Victory Manual

My second year in Korea is now commencing. It’s in the spirit of my one-year anniversary of living in Korea that I am making a definitive comparison between my jobs here and in Japan. This is for prospective expats, or for anyone who is simply curious about life in either country. Appropriately, the longest post ever written on this blog is headed by the longest title. The content of this is two years in the making. Please enjoy.

TOPICS: Disclaimer/Introduction - Pay - Schedules - Coworkers - Management/Corporate - Students - Attire - Conclusion

DISCLAIMER/INTRODUCTION: What it is.
This is entirely based on anecdotal experience and is in no way the final word on general operations in either country. If you can’t take what I have to say with a grain of salt, I suggest you save yourself some time by not reading it.

In Japan, I worked for a large eikaiwa chain called AEON. I started when I was 22 years old and single. I majored in Japanese language and culture in university, and I had lived in Tokyo as an exchange student for a year prior to my arrival, so the issue of culture shock was not in play. Anything negative that I have to say about the company may have changed since I was employed by them, but when I started working there, the things that I had read online from experiences 5 years earlier still held true.

I moved directly from Japan to Korea with my fiancée. We got married and our daughter was born in October. I am now the ripe old age of 24. *Dramatic gasp* I currently work at a small, private academy. (Until June, when I take over operations of my in-laws’ hotel on Jeju island. *Second dramatic gasp*)

PAY: It’s all about the Benjamins. (I hope not)
Pay is a tricky topic to accurately discuss because money and its value revolve around exchange rates and the strength of the national economy. I’ll try my best to lay it down from a simple perspective.

For a year of work in Japan, I ended up saving $10K USD without much effort. I’d go out for beers with friends maybe once every two weeks. Most of the time I was eating out or getting take-out. I also went on dates on the weekends, but it wasn’t anything major like dinner at the top of a building in a fine French restaurant, and hotel rooms with bathtubs full of rose petals. I was single at the time, and I had no debt.

In Korea, we’ve saved almost the same amount. However, now I’m married, and the sole income earner, and I have to support my wife and daughter. I also own a car and use it to commute daily. On top of that, most of my wife’s acquaintances have infants, and there is a Korean tradition of giving gifts on the 100th day of life, as well as every birthday after that, so we’re buying presents nearly every month for their children. (Which I hope to be isolated from on our little island starting this summer.)

The base salary is lower in Korea than in Japan, but so are the living expenses. The countries pretty much break even here.

SCHEDULE: Time is money.
These days, English teaching jobs in Japan and Korea include the same basic contract stipulations because of standards that have appeared over time. For the most part, you’ll be working mornings if you’re located at a proper school, and afternoons/evenings if you’re at an academy (eikaiwa, hagwon).

In Japan I worked from 1ish to 9ish. Sometimes I wouldn’t have to be in until 2 or 3, though. This was because AEON wanted to avoid paying for required national insurance for full-time employees who work over 30 hours per week, so they kept the work load at 29.5 hours per week. (Shenanigans, I tell you.)

The worst part about the hours with AEON was that I was on a Tuesday through Saturday schedule. This suits some people, though, because they enjoy empty streets on Monday while everyone else in the office. For me, though, especially considering that my girlfriend (now my wife) was still a university student, I hated it.

In Korea I work Mondays through Fridays from 2 to 8:30pm, but within that time I only teach 4 or 5 classes, leaving me with at least an hour and a half of prep time everyday. I must admit, though, that I hit the jackpot with the academy that I work at. I’ve heard horror stories from other foreign teachers in Korea, and my situation is completely the opposite of every complaint they have.

COWORKERS: The people you are forced to be around 5 days a week.
I’ve heard of schools in Japan where the work environment is friendly and inviting. Notice, here, that I am presenting this as second-hand information. Not all of my coworkers were…undesirable. Actually, I really liked the part-time teachers and the other foreign teachers. They were very pleasant people; downright friendly. I can’t say the same about the others. (More on this in the “management/corporate” section.)

My co-workers in Korea are extremely nice, from the receptionist to the owner. But, I feel compelled to mention that this is, again, the result of me lucking out with the job that I landed. From most accounts of foreign teachers in Korea, coworkers are the main sources of stress.

MANAGEMENT/CORPORATE: Great expectations.
The sources of all of my unpleasant experiences in Japan were from the management and corporate sides of AEON. It’s no secret that your role as a foreign teacher in the company is a facade. As my manager so eloquently stated the first day of my arrival at my branch school, “You are Mickey Mouse. You are an English-speaking host.” I was, apparently, not a teacher at all.

I was also a salesman, according to them. I was forced to convince students to buy supplementary material directly from AEON, regardless of whether I believed in the material itself, or if I thought the student actually needed it or not. If I didn’t make sales (which they keep a record of on a wall in the office!!) I was reprimanded. It was almost like I was a traitor to the company.

When I requested time off, days of paid leave which were stated in my contract, even after adhering to AEON’s calendar of “blackout days”, I was met with a seemingly insurmountable hurdle to be gotten over. It was like I was asking to be king of the world. (A title which I could probably easier receive than paid leave from AEON)

Not only was I stressed out about simply taking vacation days (days which were, by the way, intended to be spent with my grandfather and uncle who came to visit me around New Years), they had me doing the remedial job of handing out fliers on the street. Again, this is anecdotal and is by no means the norm, but still - It’s a part-time job that the company usually gives to high school kids. Never mind that it’s against the immigration bureau’s policy on my visa status…

Moving on to Korea, I must, again, remind you that the job I landed is probably not the norm here. The school owner, who is also my manager, is also the head teacher. She teaches a nearly full-load of classes everyday, and she has been a teacher for 14 years now. She is, first and foremost, a teacher. She’ll reject prospective students if they can’t handle the standards of her academy’s curriculum. Money-making is not an agenda she has on her plate. From what I’ve heard, though, a lot Korean academies are all about money, just like AEON was.

To further brag about my incredible position in Korea, I’d like to also mention that teaching method and class content are generally left for me to decide. I’m not forced into a lame standard. (read “AEON method”) My boss values my input as a native speaker, and she often seeks my advice concerning teaching methods and textbooks.

STUDENTS: Your effort’s output.
The comparison here is really askew because of the age difference, but whatever - Experience is experience.

In Japan I taught high school students and adults. It was their choice to take English lessons, and that was the reason they were more energetic and active in class. What made my experience worth continuing in Japan were the students. There were problem students (or, as is more fitting of AEON, “problem customers”), but for the majority of the time I had a really fun time with students, and teaching them was very rewarding. I especially loved having advanced students to interact with, because I got to hear interesting perspectives on fairly difficult topics.

In Korea I only teach elementary students. The last thing these kids want to do is study English, but they have to. There are some problem children, but there are also some kids that you connect with and teaching them is a real joy. These are the kids who surprise you with actual, inquisitive questions in class.

The bottom line is that teaching in Japan is more intellectually stimulating, but teaching in Korea is less stressful and there is less of an immediate reprisal from your “customer base”.

ATTIRE: The clothes make the job.
This is by far the easiest topic, which is why I left it for last. Korea wins, hands down.

In Japan I was required to teach in a suit, with the jacket on, because AEON emphasizes image over everything else, including actual education. It’s very awkward teaching in a suit. It could be that I just don’t like suits.

In Korea I’ve worn a suit 3 times - Once at my wedding, and twice to other peoples’ weddings. In the summer I wear shorts and a T-shirt to work. In the winter I wear jeans and a hoodie. All I can say is that a comfortable teacher is an effective teacher.

CONCLUSION: The wrap up.
So, there you have it - My self-centered comparison of jobs in Japan and Korea. I hope you walk away with something from all of this. Just remember that my experience is not implicit of any norm because I lack years of empirical evidence to justify any patterns on the job. But, if you are reading this because you are interested in teaching in Japan or Korea, don’t ignore my experience completely, because it’s full of possibilities that you may face yourself.