What happened, and why I am back in the USA.
I was teaching 31-33 classes per week. My contract stated 100 classroom hours per month, and that any classes over the 100 would be over time. I was told during my E BO Young Orientation that one class was one hour. Meaning that I should be getting paid overtime for every class over 25 I was teaching per week. I complained repeatedly about the overtime and was informed that because my classes where only 45 minutes in length I was not teaching the 100 hours per session as the time between classes was only 5 or 10 minutes it did not count towards the classroom hours. I was in essence working 39.5 hours per week. I was working an average of 7.5 hours per day, without the lunch break that I discovered is required by Korean law. I went to the labor board and was informed that my teaching contract was invalid for a variety of reasons. Thus the overtime case would have to be based on standard Korean Labor Law. The simple explanation is that overtime is based on anything over 40 hours, regardless of my contract, as it was not valid, but that I should be getting a lunch break. So instead of getting around 3 million won for the overtime I get nothing, other than informed that my contract is invalid.
To make all of this more fun.
My boss fired me via email on Dec 25th and informed that I had to be out of my apartment by the 1st January. I was on vacation from the 24th of December to the 5th of January. I lost my internet connection from my apartment on December 18th and had mentioned it to him as I needed to be able to check email, etc. and did not yet know about PC bongs. So, on the 5th of January I go to work and wander into the computer room and start checking email only to discover that I was fired and needed to leave my apartment. I then left the hogwon in confusion and general lack of understanding. I then contacted Migrant Workers Services in Changwon and was informed that I had been fired illegally.
I was also informed that according to Korean law I was owed my December salary, 30 more days of salary, and a plane ticket home. (The total would be about 4.6 million won and a ticket home; my salary was 2.3 a month.) My Director (Ji Hun Kim) refused to pay, go figure, I had the people at Migrant Workers Services contact and attempt to negotiate a settlement. My Director refused to pay me. He said that if I filed a lawsuit to make him pay he would go to immigration and file for my deportation and add to it that I was fired for abusing the students, which would label me as a child abuser in the Korean Immigration System and I would not be able to get a job anywhere in Korea. This BS went on for five days, during which I offered to simply leave Korea on my own for 3 million Won, my dads girlfriend is a travel agent, so I could get a cheap flight home. Finally, I had my hearing with the Labor board for the overtime case on the 13th. The results were I was informed that my contract was invalid and therefore. Mr. Kim refusing to pay me for December or anything else. Finally the guy from Migrant Workers Services has me talk to the Director of Migrant Workers services and they spend another week going round and round explaining that if I file a lawsuit I will win and it will cost him at least 4.6 million won and a plane ticket home. My Director refuses to pay saying that he has lost students because he fired me and that I cost him this money. (I still dont understand his reasoning on this.) They begin negotiating on how much I will get plus a plane ticket home. Finally it is agreed that I will get 1.5 million won and a ticket home. I am at the point where I simply want to go home, before the anger overcomes me and I kill a Korean I am still there. I meet my lying sack if shit director and he doesnt have a plane ticket to hand me he will have to print the e-ticket, and bring it to me that evening at Jazz (the local expat bar). He then hands me 1.4million won in cash, not the 1.5 we agreed to, thus once again proving that he is a lying sack of shit. The net result is I am back in the USA. I have less than a $1000 all my bills are late as I didnt get to electronically transfer funds back to the USA before they were due as the lying sack of shit wouldnt pay me on time. I curse him and his family. Korea is the worst thing that ever happened to my finances, even when I lost businesses I still had something to show for it and could get a job to dig myself out of the whole, this time I am so screwed that I will probably have to file bankruptcy in the next month or two.
I was teaching 31-33 classes per week. My contract stated 100 classroom hours per month, and that any classes over the 100 would be over time. I was told during my E BO Young Orientation that one class was one hour. Meaning that I should be getting paid overtime for every class over 25 I was teaching per week. I complained repeatedly about the overtime and was informed that because my classes where only 45 minutes in length I was not teaching the 100 hours per session as the time between classes was only 5 or 10 minutes it did not count towards the classroom hours. I was in essence working 39.5 hours per week. I was working an average of 7.5 hours per day, without the lunch break that I discovered is required by Korean law. I went to the labor board and was informed that my teaching contract was invalid for a variety of reasons. Thus the overtime case would have to be based on standard Korean Labor Law. The simple explanation is that overtime is based on anything over 40 hours, regardless of my contract, as it was not valid, but that I should be getting a lunch break. So instead of getting around 3 million won for the overtime I get nothing, other than informed that my contract is invalid.
To make all of this more fun.
My boss fired me via email on Dec 25th and informed that I had to be out of my apartment by the 1st January. I was on vacation from the 24th of December to the 5th of January. I lost my internet connection from my apartment on December 18th and had mentioned it to him as I needed to be able to check email, etc. and did not yet know about PC bongs. So, on the 5th of January I go to work and wander into the computer room and start checking email only to discover that I was fired and needed to leave my apartment. I then left the hogwon in confusion and general lack of understanding. I then contacted Migrant Workers Services in Changwon and was informed that I had been fired illegally.
I was also informed that according to Korean law I was owed my December salary, 30 more days of salary, and a plane ticket home. (The total would be about 4.6 million won and a ticket home; my salary was 2.3 a month.) My Director (Ji Hun Kim) refused to pay, go figure, I had the people at Migrant Workers Services contact and attempt to negotiate a settlement. My Director refused to pay me. He said that if I filed a lawsuit to make him pay he would go to immigration and file for my deportation and add to it that I was fired for abusing the students, which would label me as a child abuser in the Korean Immigration System and I would not be able to get a job anywhere in Korea. This BS went on for five days, during which I offered to simply leave Korea on my own for 3 million Won, my dads girlfriend is a travel agent, so I could get a cheap flight home. Finally, I had my hearing with the Labor board for the overtime case on the 13th. The results were I was informed that my contract was invalid and therefore. Mr. Kim refusing to pay me for December or anything else. Finally the guy from Migrant Workers Services has me talk to the Director of Migrant Workers services and they spend another week going round and round explaining that if I file a lawsuit I will win and it will cost him at least 4.6 million won and a plane ticket home. My Director refuses to pay saying that he has lost students because he fired me and that I cost him this money. (I still dont understand his reasoning on this.) They begin negotiating on how much I will get plus a plane ticket home. Finally it is agreed that I will get 1.5 million won and a ticket home. I am at the point where I simply want to go home, before the anger overcomes me and I kill a Korean I am still there. I meet my lying sack if shit director and he doesnt have a plane ticket to hand me he will have to print the e-ticket, and bring it to me that evening at Jazz (the local expat bar). He then hands me 1.4million won in cash, not the 1.5 we agreed to, thus once again proving that he is a lying sack of shit. The net result is I am back in the USA. I have less than a $1000 all my bills are late as I didnt get to electronically transfer funds back to the USA before they were due as the lying sack of shit wouldnt pay me on time. I curse him and his family. Korea is the worst thing that ever happened to my finances, even when I lost businesses I still had something to show for it and could get a job to dig myself out of the whole, this time I am so screwed that I will probably have to file bankruptcy in the next month or two.
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