Note: Book I, Book II, and Book III below are all available online. The cost of each of the three books is US$15.00. When all three books are purchased the total cost is only US$29.99.

Book I: Survey of Foreign English Teachers in South Korea:

Native English-Speaking Teachers’ Reports
Involving Work Visas,
Employment Contract Violations,
Housing, and Working Conditions While Employed
at Language Institutes in South Korea

Are you considering first time overseas employment in a language institute or university?

This investigative report documents over four-hundred complaints reported by native English-speakers who taught English conversation at language institutes in South Korea. Native English-speakers teaching at universities reported a number of these same problems. Many of the problems reported have also occurred in countries other than South Korea. Prior knowledge about these problems can help first time teachers avoid similar difficulties as they consider teaching opportunities abroad. This book is a must read for a native English-speaker who is contemplating overseas employment in a language institute or university in Asia or Europe.

Researched and Issued by Stephen Bass, Foreign English Language School Watch Organization, all rights reserved.

Stephen Bass B.S.

About Foreign English Language School Watch

Foreign English Language School Watch (hereafter the Watch) collects data on foreign English language school recruiting agencies, independent recruiters, and employers worldwide. The Watch provides data on its findings to a number of government agencies, organizations, academic institutions, and individuals world wide including the students and graduates of colleges and universities in Australia, Britain, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the USA.

Mission Statement

The mission statement of the Watch is to identify problems areas involving native English speaking teachers and foreign English language school (institute) recruiting agencies, independent recruiters, and employers, determine the ethnic origins and demographics of the teachers affected, categorize, and quantify a number of the problems found, record problem outcomes, and recommend solution-based interventions with constructive, long term results.

Throughout South Korea hakwon owners, directors, and managers strive for and maintain high business standards. (A number of recruiting agencies and independent recruiters embody these same principles.) These men and women are community business leaders in that they establish responsible precedents for maintaining business models that adhere to high standards and ethical values. These men and women do everything within their power to write employee employment contracts which are fair and equitable for their teachers traveling from abroad.

These men and women do their utmost to assure that employment contract writing regarding promised perks, bonuses, and living and working conditions are realistic, within their means, and can be satisfied and fulfilled. These men and women honor their promises to provide notarized sponsorships for non-immigrant and E-2 work visas for their teachers. These owners go even further to uphold ethical business practices and operations by not engaging in copyright fraud involving illegal reproductions of copyrighted teachers’ manuals, instructional texts and videotapes, and audio-cassette tapes made for sale to their students. Their business plans and accounting policies insure that students receive quality English language instruction for the money paid, and that teachers receive the amount of salary as promised on designated pay days. Promises of end-of-contract bonuses are fulfilled. There are no hidden agendas. Teachers working for these employers report very satisfying experiences living and working in Korea. Intimidation, threats and physical violence are not resorted to in order to silence teachers’ grievances or concerns. Instead, these hakwon employers, directors, and managers discuss their teachers’ problems in rational terms resulting in amicable agreements wherever and whenever possible.

However, these ethical and law-abiding employers, directors and managers are the exceptions. Their counterparts have used a variety of methods over the years to cheat foreign English teachers out of millions of won in salaries, promised airfares, end of contract bonuses, and other promised perks. These hakwon employers, directors and managers design, execute, and condone deceptive advertising and sales practices misleading potential students and teachers to acquire signed contracts. Illicit revenues are earned by engaging in intellectual property and copyright fraud. Illegally reproduced copyrighted texts and audio-cassette tapes are sold at prices reaping huge profits for employers. Some hakwon accounting practices result in the retaining of government taxes deducted from teachers’ salaries--teachers who were never issued promised work visas and medical cards. Government and fiscal paper trails do not exist when employers pay teachers’ salaries in cash, sponsorships for work visas are not granted, and legally mandated health insurance is not provided. Similarly, paper trails do not exist when promises of end of contract release letters are not written.

Over a period of years these hakwon operators have channeled hundreds of millions of illicitly gained Korean won into further business development. The new language schools these illegitimate operators open using illicit income continue similar illegal business practices. These businesses are able to charge students lower fees for English language courses and reduced costs for instructional texts and audiocassettes. This results in diverting ever-increasing numbers of potential students away from business owners who strive to maintain high ethical standards and fair and equitable business practices. In the end the honest and ethical employer simply cannot or has difficulty competing in this market.

Not all honest and ethical employers can afford to charge students the reduced rates that their illicit competition does. Those who cannot compete on honest terms have a choice. They can either close the business, become infected with the contagion that their competition condones, or begin through organized efforts to implement, initiate and promulgate industry-wide positive change at local, national, and international levels.

About the Author

Stephen Bass is a native of California. He earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Oregon (Eugene), USA. He was a lecturer in the English Language Department at Rangsit University, Muang Ake, Thailand for two years.

Stephen has taught English at a number of private language institutes in South Korea and Thailand. Now he is teaching English in Latin and South American regions. He began teaching English in Asia in 1996. While in Asia he has written three books for native English-speakers considering first time employment in teaching positions overseas. The topics for the books were based on subjects of concern of native English-speaking teachers had who worked in overseas language institutes under one-year contracts.

Book I: Survey of English Teachers of South Korea (Price US$15)

486 KB
Page count: 119 (Print out page Size A4)
Word count: 48,5113

Revised and updated April 27, 2009 (e)
Copyright-in-Fact by Stephen Bass, protected by laws of the United States of America.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Item-Page-Topic

1 - 7 About the Author

2 - 11 About Foreign English Language School Watch

3 - 11 Mission Statement

4 - 17 Requests for Foreign English Language Institute Recruiting Agency, Recruiter, or Employer Complaint Histories

5 -17 How To File a Complaint Against a Foreign English
Language Institute Recruiting Agency, Recruiter, or Employer

6 -18 Background

7 -19 About the Study

8 -20 Definition of Terms: Hakwon * Employers, Secondary Employers, Directors and Managers * Informants * Recruiters * Employees * E-2 and Non Immigrant Work Visas * Hakwon Employment Contract * Contract Release Letter * Student Population, Teaching Assignments, Labor Hours and Class Size * Housing * Severance Pay

9 -27 “Labor Standards Act” of South Korea

10 - 27 Rules of Employment

11 -27 Objectives of the Study

12 -28 Elements of the Study/Composition of the Sample: Number, Age, Sex, Level of Education, and Origin of Respondents

13 - 28 Research Methods

14 -28 Survey Questionnaire

15 -29 Locations of Data Collection and Length of the Survey

16 - 30 Current Results of the Study: Breakdown of a Number of Major Complaints by Percentage the Satisfied, Somewhat Satisfied and Not Satisfied Groups

Teachers’ Reports About: Before Arrival in South Korea

17 - 31 Lack of Access to Information About Recruiting Agencies, Recruiters, and Employers
Complaint 1

18 - 36 Misleading Advertising Claims
Complaint 2

19 -36 Impersonation and Misinformation
Complaints 3-50

20 -43 Korean Government Imposed Passport Seizures
Complaint 51

21 -43 Exit Bans
Complaint 52

22 - 44 Working in Korea and Legal Entitlement
Complaint 53

23 -44 Sponsorship Guarantees and The Work Visa
Complaints 54-60

Teachers’ Reports About: After Arrival in South Korea

24 -44 South Korean Immigration Warnings
Complaint 61

25 -45 Employers’ Failure to Meet Teachers On Arrival In Korea
Complaints 62-63

26 -45 Employment Contract Confiscation
Complaint 64

27 -46 Passport Confiscation
Complaint 65

28 -46 Alien Registration Card Confiscation
Complaint 66

29 -46 Failure to Provide “Certificate of Employment”
Complaint 67

30 -46 Tourist, Non-Immigrant and E-2 Work Visas
Complaints 68-75

31 -47 Non-Immigrant Visa Runs to Japan
Complaints 76-82

Item -Page- Topic

32 -48 Hakwon Employment Contracts
Complaints 83-97

33 -49 Probation
Complaint 98

34- 49 Free Air Fare to Korea/Free Air Fare for Repatriation
Complaints 99-101

35 -50 Company Supplied Housing
Complaints 102-148

36 -56 Fumigation of Residential Areas
Complaint 149

37 -56 Employers’ Business Policies and Employment Practices
Complaints 150-170

38 -58 Teaching Environment
Complaints 171-185

39 -59 Classroom Conditions
Complaints 186-214

40 -62 Employers’ Copyright and Intellectual Property Violations
Complaints 215-234

41 -64 Age, Gender and Ethnic Discrimination
Complaints 235-243

42 -65 International Driver’s License and Foreign Driving Insurance
Complaints 244-246

43 -65 Employee Health Insurance
Complaints 247-249

44 -66 Sick Leave, Medical, and Business Leave
Complaints 250-252

45 -66 Women’s Leave
Complaint 253

Item Page Topic

46 -66 Paid Vacation
Complaint 254

47- 66 Employers’ Overcharges
Complaints 255-266

48 -67 Other Financial Concerns
Complaints 267-268

49 -67 Coercion, Intimidation, Threats, Sexual Harassment, and Physical Assault
Complaints 269-294

50 -70 Employer-Employee Drinking Culture
Complaint 295

51 -70 Subcontracted Teachers
Complaint 296

52 -70 The Selling of Teachers’ Employment Contracts
Complaint 297

53 -71 Difficulties Experienced With Secondary Employers
Complaints 298-312

54 -71 Failure To Pay For Hours Worked (during employment)
Complaints 313-316

55 -73 Recruiter Support
Complaints 317-318

56 -74 South Korean Immigration
Complaints 319-343

57 77 Litigation Involving Employers, Commercial and Civil Disputes
Complaints 344-347

Teachers’ Complaints About: Termination of Employment

58 -78 Employers’, Directors’ and Managers’ False Claims and Allegations and Other Issues
Complaints 348-387

59 -81 After Termination of Employment: Housing Evictions
Complaints 388-390

60 -82 After Termination of Employment: Employers Failure to Pay
Complaints 391-406

61 -84 Employers’ Transfers of Ownership
Complaint 407

62 -84 Embassies’ Employment Warnings and Advisories
Complaint 408

63- 85 Damage Control - A Hakwon Manager’s Answer to Her Critics
Complaint 409

64- 86 Conclusion and Recommendations

65 -92 Quotes Made by Hakwon Recruiters

66 100 Quotes Made by Hakwon Employers, Directors, and Managers

67 -109 Selected Articles of the Labor Standards Act of South Korea and Penal Provisions

68 -119 Embassies Addresses, Seoul, South Korea

________________________________________________________________

Book II: Guidelines for Conducting Background Investigations on Language Institute and University Recruiters and Employers (Price US$15)

278 KB
Page count: 57 (Page Size A4)
Word count: 17,502

How to screen and select a language institute or university recruiter and employer
for overseas employment

Are you considering first time overseas employment in a language institute, public school, private school, college or university?

This book contains a step-by-step method for screening a recruiter and employer before accepting employment. The book also contains a thorough information interview questionnaire designed to determine if the recruiter and the employer have the teacher’s legal concerns and financial interests in mind. The questionnaire also helps the teacher determine the due diligence of the recruiter and employer. The book is a powerhouse of knowledge designed to inform and educate allowing a teacher to make an informed decision about the choice of a recruiter and employer before signing the employment contract. This book is a must read for native English-speakers considering first time overseas employment in an English language institute or university.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Item Page Title of Section

Introduction: About Foreign English Language School Watch

1 3 Introduction

2 3 Managing Risk in Domestic and Foreign
Environments

3 4 Conducting Background Investigations on Recruiting Agencies, Independent Recruiters, and Prospective and Current Employers

4 8 The Role of the Private Investigator

5 9 Using the Information Interview to Pre-Screen
Recruiters and Their Employment Recommendations

6 9 Checklists and Recruiter Questionnaire

7 36 What If?

8 36 Quotes Made by Recruiters to Teachers

9 43 Quotes Made by Hakwon Employers, Directors and Managers

10 53 Research and Contact Information

11 55 Embassies’ Addresses for Seoul, South Korea

_________________________________________________________________

Book III: Language Institute and University
Employment Contracts (Price US$15)

705 KB
Page count: 157 (A4)
Word count: 65,047

This book contains information including the topics below:

1. Sample employment (labor) contract used by employers

2. Analysis of the contract used by employers: line by line
comment, cautions, and omissions

3. Employment contract prepared by the Watch for use by EFL
and ESL teachers (English language version)


Are you concerned about the clauses in your language institute or university employment contract? Does the contract offer you adequate protection? The contract in this book was written to protect the teacher. It is based on information teachers said was missing in contracts given them by language institute and university recruiters and employers in countries in Asia, including South Korea, Japan and Thailand. The contract in this book is particularly well suited for language institutes (hakwons), universities, schools, and colleges in South Korea. The employment contract, written by the Watch, may be used as a template for a labor contract to teach English in a number of language institutes, colleges, universities, public and private schools in countries other than South Korea, Japan or Thailand. This book is a must read for a native English-speaker who is contemplating first time overseas employment in a language institute or university in Asia or Europe.


Note: The content of this page and Books I,II, and III are Copyright-in-Fact by Stephen Bass, protected by laws of the United States of America.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Item Page Topic

1 7 About Foreign English Language School Watch

2 7 English Language School Watch Mission Statement

3 7 Background: Employment Contracts

4 11 Teachers’ Complaints About Their Employment Contracts

5 17 Definition of Terms: Language Institute (Hakwon) *
Employers, Secondary Employers, Directors and Managers * Informants * Recruiters * Employees * E-2 and Non-Immigrant Work Visas *Contract Release Letter * Blacklisting * Student Population, Teaching Assignments and Hours * Severance Pay * Housing * “Summary of Labor Standards Act of Korea” * Conditions of Employment * Rules of Employment * Semi Annual and Annual Performance Evaluations

6 32 Contract Mentality: Differences Between Cultures-
Attitude and Behavior

7 34 Implications of Signing the Employment Contract

8 39 Sample Employment Contract Used by Employers

9 43 Analysis of the Employment Contract Used by
Employers: Line by Line Comment, Cautions, and
Omissions

10 75 Sample Employment Contract for Teachers Prepared by
Foreign English Language School Watch. English School Watch assumes no liability or responsibility whatsoever regarding the use of the contract format below. ALWAYS seek out a competent attorney for consultation before signing or using any contract. The entire contract is avilable in Book III.


South Korean ENGLISH (EFL-ESL) INSTRUCTOR, RECRUITER-EMPLOYER
LABOR CONTRACT AGREEMENT-Summary of Topics included in the contract (also included in the book)

CONTRACT CLAUSES 1-63:

OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT (DEFINITION AND SIGNATURE PAGE) (Sections 1.1-1.2)
BI-LINGUAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS (Section 2.1)
RULES OF EMPLOYMENT AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT Sections (3.1-3.2)
PERIOD OF EMPLOYMENT (Sections 4.1-4.3)
EFFECTIVE DATES OF THE EMPLOYEE’S WORK VISA (Section 5.1)
RESIDENT CERTIFICATE (Section 6.1)
RECRUITER’S SECTION * RECRUITERS BUSINESS AND PERSONAL INFORMATION SECTION, (RECRUITER’S SIGNATURE PAGE), RECRUITING AGENCY SECTION (Sections 7.1-7.15)
EMPLOYER’S SECTION * EMPLOYER’S BUSINESS LICENSE NUMBER * EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP * SPONSORSHIP GUARANTEE FORM FOR THE WORK VISA * PROBATION * EMPLOYER’S LETTER OF GUARANTEE OF EMPLOYMENT

CONTRACT CLAUSES

EMPLOYEE CERTIFICATE OF EMPLOYMENT * EMPLOYEE ALIEN REGISTRATION CARD * PUBLICITY OF CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT * VIOLATIONS OF CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT * SUMMARY OF THE KOREAN LEGAL CODE * EMPLOYEE AFTER FLIGHT REST PROVISION * EMPLOYMENT FORBIDDEN * EMPLOYER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT * DUPLICATE COPY OF PASSPORT AND LABOR CONTRACT * EMPLOYER ASKING TO TAKE PERSONAL POSSESSION OF THE EMPLOYEE’S LABOR CONTRACT OR PASSPORT * CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYER TAKING POSSESSION OF THE EMPLOYEE’S PASSPORT OR EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT * WORK SITE RESTRICTION * EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY FOR ACTIONS OF THE DIRECTOR OR MANAGER * DIRECTOR’S SECTION * MANAGER’S SECTION * (Sections 8.1-8.28)
REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYMENT (Sections 9.1 – 9.3)
DEFINITION OF WORK SCHEDULE (REGULAR WORK DAYS) (Section 10.1)
DEFINITION OF REGULAR LABOR HOURS (Section 11.1)
DEFINITION OF LENGTH OF BREAKS DURING WORKING HOURS (Sections 12.1-12.3)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE RATE (Sections 13.1-13.4)
EMPLOYEE MINIMUM MONTHLY SALARY (Section 14.1)
PAYMENT METHOD FOR EMPLOYEE MONTHLY SALARY (Sections15.1-15.2)
ITEMIZED RECEIPT FOR ALL DEDUCTIONS TAKEN FROM MONTHLY SALARY (Section 16.1)
DEFINITION OF OVERTIME HOURS (Section 17.1)
OVERTIME PAY RATE (Sections 18.1-18.2)
DOUBLE TIME- DEFINITION (Section 19.1)
DOUBLE TIME PAY RATE (Section 20.1)
TIME OF PAYMENT OF OVERTIME AND DOUBLE-TIME HOURS (Section 21.1)
PENALTY TO EMPLOYER FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM (Section 22.1)
ONE MONTH SALARY BONUS: DEFINITION, ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, TAX, TERMS OF PAYMENT, PENALTY TO EMPLOYER FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM, WAIVE (Sections 23.1-23.7)
SEVERANCE PAY: REQUIREMENTS, AMOUNT, PAYMENT METHOD, PAYMENT DATE AND PENALTY TO EMPLOYER FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM (Sections 24.1-24.5)
MONTHLY SALARY: PAYMENT DATE, METHOD OF PAYMENT AND PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM (Sections 25.1-25.4)
PAYMENT OF OVERTIME: PREVAILING EXCHANGE RATE, PAYMENT DATE, AND PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM (Sections 26.1-26.3)

CONTRACT CLAUSES

PAYMENT OF AIRFARE TO KOREA: AGREEMENT, CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT AND PENALTY TO EMPLOYER FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM (Sections 27.1-27.7)
AIRFARE FOR REPATRIATION (Section 28.1)
PAYMENT METHOD FOR EMPLOYEE FINAL MONTH SALARY, ONE MONTH SALARY BONUS, SEVERANCE PAY, AIRFARE FOR EMPLOYEE REPATRIATION AND OTHER MONIES DUE THE EMPLOYEE (Sections 29.1-29.2)
EMPLOYER FAILURE TO PERFORM (Section 30.1)
CONDITIONS COVERING ERRORS IN TRANSLATION OR “PAPER MIX-UPS” WHICH REQUIRE THE EMPLOYEE TO PAY ADDITIONAL MONIES (Section 31.1)
IOU’s (Section 32.1)
MEETING THE EMPLOYEE ON ARRIVAL IN KOREA (Sections 33.1-33.3)
JOB DESCRIPTION * ENGLISH TEACHER/INSTRUCTOR * NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER * OTHER JOB RESPONSIBILITIES MAY INCLUDE ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING (Items 1-20) (Sections 34.1-34.6)
EMPLOYER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (Sections 35.1-35.3)
COSTS OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS REQUIRED TO CONDUCT CLASSES (Sections 36.1-36.4)
OPERATION OF A MOTOR VEHICLE IN SOUTH KOREA IN THE COURSE OF EMPLOYMENT * LICENSE AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS * COSTS OF MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATION * COSTS OF BUS OR TAXI FARE * USE OF EMPLOYEE’S PHOTOGRAPH FOR PROMOTIONAL ADVERTISING (Sections 37.1-37.9)
HOLIDAYS, MONTHLY LEAVE WITH PAY, ANNUAL LEAVE, UNPAID LEAVE, SICK LEAVE, TARDINESS, AND AWAY WITHOUT LEAVE, LETTER OF AGREEMENT (Sections 38.1-38.9)
ACCOMMODATION * ACCOMMODATION PROVIDER * TIME AT WHICH THE ACCOMMODATION DESCRIBED BELOW WILL BE PROVIDED TO EMPLOYEE * MOVING PROVISION * COST OF ACCOMMODATION * LOCATION OF EMPLOYEE’S ACCOMMODATION * SELECTION OF ACCOMMODATION (Sections 39.1-39.14)
DESCRIPTION OF EMPLOYEE’S ACCOMMODATION: PRIVATE BEDROOM, KITCHEN, BATHROOM, COOKING AND EATING UTENSILS, WINDOW CURTAINS OR DRAPERIES (Sections 40.1-40.13)
WRITTEN INVENTORY AND DAMAGE REPORT OF CONTENTS OF ACCOMMODATION (INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPH) (Section 41.1)

CONTRACT CLAUSES

ACCOMMODATION LOCATION (EXTERIOR PHOTOGRAPH) (Section 42)
SERVICE, MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT OF HOUSEHOLD AMENITIES (Sections 43.1-43.4)
ACCOMMODATION INTERIOR CONDITION AND DOCUMENTATION (Sections 44.1-44.3)
FUEL RESERVES AND AVAILABILITY OF UTILITY SERVICES ON ARRIVAL (Sections 45.1-45.5)
ESTIMATED MONTHLY COST OF UTILITIES FOR THE ACCOMMODATION (Sections 46.1-46.3)
UTILITIES BILLINGS TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH * COPIES OF BILLINGS FOR ACCOMMODATION UTILITIES (Sections 47.1-47.4)
EMPLOYEE RIGHT TO PRIVACY AND SAFEGUARDS AGAINST UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY (Sections 41.1-41.2)
ACCOMMODATION PROVISION (Section 49.1)
ACCOMMODATION TENANT RESTRICTIONS (Sections 50.1-50.3)
CHANGES IN ACCOMMODATION NOT AUTHORIZED IN CONTRACT WRITING (Sections 51.1-51.2)
MEDICAL INSURANCE AND HEALTH * OCCUPATIONAL INJURY OR DISEASE * COMPENSATION FOR SUSPENSION OF WORK (Sections 52.1-52.6)
DISCRIMINATION, THREATS, INTIMIDATION, COERCION, PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT (Section 53.1)
SEMI ANNUAL OR ANNUAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS (Sections 54.1-54.9)
RELEASE FROM CONTRACT AND CONTRACT RELEASE LETTER (10 conditions) (Sections 55.1-55.3)
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT (Sections 56.1-56.9)
PROVISIONS FOR CONTRACT RELEASE LETTER (Sections 57.1-57.3)
HOUSING EVICTION (Sections 58.1-58.2)
NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT (Sections 59.1-59.6)
ARBITRATION (Section 60.1)
EMPLOYEE BLACKLISTING (Section 61.1)
EMPLOYER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (Sections 61.1-61.2)
63. LEGAL ACTION, JURISDICTION FOR LITIGATION AND
APPLICATION OF LAW (EMPLOYER, PRINCIPAL OWNER, RECRUITER, EMPLOYEE, AND WITNESS SIGNATURE PAGE) EMPLOYER’S SECTION (WORK SITE ADDRESS AND BUSINESS LICENSE INFORMATION), PRINCIPAL OWNER –legal owner- SECTION (PERMANENT RESIDENCE ADDRESS INFORMATION), EMPLOYEE’S SECTION, WITNESS SECTION, GRIEVANCES-(RESOURCES AND CONTACTS) (Sections 63.1-63.12)

Item: Signature Page
Item: Employer’s Section
Item: Principal Owner’s (legal owner) Section
Item: Employee’s Section
Item: Witness’s Section
Item: Grievances- Agencies Names and Addresses

End of EFL ESL Labor Contract

Book III Item Page Topic Continued...

11 121 Quotes by Language Institute and University Recruiters

12 128 Quotes by Employers, Directors, and Managers

13 137 The Decision to Sign the Employment Contract

14 139 Recommendations for Filing Complaints

15 140 Filing Complaints Against Recruiters and Employers

16 141 Filing a Complaint With The Watch

17 141 Selected Articles of the Labor Standards Act and
Penal Provisions

18 151 Advisory for EFL and ESL Teachers

19 153 Labor and Contract Grievances- Suggested Resources
(U.S. Embassy, Seoul)

20 156 Embassies’ Addresses


The Employment Contract

Applicants for hakwon teaching positions often do not have sufficient knowledge about hakwon labor contracts. This also applies to a number of teachers considering employment in language institutes (or academies), colleges and universities in countries other than South Korea. American, British, and Canadian college and university graduates do not know enough about Korean contract culture, or historical problems involving hakwon contracts and employers, to make informed decisions involving their contracts. A number of hakwon recruiters fax applicants their employment contracts, and say “Read the contract and if you agree to it sign and fax it back right away.” Most job applicants have little choice but to sign and return the contract without having made the changes required to safeguard their welfare while in Korea and after they have severed their employment and returned home. A sizeable body of knowledge is required to sign the contract in an atmosphere of informed consent. Many hakwon recruiters and employers are not willing to share this knowledge with teachers because of the possible implications of doing so. A number of teachers would refuse to sign their labor contracts and hakwon recruiters would not be paid commissions, typically amounting to US$500 for each teacher successfully recruited to Korea. Many teachers in the Watch survey did not believe, initially, that their recruiters and employers would deliberately deceive them.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul reports “Due to the growing number of problems experienced by American citizens teaching English in Korea, we counsel against taking employment as an English teacher in the Republic of Korea except at reputable colleges or universities. We receive several complaints daily from Americans who came to Korea under contract with promises of generous salaries, bonuses and other amenities, only to find themselves in tenuous situations, often lacking funds to return to the U.S.”

A large number of university graduates who travel to South Korea for employment are not aware of historical or existing problems involving hakwon working conditions and company-supplied housing. Therefore, they do not know the questions to ask or the protections that should be included in hakwon contract writing safeguarding them against those problems. Further, teachers are not familiar with hakwon employment contracts. A number of courses about teaching English as a second language which prepare candidates for overseas employment do not discuss the employment contracts offered by foreign employers and their recruiters.

These teachers are not aware of the protections hakwon employers have had their lawyers omit from contracts. A number of recruiters who are informed choose not to divulge information to potential recruits. At the expense of teachers’ welfare the recruiters send teachers to Korea and collect their US$500 commissions from hakwon employers. A number of items of extreme importance are omitted from many hakwon employment contracts in order to afford maximum protection for recruiters, employers and to secure signed employment contracts.

Despite the perks and bonuses many hakwon contracts appear to offer and curiosity about ancient culture and exotic food, job candidates for teaching positions in South Korea should not let themselves be misled. In South Korea, thousands of foreign English teachers over a period of years have encountered grave difficulties with their hakwon employers, directors and managers. Most of the teachers remain working under far less than satisfactory conditions because they are bound by legal contract.

Other teachers are unexpectedly forced out of South Korea by their employers. The hakwon employer, director or manager terminates the teacher’s employment, in a number of cases, without notice just days or weeks before the contract was due to be completed. Often this is done allowing the employer to avoid payment of end of contract perks and bonuses, including payment of airfare for repatriation and one month bonus payment. A number of these employers contact Korean Immigration authorities and have their former employees assigned to South Korean Immigration’s blacklist. This is done without due process. Korean Immigration red flags the teacher’s name and passport number on its national computer system, effectively barring the teacher from acquiring a new work visa for a new employer and further employment in Korea. Assignment to the blacklist gives the teacher fourteen days to leave South Korea and bars the teacher from re-entering the country for one or more years. Assignment to the blacklist also causes immediate termination of all classifications of visa in the teacher’s passport. Having the teacher’s visa status cancelled, denying them further employment, and causing them to leave Korea, effectively prevents the teacher from alerting other teachers about their former employer’s business practices.

In a number of cases teachers reported being given twenty-four hours by employers to vacate company-supplied housing. A number of teachers who were suddenly dismissed from employment without notice and did not have the financial means to return home were forced by financial circumstance to teach “underground”, risking stiff fines and incarceration by Korean Immigration Police. Their one-year contracts were simply ignored by their employers. Teachers working under these circumstances said they would continue to do so until they could pay their airfare home as well as large overstay fines, often resulting from employers’ false promises to provide sponsorship for work visas.

A number of hakwon contracts are written allowing the hakwon owner and his or her attorney to prosecute the English teacher overseas if he or she breaks the contract for any reason, including early departure without giving two months’ advance notice in writing. Contracts containing this legal provision should be avoided, unless an equal provision is included in the contract requiring that the employer give the teacher two months’ advance notice in writing prior to termination of employment.

None of the contracts reviewed by the Watch contained information about the Contract Release Letter. A Contract Release Letter (written consent from the employer) can only be issued by the hakwon employer. This letter can be difficult to obtain after the employer-employee relationship has soured.

A teacher dismissed from employment who has not been issued a Contract Release Letter can be prohibited from obtaining further employment in South Korea. A teacher who wants to change employers, for any reason, must first obtain a Contract Release Letter from the employer. The U.S. Embassy in Seoul reports:

“Changing one’s employer while in Korea is quite difficult and requires the written consent of the original sponsor. Even with such consent, many teachers have found it nearly impossible to effect such a change while in Korea, and some have even been arrested and deported for overstaying their original visas while still involved in trying to change employers within the country.” (Teaching English in Korea; Opportunities and Pitfalls, page 4).

Contracts must contain language about the Contract Release Letter protecting the teacher’s ability to remain in Korea, should the first employment placement result in failure, and if the teacher desires to remain in Korea and work for another employer.

Contracts have been written containing a clause allowing employers to prosecute teachers who have quit their jobs and returned home overseas without first having given a thirty-or sixty-day written notice. A number of teachers who signed contracts with such clauses, and who abandoned their jobs without written notice, chose not to report employers for contract violations, failure to pay salaries, and other infractions in the hope they would not be prosecuted in their home countries by their former employers. Native-speaking English teachers broke their contracts and left Korea because they could no longer tolerate repeated problems including contract violations, false promises, employers’ failure to pay monthly salaries, threats and physical violence.


4. Teachers’ Complaints
about Their Employment Contracts


A number of teachers who experienced problems with visas, working and housing conditions said recruiters failed to advise them that their employment contracts should have contained information including:

1. Contract language specifying that the English language contract must be accompanied by a duplicate contract (dated and signed by the employer) written in the Korean language. A former hakwon recruiter said recruiters often do not issue teachers with duplicate employment contracts written in the Korean language because this policy ensures immediate immunity of themselves (when located in Korea) and employers involving violations of the teacher’s contract. The U.S. Embassy’s unofficial guide “Teaching English in Korea; Opportunities and Pitfalls” states “…remember that only the Korean-language version of the contract is legally binding in Korea.”

Note A.: Employment contracts (Korean and English language originals) should be notarized and copies left with readily accessible persons in the teacher’s native country.

Note B.: Teachers should be aware that recruiters often do not send job applicants employment contracts written in the Korean language.

Note C.: A number of teachers reported that while they were at work their sleeping quarters had been entered and their hakwon labor contracts and passports stolen. Official documents required to apply for replacement passports, including birth certificates, were also removed. A number of teachers’ sleeping quarters showed signs of forced entry while others did not. Passports and other documents which had been inserted into box springs and mattresses, sewn into window curtains and blankets for bedding, placed between the linings of upholstery and padding in chairs and other furnishings for safe keeping, had been discovered and removed. Threading on canvas and leather luggage secured by combination lock and small padlock, had been cut and dislodged to gain access to personal documents. A bank safety deposit box is strongly recommended for storage of the employment contract, passport and all documents required for passport replacement. A U.S. passport is worth a substantial amount of money on the local and global black market. Teachers are advised to register their passports at their respective embassies on arrival in Korea. Registration makes replacement of the passport much easier in the event of loss or theft. Teachers may want to consider adjusting their travel itinerary to go to their embassy in Seoul to register their passport before arriving at their final destination. This may require one overnight stay in Seoul. Embassies do not generally conduct citizens’ services business on Saturdays, Sundays, domestic and foreign (Korean) holidays. Teachers making plans to register their passports on entry in Korea should consider adjusting their schedules to accommodate date and time zone changes if they cross the international dateline.

2. Contract language specifying the date when employers will provide a notarized sponsorship form to teachers before their departure overseas to South Korea. The sponsorship form is required for processing the E-2 work visa.

3. Contract language stating that the employer will not ask the teacher, personally or by way of the hakwon director or manager, verbally or in writing, under any circumstance, to conduct teaching, at any time, for any length of time, until the teacher has been issued a valid E-2 work visa.

4. Contract language specifying that the employer’s “Rules of Employment” and the “Summary of Korean Labor Standards Act” is included in or attached to all employment contracts at the time the contracts are issued to job candidates.

5. Contract language that all verbal promises and assurances made by recruiters to teachers be legally binding with such promises in contract writing accompanied by the recruiter’s signature and acknowledgement that he/she is a legal party to the contract and becomes liable for employer’s non-performance of the recruiter’s verbal promises and assurances. A recruiter who cannot guarantee that the employer will honor his or her promises should not make any promises at all. Unfulfilled promises regarding the work visa, factors involving employment and housing, and payment of airfare to Korea and for repatriation can result in serious consequences for the teacher. Promises such as these were reported as being used repeatedly by recruiters to gain signed contracts resulting in paid commissions. Many times the promises went unfulfilled.

6. Contract language requiring that the recruiting agency’s owners’ or independently operating recruiter’s business license number, federal tax ID number, residence/home (permanent address), current business land mail address and telephone number be written into the employment contract. A copy of the business license and valid driver’s license must also be required to be attached to the contract. This information is helpful to teachers’ lawyers in tracing recruiting agency owners or recruiters, should they abandon business names, addresses, and telephone numbers.

7. Contract language containing accurate and-up-to date exchange rates, won to the US dollar, Canadian dollar and other currencies indicating the amount of money the employer agrees to pay the teacher.

8. Contract language specifying the amount of one-way or round-trip airfare the employer agrees to pay the teacher, the date the employer agrees to pay such airfare and penal provisions for failure to perform.

9. Contract language allowing the teacher a minimum twenty-four hour rest and adjustment period before the processing of paperwork, orientation, training and/or instructing classes.

10. Contract language containing a release clause. Such a clause would release the teacher, immediately, from an employer who failed to honor contract-specified working, salary and housing conditions. This clause should be accompanied by another, guaranteeing that the employer make immediate payment to a teacher for return airfare for repatriation if contract conditions have not been met.

11. Contract language specifying the date when the employer will provide the teacher with his/her Alien Registration Card and Certificate of Employment.

12. Contract language specifying the date when the employer agrees to obtain government-mandated medical insurance for the teacher and the date upon which the teacher will be physically presented with the medical insurance card.

13. Contract language specifying the limit of time, in which, by law, the employer has to present the teacher with his or her medical insurance card.

14. Contract language advising teachers that “A teacher arriving in Korea with a teaching visa must register with Korean Immigration and obtain a residence certificate and re-entry permit within 90 days of entry.” From Teaching English in Korea; Opportunities and Pitfalls, U.S. Embassy, Seoul, Korea.

15. (The following applies to teachers whose employers have had them enter Korea without E-2 work visas). Contract language specifying who will pay round-trip costs for one or more Non-Immigrant visa run to Japan. The cost becomes the responsibility of either the employer or the teacher. The expenses for a typical visa run to Japan includes:

Cost of transportation from the teacher’s lodging in Korea to the international
airport.

B. Cost of Korean Airport Tax.

C. Cost of flight fare to Japan.

D. Cost of transportation from the airport to the teacher’s hotel or guesthouse
lodging in Japan.

E. Cost of the teacher’s lodging while in Japan (two or three days).

F. Cost of hotel or guesthouse security deposit.

G. Cost of meals for two to three days in Japan.

H. Cost of transportation for two round-trips to the Korean Embassy in Japan.

I. Cost for processing the work visa at the Korean Embassy.

J. Cost of transportation from the teacher’s hotel or guesthouse to the airport.

K. Cost of return flight fare from Japan to Korea.

L. Cost of transportation from the airport in Korea back to the teacher’s lodging.

M. Costs for other expenses associated with or required for the visa run.

In 1996-97 the round-trip expenses for a non-immigrant visa run to Japan ranged between US$800 to US$1000 or more. What is the current cost? Who will pay this expense?

Note: The above costs can be avoided when the employer (sponsor) provides the teacher with a notarized sponsorship form (shin won pojunso) and other required documents enabling him or her to acquire their E-2 (one-year) work visa prior to departure to Korea from their native countries.

Contract language should specify the time allowed for the teacher to complete his or her round-trip visa run(s) to Japan and whether or not the teacher will be allowed a minimum eight-hour rest period after the visa run and before resuming teaching. Many teachers reported feeling exhausted after completing rushed employer-imposed 48-hour round-trip visa runs between Korea and Japan. A large number of teachers said they were directed to teach evening classes on the same day, immediately after arriving back in Korea from Japan.

16. The removal of contract language guaranteeing Severance Pay on contracts which state the employee will be employed working less than forty hours per week for a period of one year. This usually means that the employer has no intention of paying Severance Pay.

Note: This is the end of the sample pages from Book I, II, and III.

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