Jungchul Junior Academy – Jeju: Jeju City, Jeju-do

Recruited by Jimmy from JejuEsl, I worked at Jungchul Academy for about three months. I left for reasons unrelated to the school in particular and would recommend it to someone who wants a low-key job teaching low-level ESL to moderately sized classes in a small school.

BOSS:
Stella, the boss, seems cold but actually tries her best to accommodate the teachers. Like most hakwon manager-bosses, she is disorganized, absent-minded, and prioritizes her paying customers’ happiness. That said, she is a fair boss and will side with the teacher if parents complain. She is also flexible about vacation days, as long as you tell her in advance. When I first arrived in Jeju, I negotiated a week break after the first week of classes so that I could spend time with a friend who had come to visit. It was unpaid, of course, but still a gesture of good faith.

SCHOOL:
The school has four classrooms that can seat up to 15 students. When I was there, only two classes ever filled up to 15. Most of my classes were about 4-8 students. Age groups ranged from kindergarten to middle school, with roughly 70% of the students in the 11-12 yr old group. The curriculum is virtually nonexistent…some classes use the Let’s Go ESL series while others follow short reading books. The only challenge is to come up with as many vocabulary building games as possible, with the occasional troublemaker discipline scenario.

Co-Teachers
Being a small school, there is only need for two foreign teachers at a time. There are two generous Korean teachers who are conversant in English.

LOCATION:
The school is very conveniently located at the top of the hill near City Hall–basically the center of town. It’s a 5 minute bus ride to downtown, or a 15 minute walk. Area is nice, full of good restaurants that are mostly cheap, healthy eats

APARTMENT
When I was first taken to my apartment, I was discouraged by how far it seemed from school and the center of town. After becoming familiar with the area, I realized it was only a 15 minute walk from school. My apartment was a room in a dorm building situated on the border of Jeju City and the suburb next to it. Think dirt roads leading to a tangerine grove, out of which sprouts a hideous, green-tiled building. The area around it is ideal for people who prefer to live in a quiet, safe neighborhood surrounded by lush nature. On the negative side, there was no AC but the manager claimed they were installing units this summer.

Benefits & Pay:
W2,000,000/month
hours:
2pm – 9pm
up to 7 hours (at first I had 2 hours of teaching, still paid full salary)

Outsourced:
To make ends meet, the school outsourced me to another hakwon across town. Transportation was provided and the classes were even easier, so this was more of a bonus than a negative.

+Roundtrip airfare
+Housing (not including bills)
+Completion Bonus (one month salary)
+7 days paid vacation
no training