I Taught English in Korea & was hospitalized 🏥

Hello everyone, this video is a long one so grab a cup of tea and a snack. I am just reviewing my experiences at different schools in Korea. It was really hard teaching at all these schools in Korea and this year finally reached my limit and decided to QUIT teaching English in South Korea. The stress of teaching landed me in the HOSPITAL. I wholeheartedly believe that teaching here can be detrimental to your mental and physical health. At least, it was to mine.

That may sound dramatic but working at this school actually caused me so much stress and anxiety I ended up in hospital.

And this wasn't even the worst school.

It's hard to compare schools because they were ALL awful in different ways. Due to the deformation laws in Korea I am not going to mention and schools, academies or people by name. Please don't ask as I am legally unable to answer.

The first school, a government run English Village, was a train wreck. It was poorly managed, constantly understaffed, severe micro management and passive aggression. The workplace was TOXIC (that is unfortunately true of every school) and my apartment was disgusting, like, cockroach infested level gross. My manager was always putting pressure on me and when I went on work events he'd always try to kiss me. Come on, are you kidding me? I'd often work into the night at this school without any OT pay. There were regularly meetings where we'd all be scolded in Korean (YELLED AT), nobody would translate and none of us (foreigners) would have any idea what was going on.

My second job at a very famous hagwon franchise was no better but at least I didn't have to work on Saturdays. I did not feel like a human at this job. I felt like a cog in the machine (of capitalism...yeah. you know where I'm going with this one). I worked 9am to 9pm for 2 months and they were the hardest 2 months I spent there. I was always covering other people's classes and never got paid. This ate into my very little break time. At most, on a rare and magical day, I'd get 20minutes for lunch. If I signed it at 9.01 or 9.02 I'd be told off. I was very rarely this late but other teachers were reprimanded for tardiness. Once I had a hole in my tights, which I didn't know about, and the head teacher noticed. Instead of telling me directly when she noticed, she told various other teachers and eventually someone took me into the bathroom and let me know. I felt like I had committed a crime. I had to run to to Daiso (on my break) to buy new tights. It was a BIG deal. I didn't come to work with ripped tights but at some point I ripped them and apparently it was highly inappropriate and unprofessional. I was then informed I wasn't allowed to wear skirts to work anymore.

The hagwon in Gangnam (the so called Beverly Hills of Korea) was THE worst of all hagwon horror stories. The director banned the foreign teachers from talking to each other and had CCTV in all the classrooms to keep an eye on us. If she noticed any of us socializing in someone else's classroom she'd immediately come in and break it up. We had to eat lunch with our students and as I taught 3/4year olds (not by choice) so I had to physically feed them. So, of course, no lunch break. As soon as my kindy kids went home, I had to teacher Elementary School students in after school programs. It was the most physically exhausting job I had in Korea. I took 2 days off sick and they took out $300 from my pay check. I took time off in August because I had really bad leg pain (I later had surgery) and they took the money out in December. When I asked my boss what the deduction was, she explained that they had forgotten to take it out of my August paycheck and that the school operates a NO SICK DAY policy. It was true, there were no allocated sick days in my contract.

The last school I worked out was the best one. But, it was still bad enough to leave me seeking professional therapy and spending 7 hours in the ER due to stress related pain. Not having access to an HR department can leave you feeling lost and helpless. When I handed in my notice the school informed me I'd have to pay a $400 replacement fee for another teacher. $400? Luckily, the Ministry of Education informed me that this was ILLEGAL. And let's not relive the time I had to get an STI check with my boss.

Why did I stay in Korea so long if I hated it so much? Honestly, for the students. I was SUCH a passionate teacher and I really felt like this was my calling in life. The children responded really well to me and I knew I was a good teacher. I loved teaching, I just hated all the red tape and the toxicity of each workplace.

I am not saying DON'T work in Korea, just come through the EPIK program. If you come through a private academy/Hagwon, please, watch my videos about RED FLAGS and CHECK YOUR CONTRACT and KNOW YOUR WORTH!

MUSIC:
Music by 8thDimensions - Reflection - https://thmatc.co/?l=D7134D15

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