Run, Run, Run Away! Part I.

Okay, so here's the story.

My old job was horrible, terrible, frustrating, stressful, and downright awful. I pretty much hated my existence. Everyday I was given loads and loads more work than I ever agreed to by contract, my work conditions were not even a little good, and I was often screamed at in Korean by my boss who hates and resents foreigners in general. The feeling was that he had to pay me way to much for the white face, and intended to get his money's worth. When I didn't single-handedly make up for his serious lack of business knowledge and managerial skills, I endured the wrath.

I started planning my escape literally within weeks of arriving. But unfortunately, the money kept being paid late, paid in part, and nickled-and-dimed so much that I couldn't afford to leave for a while. I was advised by the labor board that if I filed an official complaint, the investigation would take several weeks, during which time my situation at work would get worse. It got worse anyway, and by the end of February, I gave my notice. I gave a 6 week notice, instead of the usual 4 weeks, explaining that I wanted them to have as much time as possible to replace me, and that I didn't want to screw them. It's not that I wanted to close them down; if they could be upfront about the conditions with someone, and that person accepted those terrible conditions, that was on them. But it wasn't going to be me.

My recruiter lied to me about many things, which I won't go into detail about at this point. I've since learned that recruiters are paid based on filling positions, as the person staying for one month. After that month, they don't care what happens to you. If you're miserable, who cares. Not their problem. So they will do and say anything they have to to get you to sign that contract and board the plane. Mine shouldn't have been trusted, but unfortunately, it's impossible to know what you're actually getting into until you arrive. That's a serious downside.

That being said, after I gave my notice, my bosses were furious, and things got even worse. They laid on the guilt, saying it took so long to get me, and that they couldn't possibly find someone else in only 6 weeks. They asked me to reconsider. I wouldn't.

Between my arrival in early October, and early March, we lost 5 people (all Korean), and 2 others (besides myself) were planning to leave. I saw how ridiculously the negotiations to stay "just a little longer" turned into many more months, guilt, and anger. I had no intention of going through any more of that.

My friends linked me up with people who knew the ins and outs of the academies (hagwons), so when this situation came up, I had lots of support and advice about how best to handle things. I couldn't have done all this without them. In January, I interviewed, and was offered a position with a reputable school where many of my friends worked. After I gave my notice, the new job people (MoonKkang or MK for short) called my boss. I knew this conversation would not go well, and I had told the MK people what to expect. They didn't believe that it would go as badly as I feared. It did.

The conversation basically went like this (in Korean):
MK: We have offered Lauren a position with our school. We are calling to see if you would be willing to sign over her work visa, which would be very easy for us both.
Old Boss: You can't have her! She's mine! She will NEVER be allowed to leave my school. Ever. Maybe even after her contract ends, if I still want her. F-U!! (click)

Charming, isn't he?

I spoke with the girl who had been helping me the next day. She told me what had happened, and said that she had NEVER advised anyone in all the time she'd been in Korea to run, but that there was no other option. My old boss, I guess, had also mentioned that he would not pay me another won, ever. So, my hope that I would get my final paycheck was out the window. I had to make a plan to run with the money I had. So I did.