Look over this contract? Complete newbie.

Hey! I've been offered a job at a Hagwon, and had a positive experience with the interview etc however am worrying over the contract and a few other things. I'm completely new to this, it would be my first time teaching in Korea so would really love your help.

The Hagwon is a newly opening school, but it has two other campuses. I don't know whether this is a red flag, and I should avoid it because of this? I feel like from what I've seen it's a pretty standard contract for someone with 0 experience like me, but I also may just be looking at it through rose-tinted glasses... Thank you in advance for looking it through!

This is the contract they sent me:

Contract Duration: From    ________from 1st Marh 2020_to 28th Feb 2021_______________ ______
This EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT has been made this 1st March 2020 between the above mentioned ‘Employer’, (the Employer), _________, and the above mentioned ‘Teacher’, (the Teacher)  _________ , under the terms and conditions set forth below. 
The parties agree on the following terms and conditions of the employee’s employment with the school.
   
CLAUSE 1 (APPOINTMENT)
a. The employer agrees to employ the teacher during the period stipulated in clause 2. 
b. The teacher agrees to accept employment and will work in his/her full capacity for the school. 
CLAUSE 2 (DURATION OF EMPLOYMENT)
a. The total agreement term of employment is for one year, commencing from the first teaching day, and expiring on the last teaching day of the teacher's one year, according to ‘[School] Program’ calendar.   
CLAUSE 3 (ORIENTATION PERIOD)
a. Upon arrival in Korea, the teacher will be guaranteed three to five days of orientation, training, and general time to settle down, before beginning his/her regular teaching work. (The teacher is required to come 1 week earlier than the actual work start.)
b. During the orientation period the teacher is required to attend the ‘Teacher’s training’ at the head office. Alternatively, the teacher may attend senior teachers’ classes to learn about the school system. 
CLAUSE 4 (THE EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITIES)
a. The employer is required to provide the necessary support to the teacher in his/her full capacity, and need to, work together with the teacher to provide quality English instruction under the terms stated in this contract. 
b. The employer will honor the terms and conditions of employment, as stated within this contract. 
c. The employer will guarantee the teacher the salary of 2.1million per month in consideration of the teacher’s teaching hours and proper preparation for the classes. 
d. If the Employee fails to work the regularly scheduled hours due to tardiness, absence, etc.; the monthly payment will be calculated and paid using a daily rate and/or an hourly rate.
The method of calculating daily rate: Monthly salary divided by 30.
The method of calculating hourly rate: Daily rate divided by 6.
e. The Employer may ask the Employee to work over time (the Employee is expected to cooperate to supply better service to his or her students), and if the Employee chooses to do overtime, the
Employer will pay for the overtime at the rate of W 20,000 per hour.
CLAUSE 5 (THE TEACHER’S RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES)
a. While this contract remains in force, the teacher must cooperate and comply with the instructions and disciplines of the employer. The teacher must assist the ‘Supervisor’ and/or ‘Director’ and carry out any assignments as directed by the employer. The ‘Supervisor” and/or ‘Director’ responsible for establishing and communicating the ‘Standards of Performance’ as related to the duties stated in this contract. 
b. The teacher MUST be adequately prepared for the classes in advance, with a detailed lesson plans for every class, every day.
c. At all times while this contract remains in force, the teacher must maintain a clean and neat appearance. While suits and ties are not mandatory, a professional appearance is desirable. (No tshirts, shorts, holes in clothing, visible piercing(s), etc.)
d. The teacher’s duties will include the following: 
① Teaching English to students (ages between 3 to 15) 
② Developing educational programs and materials and enhancing the curriculum that is already provided in the '[School] Program’.
③ Designing and implementing the Curriculum                                             
④ Attending indoor/outdoor classroom activities for and with students                             
⑤ Assessing the level test, the grading, the result evaluation, and assessment of students                     
⑥ Providing tailored care for each student 
⑦ Regular telephone conversation with parents/students 
⑧ Attending teacher’s meetings, training, and workshops     
⑨ There may be other related ‘[School] Program’ related activities and requirements that the
teacher need to attend.
       
CLAUSE 6 (WORKING HOURS)
a. During the term of this Agreement, the teacher shall work in cooperation with the Supervisor or Director from Monday through Friday. 
b. The Employee will be required to have open classes and attend the activities on a Saturday, which shall be held less 10 times a year.
d. The teacher agrees to teach 120 teaching hours per month, while adequately preparing for each class. (Each session is approximately one month in duration) 
e. The working hours will be as below:
Mon~Fri  09:00-18:00 
CLAUSE 7 (SALARY)
a. 1 teaching hour is equal to 60 minutes . 
(Eg. Two 30miniutes of lessons are equivalent 1hour teaching hours.) 
b. The employer agrees to pay the teacher salary of 2.1 million Korean Won per month and for the preparation of classes. 
c. The payment of the teachers’ salary is to be made on 28th of each month, after the required work is completed. 
Attendance at scheduled staff meetings and workshops, along with the preparation of the classes are mandatory and shall not be considered as overtime. 
CLAUSE 8 (TAX)
The company shall deduct from the salary such as Income tax, inhabitants’ taxes, and National Pension Plan as they are required by Korean Income Tax Law. 
CLAUSE 9 (MEDICAL INSURANCE)
a. The teacher must join either Korean Medical Insurance Union or a different private health insurance company/organization.
b. The employer shall pay the half of the insurance premium while the other half will be paid the teacher. 
     
CLAUSE 10 (SEVERANCE PAYMENT)
The Employer will pay severance to the Employee upon completion of contract.  The amount of the severance pay will be the same of a month salary (2.1 million Korean won), and if necessary, applicable government deductions will be subtracted.
CLAUSE 11 (PAID VACATION)
a. The Employee may use 10-working days as paid vacation per year. The vacation schedule is determined by the Employer as follows: (1) 5 days during the summer vacation. (2) 5 days during the winter vacation. 
b. Days in which the Employee does not regularly work i.e., Saturdays, Sundays and National Holidays are not to be considered as part of the vacation period.
CLAUSE 12 (AIRFARE)
A one-way Economy Airfare will be provided upfront to the employee upon the arrival to Korea.
However, the ticket will be provided either the arrival to Korea or the departure of Korea.
CLAUSE 13 (HOUSING)
a. The Employer will provide the Employee a single apartment in a safe environment with certain furniture items (bed, washing machine, gas range, refrigerator, TV, a table suitable for taking meals, fan or air conditioner, some utensils and cookware) and the apartment will be provided at no cost to the Employee with the exception of utilities and phone bills.
b. The employee should have the duty preserving the housing and the furniture items provided by the employer until the termination of this contract. If they are destroyed, the employee should restore them to the original state or pay the cost needed in purchasing the same level of the substitutes of them.
CLAUSE 14 (RENEWAL)
a. The Employee must give the Employer a written 45-day notice before renewal or non-renewal of the Employee’s current contract.
b. Both the Employer and the Employee reserve the option to renew the contract.
   
CLAUSE 15 (DISMISSAL OR VOUNTARY RESIGNATION)
a. The employer reserves the right to dismiss the teacher from employment for the following causes: 
① Neglect or inability to perform his/her duties stipulated in this agreement
② Frequent absences and/or late coming from and to work 
③ Received two warning letters
④ Criminal behavior or misconduct that is against Korean Law. 
⑤ Failure to fulfill one’s duties or damaging the employer’s business operation by looking for
employment elsewhere. 
b. The employer agrees to give the teacher the courtesy of 2 weeks’ notice in the event of dismissal. However, in the case of the teacher’s criminal behavior, misconduct, or with any discretion thereof, he/she will be dismissed from employment with immediate effect, without warning or notice. Overall, the employer reserves to right to dismiss an employee at any time. 
c. In the event the teacher resigns from employment, he/she can do so giving 30 working days
notice to the employer. 
CLAUSE 16 (VENUE FOR DISPUTES BETWEEN EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE)
The appropriate laws of the Republic of Korea will govern this contract.  However, while both parties
enter into this agreement with total honesty and integrity, disputes may sometimes occur.  In such cases, both parties will be bound by all terms and conditions of this contract and will try to resolve the difference in a civil manner that is fair to both parties.  In the event that no solution can be
found for a problem and either party decides to terminate this contract, they must do so in accordance with CLAUSE 14 above.  Upon such termination, both parties will agree to remain civil and to speak honestly and fairly about their experiences and not in a disrespectful manner.
CLAUSE 17 (FULL KNOWLEDGE)
a. Changes to Contract 
 
The Employer and the Employee agree that they have read the entirety of this Employment Contract and no other verbal agreement, statement or promise made on or before the effective date of this contract will be binding on the parties.  Any changes made must be in writing and signed by both parties to be included in this contract. Any changes made to this contract, whether verbal or other, without the knowledge and written consent of both parties are to be considered invalid, and as such are not parts of this contract.
b. Transferal of Contract
Under no circumstances can the Employer exchange, give, sell, or transfer this contract or the services of the Employee to another party or Institute without the written consent of the Employee.
CLAUSE 18 (GOVERNING LAW & JURISDICTION)
a. This Agreement is governed under the laws of the Republic of Korea and breach of this contract, in any form, may result in prosecution through the legal system in the Republic of Korea. 
b. This is the final contract unless any material modification or amendment to this Agreement is executed with the full knowledge and consent of both parties.

It's 2.1 for 30 hours of teaching a week, which is on the high end. That alone you should be asking for 2.5 at the MINIMUM for those hours. Also there seem to be quite a lot of Saturdays they expect you to work. For example, " The Employee will be required to have open classes and attend the activities on a Saturday, which shall be held less 10 times a year"

So it's at the bottom of the pay scale, the hours are at the high end, you have to work a bunch of Saturdays, oh and the vacation is also pathetic. 5 days in summer and 5 days in winter means you can't really travel anywhere worthwhile. This job is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Hard pass.

I did not get a chance to thoroughly read through this, but the pay is a bit low from the looks of it. It says you will have a minimum 120 teaching hours....that's only the teaching. They will of course make you have 1-2 hours extra per day as prep time, which could be as much as 160 total hours per month....making the salary really low.

Additionally, the duties beyond teaching look like they will take up a lot of time, and they still expect great lessons prepared by you.

It does not appear, based on this contract, that they will help you sign up for medical insurance, they will just contribute half the fees.

The termination of the contract clauses mostly appear to be normal, but Failure to fulfill one’s duties or damaging the employer’s business operation by looking for
employment elsewhere.....at some point you are going to want to leave...so make sure they don't find out if you do look.

a. The total agreement term of employment is for one year, commencing from the first teaching day, and expiring on the last teaching day of the teacher's one year, according to ‘[School] Program’ calendar.   
CLAUSE 3 (ORIENTATION PERIOD)
a. Upon arrival in Korea, the teacher will be guaranteed three to five days of orientation, training, and general time to settle down, before beginning his/her regular teaching work. (The teacher is required to come 1 week earlier than the actual work start.)

Always a little wary of these kinds of things.  If the official start date is your first day of teaching, but during the orientation they realise they don't like you, then they could just get rid of you.  You're covered by the law during the contract period, but not before.  The one saving grace would be that, lower down the mention providing a ticket to Korea, so they'd waste their money if they flew you here and then scrapped you in the five dya orientation.

The method of calculating daily rate: Monthly salary divided by 30.

Basically, this hagwon is open every day, so technically every day is a working day.  It's a really skin flint way of calculating your salary.  As a comparison, public school teachers work on a six-day week, which is around 24 a month. 

e. The Employer may ask the Employee to work over time (the Employee is expected to cooperate to supply better service to his or her students), and if the Employee chooses to do overtime, the Employer will pay for the overtime at the rate of W 20,000 per hour.

We may ask you, but you have to do it, but if you choose. 

d. The teacher’s duties will include the following:
① Teaching English to students (ages between 3 to 15)
② Developing educational programs and materials and enhancing the curriculum that is already provided in the '[School] Program’.
③ Designing and implementing the Curriculum                                             
④ Attending indoor/outdoor classroom activities for and with students                             
⑤ Assessing the level test, the grading, the result evaluation, and assessment of students                     
⑥ Providing tailored care for each student
⑦ Regular telephone conversation with parents/students
⑧ Attending teacher’s meetings, training, and workshops     
⑨ There may be other related ‘[School] Program’ related activities and requirements that the
teacher need to attend.

A lot of work.

b. The Employee will be required to have open classes and attend the activities on a Saturday, which shall be held less 10 times a year

Paid or unpaid?

d. The teacher agrees to teach 120 teaching hours per month, while adequately preparing for each class. (Each session is approximately one month in duration)
e. The working hours will be as below:
Mon~Fri  09:00-18:00
CLAUSE 7 (SALARY)
a. 1 teaching hour is equal to 60 minutes .

120 actual teaching hours, is tons.  You will die after the second month. 

c. The payment of the teachers’ salary is to be made on 28th of each month, after the required work is completed.

Never seen a hagwon whereby you're paid on the same month, before the month is up.  If it's the month after, that is terrible.

fan or air conditioner

No 'or' here.  Air-conditioner is a must.

The employer agrees to give the teacher the courtesy of 2 weeks’ notice in the event of dismissal.

Illegal, has to be a month. 

There are good bits, like pension, health and air-ticket.  But the rest of it really looks like it's a crapshoot.  The problem with going with a newly opened hagwon is the uncertainty of it all.  You can't check with former teachers.  If there is a surge and then a drop in enrolment that may not look good for you.  Well established hagwons with a good student retention are obviously well run, but for this one it's an unknown.  It may work out, or it may be shit.  I'd always say that as you're flying halfway around the world to work, you really need to be tick the boxes to lessen the likelihood of any problems.  I'd turn this down based on the work schedule, if you want to come to Korea, you should enjoy it and have to time to enjoy it.  120 actual teaching hours is tons. 

Thanks guys, this has really helped. I'm going to take this into consideration, to be honest sometimes I just feel so lost in this entire Hagwon process... 

There are better options out there if you're okay with 2,1.
Kill chickens for 2,2 million for instance! 

Illegal, has to be a month. 

Is that enforceable only if the employee has been working there, for a certain amount of time..or has that changed?

Illegal, has to be a month. 

Is that enforceable only if the employee has been working there, for a certain amount of time..or has that changed?

No, it hasn't.  Article 35 of Labour Law:

Article 35 (Exception of Advance Notice of Dismissal)   
The provisions of Article 26 shall not apply to a worker falling under any one of the following subparagraphs:
1.   A daily employed worker who has been employed for less than three consecutive months;
2.   A worker who has been employed for a fixed period of not exceeding two months;
3.   A worker who has been employed for less than six months as a monthly paid worker;
4.   A worker who has been employed for any seasonal work for a fixed period of not exceeding six months;
5.   A worker in a probationary period.

As it references Article 26, here it is...

Article 26 (Advance Notice of Dismissal)
When an employer intends to dismiss a worker (including dismissal for managerial reason), he or she shall give the worker a notice of dismissal at least 30 days in advance of such dismissal, and, if the employer fails to give such advance notice, he or she shall pay that worker ordinary wages for not less than 30 days: Provided, That this shall not apply where a natural disaster, calamity or other unavoidable circumstances prevent the continuance of the business or where the worker has caused a considerable hindrance to the business or inflicted any damage to the property on purpose and it falls under any cause determined by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. <Amended by Act No. 10339, Jun. 4, 2010>

The reason it's illegal in this contract, it that they are stating that it's for the duration of the contract, which would be the whole year.

b. The employer agrees to give the teacher the courtesy of 2 weeks’ notice in the event of dismissal. However, in the case of the teacher’s criminal behavior, misconduct, or with any discretion thereof, he/she will be dismissed from employment with immediate effect, without warning or notice. Overall, the employer reserves to right to dismiss an employee at any time.

Concerning vacation days. While it says the employer will set 5 in summer and in winter, it doesn't mention if they will be consecutive days... They don't have any obligation to give you a full week off.

What, exactly, defines regular phone calls to parents and students?

It's sad the pay there actually seems to be going down.

It's a wonder anyone comes/goes to Korea....it is also amazing that there are actually NET's that will defend the status quo...like good little lapdogs.