Mods mod this if I slip up.
Three years or so ago I worked in Korea. I was just getting started in the TEFL career (if you can call it that) and I took one of those all inclusive packages that you an get to Korea, flights, room etc.
I was told that I was living on my own and would be working 20 hours a week at the most. Pay was ok at 2.1million won.
I was picked up at the airport by a Korean guy who spoke no English and drove me to my school which took three bloody hours to get there. Luckily I was pissed and a little sedated still from the flight. On arriving at the school I was asked if I could start straight away, obviously I said no so we agreed that I would be picked up at 1pm the next day for classes.
I was then taken to my single housing to be taken into a five bedroom apartment with shared communal area, with one sofa that they had apparently taken from the street. I knew then that I should have walked away but I thought I was in it for the money so I didn't say much and went to bed.
The apartment was dirty, old and moldy with not enough utensils for everybody. I was sharing with two Canadian and two Kiwis.
The first day the Korean guy came and picked me up at 10am. I told him to piss off and come back at 1pm as we arranged. I was taken to school where I taught my first classes and was given my time table. I was working 16 hours with it being raised to 20 in a month once I was settled.
The first month wasn't too bad. Everything moved along smoothly although I kept finding the Korean guy in the apartment watching TV. The others said he did that a lot and I should make sure that I don't leave out any personal possessions in my room as he has a habit of going through your things.
My hours slowly increased from 16 - 20 - 25 - 28 - 30 a week with no overtime pay. Cram month started and I was working 9am - 10pm everyday 6 days a week. with 10 minute breaks here and there. Obviously I was getting a little pissed off and started to voice my opinion.
Month four my pay was late. The director claimed to have been in a car accident and couldn't pay his staff. He was seen in a bar down the road shit faced and unable to drive his car.
He owned another school where the other teachers from my apartment worked in. At this school he was paying bits of salary here and there to the teachers. Whoever complained the least was paid first.
After the late salary payment I decided to start planning to jump ship. I asked for my degree certificate back so that I could send it home. Stupidly I had sent it to the school. They said no they were keeping it in the filing cabinet to make sure I didn't run away.
After the late salary payment the President decided that we should all spend every Sunday together so that we could be a family. Of course I said no to this but the others were happy to take it from him.
I am a fairly level headed person but on hearing this I knew it was time to get out. I went to a hardware store and purchased a large screw driver (flat head) and took it to school and asked them one more time if they would give me my degree back. They said no. So I pried open the filing cabinet with the screw driver and tok it out myself. The Korean guy tried to stop me during this and we had a little scuffle which stopped quickly. My manager then said ok fair enough I can keep my degree.
The Korean guy - side note - He had a plastic baton covered in cling film or tape that he used to hit the bad kids in the play room at break times when they were misbehaving. He was told not to do this but he kept doing it - remember this. He also came around to our apartment and stole our second television which was purchased by another teacher claiming it to belong to the school. A huge fight broke out over that and my manager hit him with an office chair for taking it.
Over the next week I told my manager that I was leaving. She shouted at me, threatened me and told me she would have me arrested if I left. I told her I didn't care do it. Eventualy the president came to see me and asked why I was leaving. So I told him that his school was crap, his staff were crap, his Korean guy was hitting the kids and going through our things ( apparantely this is ok as it was his property). After a while we agreed that I would stay for another two months until the next cram session was over. Or so they thought I would.
I recieved a phonecall just before lunch from one of the guys that I lived with saying that the Korean guy was sitting in his car trying to hide in the carpark opposite the apartment. Maybe I should go and see what he was upto once they had all gone out.
I went home to find the Korean guy turning my room upside down trying to find my passport ( it was in the canadians room for safe keeping). On finding him in my room I hit him with the golf club that we kept for keeping the drunken Korean man out (another story in a second) and then I hit him with his plastic baton that I had stolen from school to stop him hitting the kids,. He ran off shouting and screaming back to school. NOTHING was said about this incident at school absolutely NOTHING, but I knew I had to get out and fast.
The drunken KOrean man was the guy who lived on our roof. He jumped our power and used to try and get in to see the kiwi girls who lived with us. He once got into her room at night time which resulted in the golf club first being used as against him. He was the presidents uncle or cousin so we couldn't do anything.
Our monthly power bills were also astronomical, because of this guy and three other apartments jumping our power. I organised the others not to pay the bills and brought out the power company who found that of 16 meters in the apartment block only 4 were working. Everybody else was wired through another house.
I planned my exit carefully. I organised a job in Thailand (another story) and got my tickets etc ready to leave. I flew out the day before cram week started leaving everybody in the lurch. The other foreign staff knew about it and said they understood.
My midnight run was at midday and was perfectly executed. I placed a final phonecall to the one Korea teacher that I trusted saying I was getting on the plane and flying away.
I survived only 6 months.
MODS.
I am terrible at writing so if this is inappropriate please edit it for me.
Topic: ECC - Mangurii Seoul - 2003 (Read 1746 times)