time work hours

-2 weeks summer and winter vacation (paid or unpaid)

I would say I am a very experienced and confident teacher- I have years of part time and volunteer experience outside of the 4 years full time.

As far as education goes, I have a bachelors in linguistics, an unrelated Master’s degree, and an ACSI teaching certificate (only recognized by Christian schools.) I’m heavily considering starting Moreland University course even though it’s expensive (is it considered “legit”?)

I’m fine working with any age group, from preschool to adults

I’m willing to take a pay cut as well (currently making 3.1M + 600 housing).

Are these doable demands? Or do I need to wake up and smell the coffee?

TIA

The job ad posting said, “This pays much more than regular English teaching” and I thought, “Wow! Cool!”

At the interview I learned the payment would be 90k won per 25 minute episode and that I would be responsible for writing the script. 

“Hmm, this information was not stated upfront in the initial job posting” I thought to myself. 

Worth doing? 

How many hours would it take to write and perform 26 episodes, the total payment for which would be 2.34 mil? 

I want to make a high quality product; to do otherwise could cause reputational brand damage to myself. Plus if I do something I want to do it well out of respect for the consumers. 

How much of a cut is the recruiter and / or others taking? Maybe the Korean government gave a sizable amount of money to make a program to teach English to their citizens and by the time it reaches me it’s only a fraction? 

Maybe how much the recruiter is taking is not something I should think about at all and just see this as an investment in my future? If I could get on TV I might be able to leverage it into more earning potential. It’s a risk and a gamble. Everything’s an opportunity cost. Time spent doing one thing is time that could have been spent doing something else. Advice? 

What's your most unpopular take?

Hi all, I taught for a year in Seoul in 2002 during the World Cup and really enjoyed it, and returned home after my contract. I am a homeowner in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and have been making $180000 CDN per year. My wife is from Korea, and we have two children enrolled in private schools. After being away for over twenty years, I have realized how much I have missed the weather, ESL teaching and the people of Korea. As such, we’ve decided to spend a year in Seoul. The plan is for me to work at a hogwash and to rent an apartment; what can I expect for wages and for family lifestyle?

Location: South Korea. Near Daejeon
Pay: 2.4 million wons
Hours: 8:30 to 5:30 , “30” hour quota per week, unpaid labor is a given though.
Benefits: Typical South Korean work benefits; free housing, medical, flight reimbursement, etc.

My background is no experience, bachelors in an unrelated field, and a TEFL certification.

Good or nah?

For context my previous hagwon was not the greatest , in January 2026 they tried to dismiss me, the reason was they had no classes. I later found out they had hired a new teacher and when I brought it up they quickly retracted the termination. Fast forward to April, my sister back home needed surgery and she needed some assistance , I took 5 days of my vacation to go and help assist her, unfortunately during that time there was a complication in her surgery and it forced me to attend to family matters and had to resign unexpectedly.

Now my previous hagwon states I planned this. Which is insane as I provided them with doctors notes and medical evidence. My contract was up in June which would of concluded my second year working there. I wouldn't of risked my severance if I had no other choice. (They are still refusing to pay me this money ).

Now I am doing interviews and when they ask for my previous hagwons details , I explain briefly about the situation, I dont hear back from them again.

How do I handle this situation ? Do I give up coming back to Korea and move on and try another country or keep trying ?

Hello all. I need some advice on how to handle students who are uncontrollable.
I worked in Gyeonggi-do for three years at two academies before moving to Seoul. At my previous academies, where I taught kindergarten and elementary students, things were okay. Yes, there was drama here and there, and the schedule was gruelling and got worse toward the end, but overall, it was manageable. The students were honestly great. They listened to instructions, completed the work assigned to them, did their homework with little argument, and connecting with them was relatively easy. Kindergarten was the easiest, of course.
However, I moved to my current position 10 months ago and am about to complete my contract. I’m thinking of not renewing because I can’t stand the kids. I know that sounds horrible to say, but I really can’t stand them. They are argumentative, hard to get along with, judgemental, uncontrollable, loud, constantly fidgeting, and they complain so much. At first, I thought this would change over time, but it has only gotten worse. A few days ago, I was so overstimulated that I was on the verge of crying.
This is my introduction to Seoul kids, and I’m honestly worried about looking for another place of employment in Seoul if this is what the student demographic is like here. Is this normal Seoul behaviour, or is it just my academy? I will say that my bosses also don’t seem to know what to do with most of these kids, and at times, they don’t seem interested in intervening. The parents also complain about the weirdest things. You’d think we were in Gangnam.
These are the worst kids I’ve ever encountered, but I’m not sure if this is the norm here. I know people in public schools, but their experiences are different, of course. For goodness’ sake, these kids are uncontrollable. I’d like to know whether this is an isolated experience or not.

I've received a few interview opportunities in the Gangnam area and want to know what salary would be considered comfortable for the area both with and without housing. I've only lived in the Mapo area.

Has anyone successfully made a jump from being an English teacher (either in a public school or Hagwon) to working in an international school as a homeroom elementary teacher?

I have a BSc in earth science, and will undertake getting my teaching license whilst working in Korea as an English teacher.

I’m not after Seoul or a tier 1 school, getting a tier 2 school anywhere in Korea I would be more than happy with.

My biggest query, is it even possible? Has anyone achieved this?