The beginning of the end -- quitting my job

You go into a job with the best of intentions -- well, at least I do. Hell, I only applied and accepted the job because I thought it would be a positive experience for everyone involved.

So I take the job, put effort into it and try to do good. No, not every day in a 110 percent day -- that's just not possible without narcotics stronger than they're serving up in Korea. But I show up on time. I put more planning into my classes than is required. I care about the kids and genuinely want them to get a good education. I bring treats, give hugs and give extra help to those who need it.

I feel like things are going well, and then BAM, the school tries to screw me -- again.

The first scam

Things had gone pretty well with my last teaching gig at ECC. It's a huge franchise and has procedures pretty well ironed out. When I got in, there was someone to help me set up my bank account and apply for my alien registration card. When I got sick, a staffer would take me to a doctor or set up an appointment at my request, though I always felt like a helpless baby for asking.

It was only at the end, as happens with many hogwans/English academies, that ECC tried to get sneaky. Because I wasn't leaving the country, Bossman Nick said he wasn't going to pay for my plane ticket home, as was stipulated in my contract as part of the bonus for completing a year there. There was kicking and screaming and hair pulling, and then there were water works -- a shyster move, I know, but it worked.

In a country where terms like "affirmative action," "employee rights," and "sexual harassment" haven't even begun to enter into the collective consciousness, I swallowed my pride and let the tears flow. It was a means to an end.

However, that was jelly beans compared to what I'm being subjected to now. OK, here's the raw emotional outburst, and I'll backpedal later.

Venting

I'm so angry that I'm shaking. So angry that I'm seeing stars, and I think I'll either pass out or burst into tears because I simply cannot deal with my school getting away, or even trying to get away with this. I feel like two out of two schools have tried to dick me over -- that's 100 percent of the Korean companies I've worked for in the last 14 months. I feel like my bosses, and thus all Korean bosses, cannot be trusted. I feel like there are layers upon layers of bosses so no one has to be responsible or accountable for their actions. I feel like Korean employees have no voice or backbone and take their bosses' bullshit, and the foreigners, in turn, are supposed to take it as well.

Well, I'm sorry. I have a low bullshit tolerance.

No, what i-Sponge is demanding is not murder, but it's a violation of my contract as I read it and as it was explained to me by Kay, the man who hired me -- not that it matters, since Kay in no longer working for the company. The English in these contracts isn't great. We, as foreigners, take a leap of faith that the contracts mean what our bosses say they mean. A word of advice for anyone considering working abroad: edit the hell out of your contract until it says exactly what you want it to say.

The contract

Enter the term "teaching requirement."

"That's all the time you'll spend at school," Kay said. "You do your planning, photocopying, grading and teaching during that time."

Those hours were 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. I was in the classroom for about half that time every day.

Now, my school is opening a kindergarten. They'd like me to teach it. They'd like to add two hours to each work day, so an 8-hour work day, instead of a 6-hour work day. They'd like me to come in a 9 a.m., instead of 2 p.m., thus forcing me to give up my under-the-table morning job. They'd like me to teach seven classes each day instead of four.

They'd like me to do all this for NO EXTRA MONEY.

That's right. Take a moment to let your Westernized brains spin in your skulls. How can this be, you wonder? How is it legal, especially when the other American teachers at your school are getting the same salary for a six-hour work day? Inconceivable, you say? At it's core, simply unfair and bad business practice, you declare?

The bureaucracy

In a company with 17 employees, I have SIX bosses. Today is August 10. Ms. Park was brought in nine days ago. With 15 years of hogwan experience, I'm told she's here to launch the kindergarten in September. I am convinced, however, she was hired solely for the purpose of wearing me down.

For the last nine days (I'm even getting calls on my days off), we have had the same conversation once or twice a day:

"You should work 9 to 5," she says.

"Gladly, for appropriate compensation," I reply, listing how her demands are in violation of my contract and trying to suggest other alternatives that would allow everyone in the company to win.

"No," she says.

Repeat.

These conversations take 20 to 30 minutes each time, and rarely deviate from the script above. Sometimes, another one of the bosses sits in, but NEVER the big boss/owner Mr. Kim. And God knows it would make far too much sense to get all the bosses in the room together to avoid the constant back and forth messaging.

At one point, I brought up the word, "compromise." Ms. Park beamed.

"Yes, compromise, that's what we want," she said.

Apparently, the definition of compromise is lost on her. She, apparently, thinks it means that the employee should bend over and take it while the employer reaps the benefits.

What to do?

I am torn. I am bitter. I am enraged.

I am shaken and disturbed by their unwillingness to do anything even remotely resembling logic, rationale or sound decision making, not to mention legal.

In addition to this being a largely embarrassing situation, they also have me by the proverbial balls. Yes, I've got the cash to cut and run, but I'm not at my savings goal yet. They also hold the lease on my apartment, and if I'm not working for them, I have no place to live. Lastly, I could get another job, but that would mean signing another year-long contract, and after these batterings, I just don't think I can make that commitment to Korea.

So, I stay and take it? More work for same pay, while my colleagues work less. I just don't know if my pride can handle it. I'm telling myself to do it, just for a couple months. "Nicole," I say, "tighten your belt and save as much money as possible for the next couple months, and then one pay day, let your boss know that she'll be one teacher lighter come tomorrow."

I've had friends who pulled "runners." No phone call. No email. Just an empty apartment and a no-show teacher, who, by the time anyone realizes, is on his way to Thailand or back to the United States. Now, I would normally never bail on an agreement, but if my boss doesn't have enough honor to hold up his end of the deal, why should I care? Am I really expected to be the better person here? Is this really a "turn the other cheek" moment?

The outcome

It turned out my pride really couldn't handle it. So despite not having saved as much as I would have liked, I quit my job, giving them five weeks notice. It worked for both of us -- they'd have time to find another teacher, and I'd have time to get my affairs in order. Time to bring my life in Busan to a close.