Ilsan Puns

I was wondering if I could get some light on what it is like to live in Ilsan. I've noticed most of the reddit posts about living in Ilsan are dated all the way back to 2016. For those who live / lived there, teach there or have visited, Is Ilsan a nice place to live? What is there to do? Is it somewhere teachers can have a social life and meet other Expats / Koreans? Also, what is transportation like to areas in Seoul and other areas in Korea? To add to this, will having a late shift teaching job affect any social life after work? I have never been to this area of Korea so sorry for all the questions. I don't know much about Ilsan compared to Seoul. Any Information would help!

Hello! I posted a similar thing a year ago but I have some spots open so posting once more!

I am a musician/keyboard player that goes by CHANNY D! I am a Korean American and have been living in Korea for about 5 years now!

If you are interested in learning any of the following I might be a good fit for you:

-how to play play/learn by ear -how to play different genres such as jazz, classical, pop, funk etc -how to arrange music -how to learn/apply music theory from basic to advanced theory -how to read sheet music/lead sheets -how to use basic functions of a DAW like Ableton or Logic

You can check out my Youtube channel to see what kind of stuff I do! youtube.com/channyd

If you are interested feel free to email me at channydmusic@gmail.com for more information!

I dont remember what the address was. It would be nice to see it again.

I am blacklisting the English Speaking Language Institute of Ilsan.

Let me be frank, this school's director, XXX XXXXXX , is incapable of harboring any emotion that does not benefit his desire for wealth, and had repeatedly shown no concern for the welfare of his teachers through degrading comments and thoughtful manipulation. He is comfortable belittling and blackmailing those that he does not like, and used the head teacher to do his dirty work for him.

The employees he knows he’s going to illegally fire take on inhuman and unethical amounts of work not listed in the contract until his desired firing date, where he then dangles your E2 visa like a carrot until you're coerced into signing away everything you earned.

Other issues:

The contract is outdated and the stipulations are vague.

The director wants young people with no experience to excuse underpaying them, but then gets UPSET that they are not experienced.

Example: I flew in. They wanted me to teach immediately. After a mere two days, I was circumspect. They were fully aware I had no teaching experience… so I wondered, “how will I be trained so quickly?”

As it turned out, I wasn’t trained. Not really. Not in the conventional sense. They don’t really explain anything. That’s the thing with Hagwons, you’re supposed to just get it. And that was made glaringly clear as the only foreign teacher in the school tried to make me understand the ins and outs of teaching within 48 hours before going on a trip for a month. Hastily I was given books. Hastily I was told my classes. Hastily, hastily, hastilyㅡyou are NOT trained.

He does NOT help you.

Furthermore, the director enjoys making teachers cry after unprofessionally screaming at them, in broad daylight, with students directly outside. He insults and PASSIVE AGGRESSIVELY harasses new teachers and blames them for the lack of training that he didn’t provide, knowing very well he is trying to force experienced work and attitudes from brand new teachers.

There is a startling lack of support from both foreign and native coworkers when the director targeted onto teachers to torment. Korean teachers are not held to the same horrific standard. IE: Was told by a coworker XXXXXXXX to just "give up" on a problematic student. This passionless korean teacher no longer cared to teach. Did not finish his lessons which were joint with mine. Let the students behave poorly. But he was never reprimanded

Director doesn’t follow labor laws around firing whatsoever.

Yo, I'm new to Reddit, so forgive me if this is wrong?

Although, I'm moving to ilsan on a H-1 visa. I'm in my mid twenties, but speak little to no Korean. I'm an electrician by trade, but have experience in hotels also.

What are the chances I can get a job in construction locally?

Also I've never been to university, but have completed a TEFL. Can I teach?

If not, what other options will I have?

Any info is much appreciated, thanks guys!

Hi all,

I just got my first job interview offer and it was from Poly in Hwajeong. The details are below but I am looking for help/honest opinions. I accepted the interview just for the experience. Google searches and reviews are 2+ years old and although horrible reviews I am not sure whether things have changed. Please help!

Job Details:

-name of the school: Poly
-location: Hwajeong(Ilsan)
-teaching target: kindy/elementary
-working hour:9:00am-6:00pm mainly (6:40pm on Tue/Thurs)
-salary: 2.5M
-starting date: 1st of Sep.

At the end of 2020, I am moving to Ilsan to become an English teacher! I have tried to find out what Ilsan would be like to live in, but there's not much information on the internet.

I am social person who enjoys activities - I'm a keen on road cycling and hope to continue when I move. Can anybody please let me know what it is like to live in Ilsan?

Hey, just moved to ilsan. Are there any martial art classes for begginers that anyone has heard of? Or even sport classes, what's popular here in Korea. I find sports a better way of staying fit than the gym.

I used to do some boxing and must Thai classes at home in England, but unsure what the deal is ATM, especially with the covid situation and all!

I was just offered a 2.1 million won (plus housing) contract in Ilsan, just outside Seoul. This is my second year in TEFL but will be my first in Korea. My previous contract was in western Java, Indonesia, a very low cost-of-living environment. I don't have to worry about rent but will I still be able to save some money in Ilsan while taking some time to enjoy myself?

Posted on Dave's ESL Cafe Jun. 02, 2020 07:37 pm

🚩 Note. POLY schools are burn-out jobs. These and other POLY schools are ALWAYS hiring. And the reasons are variable, but likely they can't keep staff around longer than a year, and possibly even less than that. Read on.

---------------------------------

🚩 ASAP Direct-Hire for Full-Time English Teacher at POLY Ilsan Campus (ASAP = someone got fired or quit and they need another person on the assembly line to take that spot, never take a job that says ASAP!)

NOTE: We are currently only accepting applicants located in Korea

About us:

POLY's returnee students are those who have studied overseas for at least a year in an English-based school and acquired an excellent command of the English language, often times speaking as fluently as native speakers. POLY non-returnee students have achieved a very high level of English ability while studying in Korea. Each year POLY graduates many students into some of the top-ranked foreign language middle schools and high schools in Korea, which is a goal for many of our students.

🚩 We offer a very well-organized, integrated curriculum that helps make lessons fun and effective. (I've heard this so many times, I can't seriously believe it. Either the curriculum has to be augmented by the staff on their own free time, or it's incredibly rigid and by the numbers making it not so fun at all.) We currently have a team of 🚩 30+ dedicated professionals, including 16 native English instructors and a Canadian director, who make this a fun, collaborative place to work. We are seeking enthusiastic candidates with sincere interest in early-childhood education. (Nnnnnno. They are not professionals at all. People with verifiable licenses are professionals: doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants, teachers. As with most Hagwons, not a single person has a license in anything.)

Requirements:

🚩 -Four-year Bachelor’s Degree in any field (in any field.) **(No offense, but serious schools hire those with degrees in early childhood education with licenses to prove it, not art and philosophy majors taking a gap year to find themselves. You also need to check the credentials of places like this to see if anyone in leadership has a Western diploma and license in this field. And they are on-site regularly to give instruction and feedback. Otherwise it's a comedy of errors of the blind leading the blind. Do your homework and ask appropriate questions b

Hi lads, IDK if this subreddit is the best place for this question but -

I'm looking for a meetup (whether occasional or not) where there's a tiny group of people from various nationality.

My major interests are architecture, travel, music, and art. Love ciders and beers as well...

It'd be the best if English is the dominant language for communication as I'm trying not to forget how to speak in English. (I recently got back from England and well, I will never forget how to speak. But as the time goes by my speaking ability wont be the same in the next several years..)

I've tried some apps and websites like couchsurfing but most of them are pub crawls and clubbing events for travelers...which im not interested as a local.

http://korean.visitkorea.or.kr/kor/bz15/where/festival/festival.jsp?cid=1631100

Does anyone have experience at the Ilsan branch of Korea Poly Schools? I know it's a chain but I've heard that chains can vary a lot from branch to branch so I'm hoping someone can tell me about the Ilsan one. I have a Skype interview with them tomorrow and I want to get a feel for the place. Thanks in advance!

I am blacklisting the English Speaking Language Institute of Ilsan.

Let me be frank, this school's director, Han Yunseob,  is incapable of harboring any emotion that does not benefit his desire for wealth, and had repeatedly shown no concern for the welfare of his teachers through degrading comments and thoughtful manipulation. He is comfortable belittling and blackmailing those that he does not like, and used the head teacher to do his dirty work for him.

The employees he knows he’s going to illegally fire take on inhuman and unethical amounts of work not listed in the contract until his desired firing date, where he then dangles your E2 visa like a carrot until you're coerced into signing away everything you earned.

Other issues:

The contract is outdated and the stipulations are vague.

The director wants young people with no experience to excuse underpaying them, but then gets UPSET that they are not experienced.

Example: I flew in. They wanted me to teach immediately. After a mere two days, I was circumspect. They were fully aware I had no teaching experience… so I wondered, “how will I be trained so quickly?”

As it turned out, I wasn’t trained. Not really. Not in the conventional sense. They don’t really explain anything. That’s the thing with Hagwons, you’re supposed to just get it. And that was made glaringly clear as the only foreign teacher in the school tried to make me understand the ins and outs of teaching within 48 hours before going on a trip for a month. Hastily I was given books. Hastily I was told my classes. Hastily, hastily, hastilyㅡyou are NOT trained.

He does NOT help you.

Furthermore, the director enjoys making teachers cry after unprofessionally screaming at them, in broad daylight, with students directly outside. He insults and PASSIVE AGGRESSIVELY harasses new teachers and blames them for the lack of training that he didn’t provide, knowing very well he is trying to force experienced work and attitudes from brand new teachers.

There is a startling lack of support from both foreign and native coworkers when the director targeted onto teachers to torment. Korean teachers are not held to the same horrific standard. IE: Was told by a coworker XXXXXXXX to just "give up" on a problematic student. This passionless korean teacher no longer cared to teach. Did not finish his lessons which were joint with mine. Let the students behave poorly. But he was never reprimanded

Director doesn’t follow labor laws around firing whatsoever.

I am blacklisting the English Speaking Language Institute of Ilsan.

Let me be frank, this school's director, Han YunSeob, is incapable of harboring any emotion that does not benefit his desire for wealth, and had repeatedly shown no concern for the welfare of his teachers through degrading comments and thoughtful manipulation. He is comfortable belittling and blackmailing those that he does not like, and used the head teacher to do his dirty work for him.

The employees he knows he’s going to illegally fire take on inhuman and unethical amounts of work not listed in the contract until his desired firing date, where he then dangles your E2 visa like a carrot until you're coerced into signing away everything you earned.

Other issues:

The contract is outdated and the stipulations are vague.

The director wants young people with no experience to excuse underpaying them, but then gets UPSET that they are not experienced.

Example: I flew in. They wanted me to teach immediately. After a mere two days, I was circumspect. They were fully aware I had no teaching experience… so I wondered, “how will I be trained so quickly?”

As it turned out, I wasn’t trained. Not really. Not in the conventional sense. They don’t really explain anything. That’s the thing with Hagwons, you’re supposed to just get it. And that was made glaringly clear as the only foreign teacher in the school tried to make me understand the ins and outs of teaching within 48 hours before going on a trip for a month. Hastily I was given books. Hastily I was told my classes. Hastily, hastily, hastilyㅡyou are NOT trained.

He does NOT help you.

Furthermore, the director enjoys making teachers cry after unprofessionally screaming at them, in broad daylight, with students directly outside. He insults and PASSIVE AGGRESSIVELY harasses new teachers and blames them for the lack of training that he didn’t provide, knowing very well he is trying to force experienced work and attitudes from brand new teachers.

There is a startling lack of support from both foreign and native coworkers when the director targeted onto teachers to torment. Korean teachers are not held to the same horrific standard. IE: Was told by a coworker XXXXXXXX to just "give up" on a problematic student. This passionless korean teacher no longer cared to teach. Did not finish his lessons which were joint with mine. Let the students behave poorly. But he was never reprimanded

Director doesn’t follow labor laws around firing whatsoever.