Pertaining to this Korea conditions thing.....Yes this is true the conditions may be tough and you have to roll with things. I have been living here for over two years now and have had my fair share of harships. My first year here I worked at a hagwan where the boss and his wife were saints. They adopted the three foreign teachers as family. We did have arguments over vacation etc. but all in all it was an excellent experience. I was working 23 hours a week monday to friday and no morning classes. However, my boss didn't have a lot of business experience and the hagwan failed. They sold out to a huge chain (FLS) and they proceeded to shaft every teacher that walked in there. (I was gone by this time) They apparently had the teachers working 48 hours a week and refused to pay them their overtime. A couple of my friends still have over 4 000 000 Won owed to them which they will never see. The thing is.... they kept working!!! I told them to GET OUT NOW!!! but they didn't listen. Remember, you have the power to shut down a school. The students are there to see your white face not their countrymen's (sad but true).

Here is the real problem. The teachers here in Korea are not standing up for themselves!!! As a Canadian I can say that we are guility of this more than the Brits, Austrialians and the Americans. We are such a "polite" people that we love to get 'walked on'. To deal with Korean businessmen you must get in their face. The teachers are so passive (perhaps this is b/c most are not qualified and they're scared) that they will take the abuse and then show up for work the next day. Let me ask all of you....Would you take a job back in Canada or America without researching it first? We look in the newspapers and see all the telemarketing jobs and scams across the board and we don't even look at them. The same goes for Korea. RESEARCH your school!!! Call the school; speak to the other foreigners!!!! Once you have you school on the line talk to one of the teachers; just say "Listen, I'd like you to tell me if you've had any problems and what is the story at your school - no bullshit" If you are replacing the foreigner ask why he/she is leaving. When you first arrive in Korea make as many foreign friends as possible. NETWORK!! NETWORK!!! NETWORK!!! you do this in North America; why not here? The foreigners are more than happy to help out one of their own. If something isn't working out - WALK!!! If you bring other teachers with you you will shut the school down. The Won Jon-nims (bosses) realize this. This is why they try to scare you right off the bat. These threats are EMPTY!!! The government of Korea are no longer sympathatic to the Hagwans. Recently, people have been deported for teaching private lessons. The government doesn't like teachers making gobs of cash, not paying any taxes, and then smuggling it out of the country therby depleting the national treasury (Hmmm..I wonder why) Also, the government is not too thrilled with this two-tiered educational system where the rich get educated and the poor don't.