RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD

Thanks after school company who shall remain nameless.  Thanks for telling me the current employee will not continue working there so the job is essentially mine.  And thanks to that little coward for changing his mind about the job and as a result screwing me out of it.

They calculated my vacation down to the minute.
They calculated 2 days worth medical checks in my vacation time.
There is nothing I can do to change what they messed up.

4 days 4 hours and 20 minutes

So I have to go in on a monday.

I told them I'll be leaving the country on the saturday before.

Asked if they could spare me a vacation day.

They refused and said if I wanted to leave early they will deduct 70,000 won off my paycheck.

UGH.

They calculated my vacation down to the minute.
They calculated 2 days worth medical checks in my vacation time.
There is nothing I can do to change what they messed up.

4 days 4 hours and 20 minutes

So I have to go in on a monday.

I told them I'll be leaving the country on the saturday before.

Asked if they could spare me a vacation day.

They refused and said if I wanted to leave early they will deduct 70,000 won off my paycheck.

UGH.

I'm surprised the calculated it down to the minute, it's normally down to 30m blocks which is what the NEIS system comes down to. Sadly having part of your pay deducted is normal if you want extra holiday time. Especially with money being so tight these days they are quite quick to enforce it.

My coteacher is trying to plan a skit for the school festival today. I'm more of a quiet person so I don't really like performing in Korea, but I realise I have to make compromises sometimes. She told me a week ago about it which was great but she has changed the skit everyday since then including today. Apparently I'm supposed be in a skit with her in a couple of hours and I still have no idea what I'm supposed to do!!! My other coteacher decided it would be a good idea to randomly add ten students to my camp starting next Monday as well as an afternoon free speaking class for two hours. How the F*#@ am I supposed to free talk for two hours for 5 days in a row with Korean kids who can barely say full sentences?? I HATE THIS EVERYTHING-LAST-MINUTE CULTURE IN KOREA. I would say it's reason number 1 why I can't wait to GTFO of here!

Also: Korea's nationalism and shock when I tell them I don't like living here or don't like kimchi -even after 2.5 years of living here. Like it's impossible for them to believe Korea is not the eutopia of the world.

I'm American and American's can be obnoxiously proud of their country but I think Korea could easily give America a run for it's money when it comes to excessive nationalism.

I think I'm done. I really needed to get that off my chest.

What exactly is the EPIK coordinators job description?

It seems like they just shrug and say "every school is different" whilst everything in the POE goes to shit.   

What exactly is the EPIK coordinators job description?

It seems like they just shrug and say "every school is different" whilst everything in the POE goes to shit.   

"Damage control resulting from inept governmental decisionmaking" sounds like a fair description, I'd say.

If you're in the same POE as I am (and I believe you are), our coordinator's had a lot of sh!t dumped on her plate over the last year and a half. I know she seems important because she's pretty much the highest ranking person we have contact with at the POE, but it's pretty safe to say she's actually pretty low down on the totem pole over there.

Chances are if there's something you need help with and she can't help you, it's literally that: She can't help you. Us NETs probably expect way more of her than she's actually capable of delivering, and though our frustrations are obviously justified these days, I think she gets more flack for it than she deserves.

What exactly is the EPIK coordinators job description?

It seems like they just shrug and say "every school is different" whilst everything in the POE goes to shit.   

"Damage control resulting from inept governmental decisionmaking" sounds like a fair description, I'd say.

If you're in the same POE as I am (and I believe you are), our coordinator's had a lot of sh!t dumped on her plate over the last year and a half. I know she seems important because she's pretty much the highest ranking person we have contact with at the POE, but it's pretty safe to say she's actually pretty low down on the totem pole over there.

Chances are if there's something you need help with and she can't help you, it's literally that: She can't help you. Us NETs probably expect way more of her than she's actually capable of delivering, and though our frustrations are obviously justified these days, I think she gets more flack for it than she deserves.

 I agree with the first line.

I don't think most of us expect her to change anything, we know she can't.
However we are just asking for some information (on a mass level rather than individually). Information she can access and we can't.  It's been nothing but radio silence since all this went down.

Us NETs probably expect way more of her than she's actually capable of delivering, and though our frustrations are obviously justified these days, I think she gets more flack for it than she deserves.

Yes I can agree with this. It just seems like lately when we do voice our frustrations we get a shrug or a sarcastic response....I don't know, some understanding or even an apology (not personally, but just a general sorry this is happening) would be nice.

I'm not saying she is a bad person here, but isn't it her job to send out info to us? Information we are having to get via Facebook and the grapevine instead.

I think we've definitely been lucky with her but right now it feels like she is just leaving us all to flail and panic about what is happening....so it feels good to rant about it.

Hearing my name over and over in conversations in the office.  After they've finished talking, no one has the courtesy to tell me what they were talking about.

When I ask; "oh it's nothing".

Does this annoy anyone else? 

It's so rude in my opinion.  If it's a short chat then fair enough but when I hear my name over and over again in a five minute conversation and then get no explanation, it really winds me up.

This drives me nuts! My coteachers have finally figured out how much it bugs me, so they've stopped. They haven't stopped talking about me when I'm in the room of course, they've just stopped using my name.  Now they just call me "wonomin saem" and I just pretend I don't understand what they're talking about

The worst is when my students ask my coteacher a question about me during class and my coteacher answers for me even though I am standing right there and they don't actually know the answer.

What exactly is the EPIK coordinators job description?

It seems like they just shrug and say "every school is different" whilst everything in the POE goes to shit.   

"Damage control resulting from inept governmental decisionmaking" sounds like a fair description, I'd say.

If you're in the same POE as I am (and I believe you are), our coordinator's had a lot of sh!t dumped on her plate over the last year and a half. I know she seems important because she's pretty much the highest ranking person we have contact with at the POE, but it's pretty safe to say she's actually pretty low down on the totem pole over there.

Chances are if there's something you need help with and she can't help you, it's literally that: She can't help you. Us NETs probably expect way more of her than she's actually capable of delivering, and though our frustrations are obviously justified these days, I think she gets more flack for it than she deserves.

 I agree with the first line.

I don't think most of us expect her to change anything, we know she can't.
However we are just asking for some information (on a mass level rather than individually). Information she can access and we can't.  It's been nothing but radio silence since all this went down.

Us NETs probably expect way more of her than she's actually capable of delivering, and though our frustrations are obviously justified these days, I think she gets more flack for it than she deserves.

Yes I can agree with this. It just seems like lately when we do voice our frustrations we get a shrug or a sarcastic response....I don't know, some understanding or even an apology (not personally, but just a general sorry this is happening) would be nice.

I'm not saying she is a bad person here, but isn't it her job to send out info to us? Information we are having to get via Facebook and the grapevine instead.

I think we've definitely been lucky with her but right now it feels like she is just leaving us all to flail and panic about what is happening....so it feels good to rant about it.

Believe me, I understand. The blow from the events detailed in my little rant earlier in this thread about having to leave all my current schools and start at a new batch after summer vacation might've been softened a little if I had had any indication whatsoever that it was something that might be happening, but a casual mention from a coteacher at the start of class was the absolute first I heard about it. Even now that I've heard about it from Coteachers, my handler, and the teacher I'll be replacing at my new schools, I still haven't gotten any word about it whatsoever from the POE. Not an email, not a phone call, nothing. Communication definitely leaves much to be desired.

I wasn't really try to call you out or say you're being to hard on her or to stop complaining or whatever, hope I didn't come off that way. This entire past year and a half has been a real sh!t-show in our province, and some teachers that actually stood a chance at being able to renew this coming cycle chose not to, because they were so sick of how things have been going. I just kinda feel bad for our rep, because she's in the middle dealing with shit rolling down from the higher-ups and dealing with our questions and complaints. I don't envy her position in the slightest.

What exactly is the EPIK coordinators job description?

It seems like they just shrug and say "every school is different" whilst everything in the POE goes to shit.   

"Damage control resulting from inept governmental decisionmaking" sounds like a fair description, I'd say.

If you're in the same POE as I am (and I believe you are), our coordinator's had a lot of sh!t dumped on her plate over the last year and a half. I know she seems important because she's pretty much the highest ranking person we have contact with at the POE, but it's pretty safe to say she's actually pretty low down on the totem pole over there.

Chances are if there's something you need help with and she can't help you, it's literally that: She can't help you. Us NETs probably expect way more of her than she's actually capable of delivering, and though our frustrations are obviously justified these days, I think she gets more flack for it than she deserves.

 I agree with the first line.

I don't think most of us expect her to change anything, we know she can't.
However we are just asking for some information (on a mass level rather than individually). Information she can access and we can't.  It's been nothing but radio silence since all this went down.

Us NETs probably expect way more of her than she's actually capable of delivering, and though our frustrations are obviously justified these days, I think she gets more flack for it than she deserves.

Yes I can agree with this. It just seems like lately when we do voice our frustrations we get a shrug or a sarcastic response....I don't know, some understanding or even an apology (not personally, but just a general sorry this is happening) would be nice.

I'm not saying she is a bad person here, but isn't it her job to send out info to us? Information we are having to get via Facebook and the grapevine instead.

I think we've definitely been lucky with her but right now it feels like she is just leaving us all to flail and panic about what is happening....so it feels good to rant about it.

Believe me, I understand. The blow from the events detailed in my little rant earlier in this thread about having to leave all my current schools and start at a new batch after summer vacation might've been softened a little if I had had any indication whatsoever that it was something that might be happening, but a casual mention from a coteacher at the start of class was the absolute first I heard about it. Even now that I've heard about it from Coteachers, my handler, and the teacher I'll be replacing at my new schools, I still haven't gotten any word about it whatsoever from the POE. Not an email, not a phone call, nothing. Communication definitely leaves much to be desired.

I wasn't really try to call you out or say you're being to hard on her or to stop complaining or whatever, hope I didn't come off that way. This entire past year and a half has been a real sh!t-show in our province, and some teachers that actually stood a chance at being able to renew this coming cycle chose not to, because they were so sick of how things have been going. I just kinda feel bad for our rep, because she's in the middle dealing with shit rolling down from the higher-ups and dealing with our questions and complaints. I don't envy her position in the slightest.

That's a horrible situation. All of us are going through a hard time right now but definitely some more than others. I just wish I had some idea of how the decisions are being made because i feel like a monkey could make more logical decisions. Even my co teachers think it's absolutely ridiculous.

No don't worry about it, I was probably being defensive too because it was a little harsh of me. I've heard she is leaving? So maybe that's why she's checked out a little.

Yeah I feel bad for her too, and I don't envy her at all either. I certainly couldn't do it.

you need to distinguish between the EPIK coordinators and the head coordinators of your MOE/POE. it seems like the person you're talking about above is the coordinator for you MOE/POE. they don't work for EPIK. they work for your MOE/POE. EPIK doesn't pay their salary, and has nothing to do with their position.

EPIK is basically a big government recruiting firm that handles the recruitment, training, and to a certain extent, the placement of NETs. EPIK does have coordinators working for them, but what they do is a bit different to what the coordinators at the MOE/POEs do. EPIK doesn't select the MOE/POE coordinators, the MOE/POEs select those themselves.

once you've gone through orientation EPIK really has very little to do with you.

you need to distinguish between the EPIK coordinators and the head coordinators of your MOE/POE. it seems like the person you're talking about above is the coordinator for you MOE/POE. they don't work for EPIK. they work for your MOE/POE. EPIK doesn't pay their salary, and has nothing to do with their position.

EPIK is basically a big government recruiting firm that handles the recruitment, training, and to a certain extent, the placement of NETs. EPIK does have coordinators working for them, but what they do is a bit different to what the coordinators at the MOE/POEs do. EPIK doesn't select the MOE/POE coordinators, the MOE/POEs select those themselves.

once you've gone through orientation EPIK really has very little to do with you.

Ok. So if you read the post again then mentally change EPIK coordinator to POE coordinator.

I knew what she meant and exactly who she was talking about.

The creepy groundskeeper of my school comes into the main teachers office sometimes for coffee but he stands over my shoulder. Almost always. I hope he can read English as he's standing behind me as I type.   He could easily walk over to the teacher he's talking to. But instead he chooses to stand directly behind me and snort and slurp his coffee and he smells like dirt. When he's not speaking to the teacher he's watching me. Its really uncomfortable. 

The creepy groundskeeper of my school comes into the main teachers office sometimes for coffee but he stands over my shoulder. Almost always. I hope he can read English as he's standing behind me as I type.   He could easily walk over to the teacher he's talking to. But instead he chooses to stand directly behind me and snort and slurp his coffee and he smells like dirt. When he's not speaking to the teacher he's watching me. Its really uncomfortable. 

$50 says he's checking out your breasts.

The creepy groundskeeper of my school comes into the main teachers office sometimes for coffee but he stands over my shoulder. Almost always. I hope he can read English as he's standing behind me as I type.   He could easily walk over to the teacher he's talking to. But instead he chooses to stand directly behind me and snort and slurp his coffee and he smells like dirt. When he's not speaking to the teacher he's watching me. Its really uncomfortable. 

$50 says he's checking out your breasts.

Well from where he stands, he can't see much, but very probable. Gross. 

The creepy groundskeeper of my school comes into the main teachers office sometimes for coffee but he stands over my shoulder. Almost always. I hope he can read English as he's standing behind me as I type.   He could easily walk over to the teacher he's talking to. But instead he chooses to stand directly behind me and snort and slurp his coffee and he smells like dirt. When he's not speaking to the teacher he's watching me. Its really uncomfortable. 

My groundskeeper is really creepy too. Every morning when I walk in he starts talking about me to the other teachers in the lounge. EVERY MORNING. Actually ANY time I walk into the teachers lounge, for that matter. Every time I'm visible, he's saying something about me. I can't understand much korean but I understand my name and I understand "pretty"

Mine only really comes in once a week or so. But sometimes he does work at my other school which is next door, and when I walked by him one day the creepiness continued.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPZmPaHme0

People that have annoyed me on the bus to work this morning.

1. Trio of ajoshis who felt the need to have a smoke at the bus stop . They weren't waiting for a bus or anything. They moved on to their building site once they were done. I guess it's just not a good ajoshi break if you haven't made someone's day a little worse. Pricks.

2. The dozen or so soldiers from the local base who have been allowed off camp. Firstly, why are most of them carrying paper shopping bags from fashion stores or the such? I know the ROK army isn't exactly the French Foreign Legion but let's try not to look like the average soldier's  hobby is buying cosmetics and lacy things.

Secondly, does no one teach the soldiers to read? There is a bus to Seoul and a bus to elsewhere that comes to my village in the morning. This is very clearly displayed. Why do these eejits not read the destination on the front of the bus? If that's too complicated wouldn't it be a better strategy to let people get on the ask the bus driver where the bus is headed?

The proud defenders of Daehan Minguk think it's better for all of them to barge ahead of other people, all cram up in the little stairwell and only then ask the bus driver where he is going. Cue an equally shambolic disembarkation. Bear in mind these are soldiers from an armoured battalion.  You would think logistics and transport would be something they know. If there ever is a shooting war with the cousins then this country is f**ked. Imbeciles.

3. The grannies at the next stop who needed to interrogate the bus driver for 5 minutes before deciding to take the bus. How in the name of of the Holy Breast Milk of the Virgin Mary does someone need that much information to board the bus? What could they possibly need to know that required such a lengthy back and forth with an increasingly irate driver? Finally why is it that old people seem to love wasting time? In their case they are using up a precious commodity. Coffin Dodging old bats.


Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Feel better now. Let's all have a nice Friday!

2. The dozen or so soldiers from the local base who have been allowed off camp. Firstly, why are most of them carrying paper shopping bags from fashion stores or the such? I know the ROK army isn't exactly the French Foreign Legion but let's try not to look like the average soldier's  hobby is buying cosmetics and lacy things.

Probably gifts for their girlfriends or care packages from their girlfriends that they threw in reused cosmetic bags.

Dear Korea,
Why are commercials
so effing loud?!?!?

Are you insane?...

I think I've found my soul mate.

Here's the Cherry Vanilla makgeolli that I mentioned. A few of you seemed excited so here it is! Really dry and boozy but the cherry adds a certain tartness to it. Really nice. Bottle conditioning in the fridge should tone it down a bit.