| Ratings | |
| Benefits & Pay | |
| Working Conditions | |
| Integrity | |
| Location | |
Location: 4FL, 716-10, I-dong, Sangnok-gu, Ansan-si
Phone: 031-438-0505
Website: http://ansan.slp.ac.kr/
Sogang Language Program (SLP) – Ansan: I-dong, Gyeonggi-do
Share Hagwon Review
| Ratings | |
| Benefits & Pay | |
| Working Conditions | |
| Integrity | |
| Location | |
Location: 4FL, 716-10, I-dong, Sangnok-gu, Ansan-si
Phone: 031-438-0505
Website: http://ansan.slp.ac.kr/
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Working at SLP in Ansan has been a great experience. There are around 20 foreign teachers and 20 korean teachers that speak near fluent English, so you immediatly will be able to make friends that can show you the ropes with the school and the local area. Our Boss is great, we are always paid on time, and will always go out of his way to make sure you have what you need. If you are ever sick they will help you find the right doctor, and in most cases will even help you with your medical bills if your health insurance doesnt. They are very reasonable, and as long as you communicate your thoughts with them they are very willing to work with you.
Keep in mind you are getting paid to do a job, and just like any employer they expect you to do your best. It’s not an overly difficult job. The hours are set, we are never asked to work extra time, but there are opportunities for overtime. There are big tests at the end of most months that will require you to stay late a couple hours, for a few nights, but thats teaching for you. Those nights we just have grading sessions, listen to our ipods, and just rock out the grading as fast as possible; its not bad.
In the korean culture they are very happy to help you, but sometimes you will have to be persistent, Its almost like its not a big issue until you have to ask 3 times, then it becomes more important. This is cultural differnce throughout all of korea, not just SLP. Basically what im saying is, when negotiating, Koreans tend to beat around the bush, but its something that you will get used to.
Transportation is great in the area, the subway is a stone throw away from the school and a 10 min walk from where you live. You can be in Seoul in about 45 min or an hour. The trains come every 10 min and are state of the art. Seoul is extremly modern and has everything you could possibly want. It cators to all tastes. It has Bars, nightclubs, museums, arts, food. You name it they got it!
To sum everything up, If you are a first time teacher I highly reccommend Ansan SLP. They abide by the contract to the letter, they are kind, generous, near to worldclass transportation, and have a large group of foreigners to help you with whatever you may need. And for the record these are my thoughts, and no one has told me to say anything I did not want to. I’m happy with the choice that i made, and If you choose SLP I know you will be too.
DISCLAIMER: Reliable Teacher Hagwon Review does not verify the statements made in these reviews. These reviews are user-generated content and may or may not be accurate. We do our best to weed out ones that are inappropriate or blatantly exaggerated, but we cannot claim responsibility for any misleading information posted by our reviewers. If there is a review that you believe should be removed, please contact us.
In terms of salary and benefits SLP was very reliable. They paid us on time, and if it was late it was only by a day. Our flights to and from were paid for and we were consistantly paid for overtime that we’d worked. They were very generous also in terms of sick leave when I had to stay in the hospital for a couple weeks. They even paid for some of my hospital bill.
The location was good. It was outside of Seoul a bit which made trips into the city a big ordeal because it took an hour to get in and back out. The area was nice though with lots of good parks and we were near a couple big deparment/grocery stores which made it really easy to get the things we needed.
The working conditions were less than ideal. When we were hired we were given a choice between being an afternoon teacher or a kindergarten teacher and told the hours (evening vs. morning) and the age of the students were different but the job were essentially the same. This was not the case. As kindergarten teachers we were given much more work, larger rowdier classes, and had to work more hours than afternoon teachers (though still the hours agreed to in the contract) without being compensated for overtime. Afternoon teachers worked significantly fewer hours (though still got paid “overtime” for working still fewer hours than our normal days) and had classes of sometimes only a handful of kids. This may not be true anymore as the schedule changed immediately after we left. But it was a signifcant frustration while we were there.
As kindergarten teachers we had to write and produce a play with our kindergarten classes including cheographed dance numbers. It was fun, but also stressful and something I wish I would have known was ahead of me when I signed on.
The administration was generally good. We had to fight a bit to get appropriate housing with privacy and fair bills, but over time they were responsive to us. The housing we did end up with was wonderful. It was more than I could have hoped for. And even the first place was beautiful and comfortable, there were just issues with communally controlled heating and shared bills. They often planned social events and had a “Best Teacher” award every 3-6 months, which was nice.
Like everything a mix of good and bad. But overall a nice experience.
DISCLAIMER: Reliable Teacher Hagwon Review does not verify the statements made in these reviews. These reviews are user-generated content and may or may not be accurate. We do our best to weed out ones that are inappropriate or blatantly exaggerated, but we cannot claim responsibility for any misleading information posted by our reviewers. If there is a review that you believe should be removed, please contact us.