The Horrors I Saw at Korean Private Schools | Informer 

Yes..I say this as a Korean American who dipped her foot in the Korean music industry as a teenager. Stop idolizing (idealizing) Koreans. There’s a reason why suicidal rates are so high. The culture is very narcissistic and that means a lot of darkness and deception while looking very shiny on the outside.

My roommate in college was from Korea - she told me she begged her parents to go to private school in the us at the end of her eighth grade. She said she was so overworked, as were her classmates, she hit her breaking point. Class for her started at 7am and ended at 10pm, you go home only to sleep. The cruelty she experienced from her classmates were considered normal. I couldn’t imagine growing up in an environment like that.

there’s this girl from South Korea that came to mexico to teach korean, she was miserable in SK and she got so sick that she couldn’t eat or move. her father bought her a ticket to south america and when she got there she started feeling better. somehow she made it to mexico and she says she never wants to leave. she goes back to South Korea once in a while to visit her parents but she actually gets sick again when she has to face that kind of stress. it is so sad how we glorify that culture not fully knowing how much harm they do to South Korean people and foreigners working there

I know a guy that taught in Korea. He was a nice American guy, white guy, and while he never mentioned sexual harassment, the "always watching" thing is true. He was under strict orders to only speak English in order for the students to have complete immersion. So despite knowing the language, he wasn't even able to speak it in his day to day work. One day, he was letting the kids out to be picked up by their parents. And they spoke to him for a bit. When the child said goodbye in Korean, he responded in kind. And that one little slip up was reported to his supervisor and he was severely reprimanded for it. Like, to the point where he was afraid they would revoke his work visa and he'd have to go home *that day.* For something he did off duty basically. But he said he loved the job and the culture, and has good memories, though he's not teaching there anymore.

Glad this is getting more attention. Very recently midnight ran myself, after typical hagwon treatment to foreigners, as well as seeing a 13 year old commit suicide via jumping from their hagwon on the tenth floor. My partner also had parents trying to sue her over a 4 year old not scoring high enough on a test.

Im a private school teacher in sk, its not just our employer is our problem but also the students that is backed with rich politician parents, they regularly assault the teachers and no one is able to stop or even report it because everyone is scared of losing their job.

This video was really triggering for me. My hagwon director abused me in so many ways to the point where he'd come to my apartment unannounced and actually knew my password to get in. He fired me multiple of times until I finally did a midnight run. I went to the labor department and eventually had 2 court cases against him but AGAIN as a foreign woman, nothing came of my case due to lack of evidence yet i had pictures, 15 audio recordings and 10 statements from previous foreign female teachers who were abused by the same man. This needs to be exposed because its ruining our lives. Thanks vice for the video.

Yes, can confirm. I worked for a private school in SK. I also did a midnight run and suffered from PTSD (diagnosed) afterward. The thing about CCTV is true, I had parents watch me teach in groups in another room. I've had parents threaten to sue the school for very minuscule reasons. I've seen co-teachers have breakdowns, an ambulance had to come. I've had parents literally take pictures (while hiding) of me while I was outside with the kids. I've had children attack me, claw my face...definitely the worst experience of my life. I had previous experience in Korea for an internship and came back to teach, so I thought things would be fine.

I back up what the woman in this video describes. NIGHTMARE! I worked at a private ESL school in Seoul. It was in an area considered the Beverly Hills of South Korea so it was supposed to be upscale. It was a nightmare to work at. When I got hired, the school booked my flight from another part of Asia to Korea. It was an overnight flight so I tried to sleep on the plane but I really couldn't. When I arrived, they drove me directly to the school and said it is time to work. I told them I need to get to my apartment, get a shower and some sleep. They said my contract started that day so they took me to the school, put my luggage in a classroom and told me to sit in the back and observe classes all day. I fell asleep in my chair within minutes. They acted like they owned you and you feel helpless. In a foreign country, they control all aspects of your life, by design. The school provided a studio apartment and it didn't have heat or hot water (it was the middle of winter). The next day when I told them about the apartment, they sent one of women who worked for the school to inspect the furnace and hot water heater. She kept telling me there was nothing wrong with it (she was an ESL manager, not a HVAC person). They kept jerking me around about it and after I threatened to quit they finally sent an actual HVAC repairman. Sure enough there were big problems with the furnace and electrical and they fixed it. But I froze for that week, could barely sleep because I was shivering so much, and I couldn't take a shower. They didn't want us going off the property for lunch so they provided what they called lunch. I felt like I was in prison with the slop they passed off as food for the teachers. The staff got much better food. Then when summer came, they kept the remote controls for the A/C units so we couldn't use the air con. They taped up the A/C control panel on the wall unit so we couldn't turn it on that way. I had to use a razor to cut the tape so they couldn't see it because they checked the tape every night. It was crazy. The final event for me was when we had a scheduled two week vacation I asked if it was okay if someone covered the last class of mine before the break because the only flight I could get out of Korea meant I had to be at the airport that afternoon. The manager said yes, as long as my class is covered I can leave early. We often covered classes for each other, it was common. Anyway. I went on vacation and coming back my flight was delayed so I was late coming into work. The owner called me into her office an started yelling at me for leaving early before break. She said I didn't have permission to have someone cover my last class. I explained to her that I did. She said I was told that as long as "I" cover my last class I could leave early (that didn't make sense). I told her the class was covered, the students had their lessons that I gave the teacher who covered for me, and there were no problems. She escalated, continued yelling at me, and she jumped up, pointing her finger at me while she yelled. I told her this conversation is no longer productive and I will come back later when we can speak without her yelling. I stood up to leave and she jumped in front of the door and told me I can't leave. This is how crazy the people at this school were. After trying to calm her down and failing, I finally told her I am leaving so she better move or I will move her. I knew at this point I was quitting so it didn't matter what happened. I told her I would call the police if I needed to but she wasn't keeping me captive in her office. Then she finally moved. I was on a one year contract and this was month six. I went to my apartment, packed my things, and followed up on the job interview I had on my vacation. I got the job in this other country in Asia so I booked my flight. I was going to do a "runner" like the girl mentioned in this video. The next day I got a letter from the school terminating my contract. That afternoon I was on a flight out of there. I left out a lot of the drama but it was an overall horrible experience. Stupid things happened daily. They really didn't want us to teach English, it was more like entertaining than anything else. This was about 20 years ago and I lived in an all Korean neighborhood. I was dating a nice Korean woman but back then interracial dating still wasn't accepted, especially with the older generation. Often when I tried to buy food at the local shops no matter what I ordered, they said it was sold out. They would do this until I gave up and left. People stared at her and I when we were out. Sometimes they would say nasty things to her. I felt really bad for her. I'm sure it's not that bad now. The ironic thing is I made a couple Korean friends and they were awesome people! They helped me out when locals treated me badly and warned me of things to look out for.

Even the owners at the hakwons here in the United States are messed up, from the perspective of an ex-hakwon student. I grew up attending various hakwons in Koreatown Los Angeles. I witnessed multiple incidents of extreme verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and intimidation by owners and instructors. One particular incident that I can remember, I saw the owner/instructor at one of the hakwons I attended, lash out at one of the female students for not paying attention. He yanked her out of the classroom and into his private office, and screamed at the top of his lungs for over an hour, while he threw and slammed things, as she sobbed. He called her awful names... a man in his mid-40s and a young woman who was only 16 years of age. His wife sat outside and did nothing. When her parents came to pick her up, they sided with the owner and didn't protect the daughter. These types of incidents are not uncommon.

one of my closest friends was from korea and she had to beg her parents to come to school in the west as she hated it in south korea. she was constantly overworked, pressured, stressed, exhausted and even bullied by other classmates. eventually after convincing, she made it to california and she says she doesn't regret it at all. she often travels back home to visit her friends and family for weeks at a time, but even there she complains that she wants to come back to the states. its crazy how schooling in different parts of the world could be very different.

In Korea I dated 3 Korean girls and all of them told me how they had been physically abused by teachers their whole lives. We think we have problems in the West, these kids experience unimaginable trauma, many end their lives. It really made me depressed just listening to these stories. Nobody deserves this kind of life

If you want to teach in Korea, go through the government programs and teach at a government school, not a hagwon. The pay is much better, the amount of paid leave is much better and everything is far better regulated in general. Only down side is that the government will decide where you go which could end up being in the middle of nowhere in a tiny town. As long as you end up in a half decent sized city you'll have a great time.

I literally watched a few videos about folks teaching abroad in Korea and Japan, and they mentioned they weren't given bathroom breaks or an actual lunch hours. They are paid extremely low and it came off to me as another form of slavery. I remember thinking of teaching English abroad, I'm glad I never did.

I’m glad this is getting more attention. I had to flee Korea. I moved to Taiwan, where I have lived for the past 5 years working at a cram school. The experiences I dealt with in Korea caused anxiety and depression, which I am coping with until this day. It’s hard for me to say anything good about the country and carry much resentment until this day. I hope this eventually goes away with time.

I had a friend who went to South Korea as a part of an ESL program. She barely made it back. She told me of how horrible both teachers and students were treated. Suicide was normalized among the students and the daily workload was 12 to 14 hours or more. The only benefit she got was that she paid off her student loans when she got back.

I also worked at a hagwon. A lot of this was true for my situation as well. Although I did not personally have any problems with the director, I saw many other people did. The kids and Korean teachers are SO over worked. I tried to let my kids have more fun time than I should have and got told to stop. :( Now that I'm teaching in Canada, all the problems at the hagwon have become even more evident.

Some of the comments on here are disgusting. Workplace harassment should not be accepted ANYWHERE. It may be the perceived norm in some cultures but it doesn't have to stay that way.

I was lucky to work at a hagwon that was not as strictly controlled as these places.. but there definitely were some issues.. and the biggest part was the kids were so overwhelmed. They would come from a different hagwon and then go to a different hagwon afterwards and another after that until late at night. Their whole day consisted of waking up to go to school, going to various hagwons, then going home to finish homework and going to bed for school the next day. And these are elementary schoolers. When I was in elementary school, I just remember coming home from school and playing outside for hours then doing homework for like one hour. And I made it through college lol. They need some freedom..

I am 43 years old Korean woman I appreciate your video Thats what I experienced in this society last 23 years I truly understand why so many people give up their lives in South Korea It is hard to survive in here and so sad to endure whole bullshits

When Koreans come to Canada as international students, they are blown away that there’s not 4 hours of homework per night

this wasn't even the worst out of all the hagwon job stories I've heard about. I've lived and taught at Korea for 5 years. I know of people who have had cameras installed in their apartments and watched by their employers. or money not paid to you and being completely exploited. contracts here also tend to not be treated the same as contracts back in your native English speaking country, and are often used as just "guidelines" but your vacation or sick days can be taken away easily, and let's hope you have the time/energy/money/resources to try and fight it legally... but many don't if they have already fallen prey to shitty Korean academy employers.

As a former student this reminds me of my SAT and SSAT hagwons in Korea. I was completely overworked during the summer "breaks" from ages 13-17. Expected to memorize 25 vocab words each morning to be tested on, write a short essay everyday, and finish a plethora of math problems. I just remember trying to memorize the vocab in the 30 minute car rides to the hagwon before class and using weird cheats with the alphabets to do so. Weird sexual vibes in the classrooms too but it was coming from the students (eg. one girl bent across to close the windows and all the boys would try to look under and giggle lol, and while she left the classroom they would kinda talk about her in a disrespectful way). I think it was important for the teachers to have some kind of appeal (not sexual per se but just expected to have good looks appearance wise). Funny that I never applied to any American school and went to a Canadian uni instead so I didn't have to do any of that in the first place My mom was the one who sent me to that hagwon in the summer even when I went to middle and high school in Canada, and when we lived in Korea I was sent to multiple hagwons (math, english, hanja, swimming, ballet, piano, violin, art, even went to lego hagwon for physics LOL) after kindergarten and grade school. I remember crying to my mom telling her that I don't want to do it or at least to make me go to one less hagwon and she wouldn't budge. She'd hit me sometimes if I don't listen to her. I also just remember that a lot of the students would slack off in class except one or two who did REALLY well. They'd sometimes bully the teachers as well. The hagwons make money off of parents' greed for their children imo, and a lot of their ways of thinking is very competitive, like my child has to be better than your child. I really think it ruins them, iuno it ruined me too for a while - definitely made me burnt out and anti social and it took a long time to see that I don't need to be smart to be loved. They also really overvalue meritocracy. It wasn't uncommon for parents to compete with their children, even when the children were friends with each other. It's interesting to hear this from a teacher's persepective and how "discipline" is seen as something that's forced, like in North Korea

My mom is running hagwon and ironically, she sent me to overseas because she didn't want me to spend most of my youth in hagwon. However, I was only five years old and couldn't adapt in unfamiliar environment so I had to come back. I had to spend most of my youth in hagwon as my parent expected. When I was in elementary school, I slept at 10 or 11pm and I suffered from the unknown hives(I have no allergic reaction), frequent nose bleeding, hair loss, and leg swell. I'm 17 right now, and currently studying in international school which is located in overseas. I envy my foreign friends so much. They look much happier and healthy. Sometimes, whenever I watch them, I feel like I wasted or stolen my youth in meaningless way.

Former hagwon teacher here. I have lived in Korea since 2016 and still do. Now I work in a public school and love it. Stories like that are very common. My first hagwon lasted about two months and then it ended up shutting down. None of the staff was paid our salaries and the secretary got us a lawyer to go after the hagwon owner. We were eventually compensated about seven months later. Also for many hagwons, the teachers have to make progress reports about the students. Nothing wrong with that right? Unfortunately we have to lie on the reports about a students progress. If a student is doing poorly or if we provide suggestions on how they can improve, we would have to rewrite the reports bc its too harsh and the parents would complain. It's very common for the Korean parents, especially the mothers, to complain and threaten to pull their child out of the hagwon. And of course, the directors/business owners would bow to the moms and comply.

Recently a youtuber I watch talked about her experience teaching in a hagwon and the similarities are much. She had to deal with racism from parents, the students were violent to her and she couldn't do anything to defend herself, the school gave them more work than what they were supposed to, the school provided food for the teachers( leftovers of what the students ate), one time they made a teacher kneel and apologise to the parents. From her experience it was wild and this wasn't even the entire thing

My husband is Korean and grew up in their school system until he was 13. His teacher once slapped him so hard his glasses flew across the room. That same teacher also looked at porn in class. Hopefully the corporal punishment has simmered down since the 2000s

my parents both grew up in korea. my mother would always talk about how every student spent entire days studying and how she would go home at the dead of night like it was normal. being raised in the u.s. this was abnormal for me, but i didn't think much of it. however, now suicide and stress levels in korean students are extremely high and i'm glad this is being addressed

My employer made us turn in our gas, electricity, and water bills. She said she'd deduct the amount out of our paychecks and use that money to pay the bills. She did deduct it from our pay, but she wouldn't use the money to pay the bills. All of the foreign teachers ended up with no water, no electricity, and no gas in our apartments. My mother lived in Beirut during the Lebanese civil war, so I tried to tough it out for as long as I could since what I experienced was no worse than what she experienced. But as the foreign staff quit, I had to start teaching their former classes in addition to mine. The Korean staff kept talking about how bad foreign people were for quitting, and that was the last straw for me. I pulled a midnight runner too. There's a lot of racism in Korean society too. I was banned from Bundang Jesaeng Hospital for being foreign, Zonskin Korean dermatology clinic in Bundang for being foreign, one restaurant, and one bus (route 1151).

First of all, thank you VICE for posting this video. As a Korean, I think this problem is openly known to all Koreans, and it is one of the social problems that is dealt with in Korea so much that there are many dramas and movies related to it. However, I don't think Korean social consciousness has developed enough to solve this problem. Considering the thorough perception of male-dominated women and the very low social status of women, as in most East Asia, I think this is a problem that has been rooted in Korean society. Recently, there has been a movement to guarantee women's social status (#MeToo), and many things have changed, but paradoxically, the perception among young men in Korea is now widespread around the Internet community, with anti-feminism and gender-reverse discrimination at the center. It's similar to the American class called incel. I feel sorry for the whole society, as the new president is not interested in these issues at all, and the atmosphere of society seems to be going to anti-intellectualism and male supremacy, and I hope that these issues will be publicized and my beloved country will be a great and strong country.

My dear Korean friend "fled" to the Philippines in the middle of her junior year. We became close and at the time I really wanted to know why she moved here. It wasn't until we got into college that she told me her sad story, how brutal her life was as a student back home. It's been more than ten years, and she married a local and had a child. She told me she will never let her son study in South Korea.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what I've heard while I lived there. It is possible to find a good hagwon but it's rare. Almost everyone seems to have a horror story. To share a few experiences, me and my friends (Korean and foreign) experienced/witnessed: teachers who behaved like predators towards students ignored because they had the right look or were older, owners knowingly exposing kids to COVID just to make a buck, suicidal or abused students asking for help getting ignored by teachers, teachers having timed bathroom visits and needing to ask for permission, hagwon owners breaking into apartments, placing teachers in unsafe housing or suddenly/illegally removing them (making them homeless), firing teachers after temporary medical issues or assault, leaving small children in unsafe conditions or feeding them spoiled food , coteachers told to spy on foreignerd, Fats told to report activity during COVID while KTs didn't follow regulations themselves, kids being abused or talked about inappropriately (i.e- sexually), refusing proper or fair treatment because the children were poor, racism towards mixed race kids, teachers showing up drunk, favoritism that led to verbal and physical abuse of other teachers, teachers not receiving lunch or overtime/holiday, owners not releasing teachers from jobs so that they could work elsewhere, suddenly illegally removing housing of foreigners (causing them to be homeless), items thrown at teachers openly, public shaming and isolation of teachers, rejecting qualified teachers based on race or hiring them and treating them like crap because they resent having to hire them, making poorer or lower students take the blame for fights and bullying to not lose a student the deem as more important, etc. I could go on. Korea has a lot of great aspects but hagwons seem to really highlight and thrive in the darker, less productive parts of society. I think it most takes a toll on people who really care about the children. Many people see it as a necessary evil t compré in society so I don't see hagwons changing much in the immediate future.

let me prove. I am Korean and I am now in Canada for international student, Hagwon was a prison private education place forced to go by parent. Or they will steal your phone or punish you. I went Hagwon every day also at weekend 2 hour. Let me explain, Korean school start at 7:00 am and end at 4 pm. You need to study extra study like extracurriculm in school to 4 pm to 6pm. After eating dinner at school 6~7 pm. Then you should selfstudy in school 7 pm~9:30 pm. Then you go Hagwon when school end. 10 pm~12am. You just come sleep if you come home. 🇨🇦 Canada, you just study to 8:40 am~2:40 pm.

I studied middle school to highschool in south Korea. We lived in anyang buy went to school in seoul. We (me & 3 siblings) went to hagwons the 1st few years coz we werent good with korean and we needed to catch up with their curriculum. Since we were one of the few foreign kids in that hagwon we became friends with some of the foreign teachers. I knew something was iffy with those hagwons when (some) those korean teachers would cut in my convos with my foreign teacher and "lean" too close to her. Sometimes they would "greet" me and try to talk to me but leaning too close for my comfort. And even a handful of my teacher friends would tell me not to go close to certaim teachers or stay away from them. I couldnt imagine the horrors that these hagwon teachers face multiple times.

This is affecting millions and millions of Korean and Japanese students... I'm glad someone spoke about it... I remember my girlfriend couldn't sleep at nights.. because she always thought she was back in Korea... studying for her exams... and her teacher was calling her stupid... she would get up screaming perspiring... but you know what... people can't do anything... absolutely anything about it... I wish someone could take a stand against them against them and bring them down. And BTW the successful kids are treated like shining beacons of examples... they treat them like celebrities when then return...

I taught at two hagwons in South Korea. The first Hagwon was intense. CCTV in every room and overworked students. The second hagwon was a lovely experience for me, my co-teachers and the kids. We had such freedom. As these hagwon's are privately owned businessess, like any business, the way its run depends on the owner. If you're interested in teaching in South Korea, you can look up "Green List" schools that teachers love and "Black List" schools that teachers hate.

My daughter has been teaching English in SK for 2 1/2 years. So far, nothing bad to report. But I am grateful I have the funds set aside to get her home immediately of anything like this video depicts happens to her.

I'm an ESL teacher and I've thought about teaching in Korea but wowww after seeing this I'm so saddened. Honestly, once you spend a couple years in the education field you realize how fck up a lot of things are.

I noticed when watching Korean movies that bosses hit and/or insult their employees like that's 100% normal. I know those are movies, but why do they always have these scenes like part of everyday life?

"This is not rare." That was definitely a punch to your heart. And what's devastating is- this only creates cycles. That type of dehumanizing, minimalizing abuse only creates numb human beings that keep their heads down to survive or ones who run so that there's a revolving door of new unsuspecting victims who choose the same two options or even end their lives 😞 It's so heart breaking, disgusting & enraging. Lord, help them smh. What a devastating mess.

I actully have something to say abt this. i lived in Korea until i was 7 years old/i finished first grade in primary, then i moved to Germany. I used to go to a Kindergarden that became my Hagwon(it isn't Hakwon, it is Hagwon) after i went into the first grade. now, school was pretty easy back then, especially as a first grader with nothing much to do. the real problem started at the Hagwons. Im gonna list them to make them more easy to visualize: 1.) Hagwons usually took longer than normal school. 2.)the difficulty in the hagwon was drastically different to normal schools. we were learning 3rd/4th grade stuff in first grade. But the best part is, that it was an english-based hagwon. the teachers were(6~7/10 times) not from Korea, which made the work environment a lot 'easier'. 3.)Even then, my Hagwon ended at almost 9pm each day and the teachers would often give us homework that required at least 2+ hours at the time. add homework from regular school to the equasion and you are going to bed at 11 to 12pm as a first grader :) 4.)when i was in Germany, my cousin, who i really admired and loved, died to cardiac arrest after not being accepted by the Universities he applied to. he was 19. Now i know he had eating disorders and whatnot, but i don't think he died of cardiac arrest. Suicide seems much more realistic to me, since i have been suicidal(on and off, not anymore thankfully) for the last few years now and know how it feels. Korea is a great country. don't get me wrong. I love my culture, language(as far as possible) and so much more. I don't like the fact that i have to serve in the military, however i think that serving in the military might come in handy later in life. What i hate about Korea is the constant competition of who will be 1st place in an exam. this 'competition' chases you until you retire. that is a problem. you can't put a 20 year old Volkswagen with a f1 car and expect the Volkswagen to win. some will crack under the pressure. with that being said, i truely hope that these Hagwons chill tf out.

Everything she said was spot on. I worked at two separate hagwons over the course of a year and a half. Though the second one was slightly less hellish than the first both were truly awful experiences. At my first hagwon a lot of the teenage students were suicidal and openly told me how depressed everyone was. My Korean co-workers were overworked- one of them only got one day off a week and worked until 11PM on Saturdays. I also had little kids fall asleep in class. I dealt with students grabbing me and touching me inappropriately- when I'd bring this up to my director nothing was done. I was told my clothing was inappropriate (I was wearing a floral elbow length shirt that was just below my neck with black pants) and told I should dress more "feminine". Was compared to my co-worker that comes into work wearing heels and dresses. Sometimes students would forget their workbooks and I'd had to photocopy the pages for them to work on. I got yelled at whenever I did this even though it was policy to do so. I got annoyed so I started photocopying the pages I knew we were doing before class just in case a student forgot their book (which was usually guaranteed). I got yelled at for this too. They never ordered workbooks on time and my students would constantly re-cover subjects they were confident on. The last straw for me (and for them I suppose since I got fired) was I was teaching a class and saw the husband of my director constantly checking in my class. I asked if everything was ok and was given the green light to keep going. I taught the class this way for two weeks. After the two weeks the director called me into her office and said I was teaching the class wrong from the first lesson. My second hagwon wasn't as bad... they weren't late with pay and the director was more helpful with apartment, doctors, bills, government paperwork etc. But a lot of the same problems persisted including a new one- I saw the director hitting the kids. A LOT. They too were going to fire me cause I often voiced my dislike for corporal punishment. But I had to stay on an extra few months as my replacement couldn't make it due to COVID. My advice? If you want to teach in Korea go to a public school- every person I've met that's worked in one have had it WAY better.

I love how she says she taught ballet “illegally” 😂 I’ve never heard such a thing.

The worst boss I ever had was a Korean. He would make the dumbest decisions, like insist on refilling printer cartridges by hand, and then spending an entire afternoon with me and another colleague trying and failing to refill said cartridges instead of buying the damn things. Something that should have cost $20 instead cost like 9 man hours aka around $300. That was nothing compared to the constant mental abuse he would inflict. Nothing I ever did was right for him. If you were smarter than him, you'd get berated. If you failed to do something because he didn't give you the proper instruction, you'd get berated. My favorite story was when I called in sick because of all the stress, and he demanded I go to the office to check in. When I did so, and told him I was sick, he said "How do you know you are sick? Are you a doctor?" I dunno, sunshine, maybe I know I'm sick because my throat is inflamed and I feel really feverish and have a raging migraine? And I was about to go to the doctor before you called me in, but now he wanted me to work anyway. We had a turnover of 1 person a month in the 9 months I was at that company. There were at most 5 people working there. How does the math work, you might ask? He'd bring in new people the same month the older ones would crash out, and then the new people (like me) would crash out. Never work in Korea, people. I have no idea how their economy survives.

I worked at hagwons from 2014-2016, and I cannot tell you how many times I heard stories like this. It is extremely prevalent within the industry

Yep, I worked in a hagwon, and I did the midnight run a couple years ago. I taught at a public school in another province before then, but that particular school cut several corners in the English department. I wasn't treated as badly as I was at the hagwon, but the principle called me--among other things--stupid in front of the other teachers when we were all out to dinner. Sucks because it seemed like a career dream come true, but it certainly was sobering/humbling to be treated like poop every day!!

I am so sorry that you had to experience this in Korea. I am so ashamed of my country listening stories like yours. Thank you for speaking up. I hope that this issue gets more attention and somehow things get better in the near future. It's long way to go I know, but I want to stay hopeful seeing the progress the country made in the last few decades. Things like this are NOT OKAY to any human beings.

I attend a Korean International school, and I've never attended a hagwon in my life. But this happening near my classmates everyday and them not knowing is what makes this shocking.

What a terrible experience. So sad to hear this. Appreciate the bravery of sharing this. Hopefully shared stories like this one will help to bring about change.

Thank you for this, @Vice!! I had a very similar experience, though mine was worse because I had to quarantine as soon as I arrived, and was left in a filthy apartment (I don’t mean dirty, I mean mold and insects and bedding what was stained and unwashed) with no food, and no way to leave to get anything. My school was “too busy” to help me. Luckily I had a friend in-country who did help me. I had many of the same issues with my school that this teacher did, and some others that is too much to get into here. But for people comment, and say we are pampered westerners, or we should have done our research, or well I had a great experience there, let me say these things. We are not idiots, we are well-educated professionals looking to do something different in our lives and learn a new culture. Some people don’t make an effort, but they are the exception. I learned some of the language before I left, but we are all told we don’t need it (lie). I did my research, looked online, talked to friends, etc. Korea has very strict anti-defamation laws which will land you in court if you speak out against abusive hagwon owners and “damage their business.” Probably why she had to wear a mask, why the Blacklist is out dated and incomplete, why there is very little online. I also went through a recruiter, who had been recommended to me through some contacts, and who ended up sending me somewhere he knew was bad and couldn’t keep teachers, along with my 2 other ESL coworkers (who quit right after I did, both of them). Even if you do everything right, you can - and many many do - end up at a horrible school. It’s just the nature of the beast there. We had no breaks, no lunch. This isn’t being soft, especially as a woman, we have to be able to use the restroom freely, I don’t care where you are from. The Korean teachers had it worse than we did. Why they ever choose that career I’ll never know. Payday was fluid, and we never got paystubs, even though we asked and asked. I have no idea if they were even paying my pension and healthcare like they should have (which would have been blamed on me by the govt if they hadn’t). And yes, these things are illegal and they know it. But opening a case with MOEL takes months, and you have to be in-country, so if you do a midnight run for your health and sanity, good luck winning that case. You can also hire a lawyer, but that takes money most ESL teachers don’t have. And this story didn’t even get into the famous “11th month firing” that Korea is famous for, where they find a reason to fire you before you can collect your 1 year bonus. I could go on but I won’t. If you had a great experience there teaching, I’m happy for you, you should feel lucky. If you’ve never taught there, then please don’t comment on what you think we should have done or what it’s like, etc. because frankly you have no clue what you are talking about.

I worked for Japan Foundation in UK, would say that the worst bullying I've ever experienced was from my female boss. It was a shock to me, and I had lived in Japan before. She wasnt the only one at the office, but certainly the worst.

I worked at a hagwon as well last year. I got 0 breaks with a 10 minute lunch break, if you could call it that. I wasn't allowed to leave during eating and had to watch and help the kids eat as well. The director would interrupt me while eating too and give me work to do. One of my coworker's lost a lot of weight due to this and had digestive/stomach issues. I lost a lot of weight working there too. Also because they would allows expect us, more-so demand, that we work 1-2 hours later every day unpaid. I would be exhausted by the time I got home and wouldn't feel like cooking dinner. It was horrible and I ended up leaving because I started getting very sick. I got horrible dark circles around my eyes that were red and I thought to myself... "when have I ever looked like this?" I only looked like that after a major surgery and my body was under a lot of stress, so it was very alarming that being overworked had me resembling a previous post surgery pic. Also, they do control the coworkers speaking to each other. The coworkers, before I joined, had signed a contract that they would not interact outside of work. Such a toxic environment. They threatened to sue after I left with a 30 day notice...

This experience is almost the norm, and I’ve heard far, far worse. The place I worked was a shitshow that would have been shutdown in any other developed country, but I had it relatively sweet compared to most hagwon teachers.

midnight runs are pretty damn funny. I have been a coworker of several midnight runners, and the aftermath is pretty hilarious watching the owners scramble to figure out why it happened... again lol. Sure I had to pick up a little bit more work, but the level of anger and hatred on the owners faces was priceless. I kept in contact with the runners to let them know the 411. Owners basically try to call them or email them overseas demanding a cancellation fee, obviously didn't work. They then decided to press the recruiter for cancellation fees, lol also a fail. I knew the recruiters so we laughed our asses off about it. It's just great fun. I have always finished my contracts and I have been given renewals, so I generally don't have a problem. But I know how shitty hagwon owners can be, so its one of my great joys living here.

Reading all the comments my heart really goes out to every single person who’s witnessed or been through such inhumane acts and have yet felt powerless and devastated….I hope you all can recover from this :(

I’m Korean and I’ve mostly taught English in hakwons in Korea both in Seoul and Jeju. I’ve had a few ups and downs with my boss but nothing like this. I had no idea this is what the foreign teachers were getting treated (I have only worked one international student, rest all Koreans). I don’t know which hakwons you worked at but this story needs to get out more. I hope there’s an internal investigation into this because this is no way anyone should be treated. I am so appalled.

...the worst part of work environments like these is often the people in charge trying to gaslight you into thinking it's normal, on account of them being in such denial about it. Sad

As a korean who has lived in korea for the majority of her life in an area famous for having a bunch of hagwons, it’s sad that I’m not even fazed by any of this. This is how normalized it’s become in Korea. Nobody bats an eye at kids being stuck in school classrooms and after-school classes sometimes to even more than 12 hours a day. Don’t forget that there are places called “study cafes,” which are basically places open for studying 24 hours a day. It was normal from where I came from to go to these study cafes after having a 3-4 hour class at a hagwon and study until 2,3 in the morning (sometimes even 4) only to have school again the very same day. Growing up in such an area where the harsh competitive environment left my peers with no choice but to basically be forced into such activities, I grew accustomed to it and lived with it for a few years. Thankfully, my parents weren’t all that strict when it came to academics and I am now at a college overseas, so I didn’t have to partake in the KSATs (korean version of SATs) and all the soul-sucking prep that goes with it, but it’s still sad to see that those who are stuck in korea have no choice but to overstudy their asses. Of course, this isn’t the norm for every single place in korea, especially in places where parents can’t afford to splurge thousands of dollars a month for their kids’ education. I just happen to have lived in a place where it’s considered normal and almost expected. Oh, and some kids go to 3 hagwons a day when it’s summer/winter break. So yeah, breaks in Korea aren’t really a time for resting and chilling with your friends.

I worked in SK. It was the absolute worst. The racism and sexual abuse is off the charts. Awful, just so totally awful.

That is such a toxic environment for students and teachers. It’s sad to hear people being treated like that.

It's pretty similar to my experience as well. Teaching was my first job ever. And the way I was overworked for almost no salary is so horrendous. Teachers were like the punching bag for everybody, from the students to the management to the parents. My advice, NEVER EVER become a teacher and only do so as the absolute last resort.

crazy doesn’t sound much different from my experiences working for a korean company in america at 19; heard a manager openly say to someone, you can have the day off, if you go out with me(the girl in question was under 20 he was middle aged). sexual harassment, verbal and some physical abuse, racism, overworked and underpaid personel, dishonest business practices.

Thank you for sharing these stories and helping me know the world better and see different experiences and perspectives. It's horrific what happens in these places and how people treat other people.

I'm honestly sooo shocked at all of this..... wow. Thank you for speaking out. I can't even wrap my head around this

“The world is in more peril from those who tolerate evil or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.” -Dr. Albert Einstein, 3/30 1953

I lived in Busan for nearly 7 years, between 2008-2014. While I lived the expat international school life, I did have exposure to the insane competitiveness that Koreans are exposed to. They're literally expected to study from 7am until 10pm, always get perfect grades, and somehow also excel at an instrument and sport. In my international school, we had many Koreans from middle class families who paid stupid amounts just so their children can grow up in an environment that's not a pressure cooking shark tank.

After watching a Korean Drama called "Sky Castle" I was horrfied to see just how much pressure the students are under to do well in school, lots of pressure by their parents and hearing this I knew the teachers must of been really overworked. A lot of the times we as a society are so concerned about reputation that we put it above our mental health and well being and that is so fucking sad. I feel so sorry for this person especially concerning the sexual harrasment, no one should have to deal with that. I really hope that the generation moving forward will break the stupidity of conforming and being hush hush about these things.

As an actual Korean student, I can confirm that this is the brutal truth about Korean education that foreign students idolize and crave so much. Seriously, Our country allows no diversity or freedom at ALL. In my hagwon, teachers often say that they're so hungry because they have no meal breaks. They work for 10-12 hours a day and they're not allowed to eat. Bullying, Harassment, and over-restriction are amazingly common here. My parents are aware of that and luckily, they pick the safest place for me to study, but when I look at my classmates, I can't help but feel so miserable and disgusted. Some parents even call anxiety or ADHD 'Spoiled'. Korean education needs to be fixed. When are we living in, the 70's? Do we really deserve to be ranked in every way? We're human, not lifeless machines. I desperately want to get out of here. Somebody MUST break this endless cycle that is killing us.

This is pretty upsetting. I watched a video of someone talking about a movie that covered all the abuses and corruption that happens in Korean schools for special needs kids and troubled kids. The uploader said that at the time, the movie sparked so much outrage and controversy from all the things it exposed that reforms were forced to happen. But I can see here that there’s still much that needs to be done about the Korean school systems.

I also broke my contract and ran from the Hagwon I was working in. It was one of the worst experiences, and it was the worst job I've ever had, by far.

I teach ESL online and when I hear what some of my students go through when they talk about their hagwon is just simply heartbreaking. Thanks for shedding a light on this situation.

Thank you so much for this interview!! Would it be possible to try to do more of these? There are SO many teachers with horror stories but how english teachers get treated in korea isn't well known unless you're a teacher yourself. We don't really have a voice here in korea so there's not much that can be done without outside help

im a girl that goes to many hagwons, but most of them are not as bad as this. ive also been to 3 different english hagwons, but everyone was so kind, giving each other snacks and helping them with kids.

Really sorry and sad that you had to go through that :( glad you made it out safely. Also I think the whole "work till you drop" culture is considered "normal" in most places in Asia and Southeast Asia, I experienced it too and I too got very depressed

After watching this, I feel so relieved that i m not born in Korea and dont have to face this. That being said Korea is not what it projects itself to be. People need to understand that what we see in dramas is all just a illustration that they are painting. I m so tired of hearing people say great things about Korea, without having even been to Korea, just based on what they see and hear. Nobody talks(expect yt channels like Vice) about what is actually happening underneath all the fancy illusions.

Had a very similar experience in Taiwan, in general there is a very toxic work culture built upon the explotation of workers. Also racism and xenophobia are idiosyncratic to many asian societies. People should think it twice before taking a job in East Asia.

Welcome to Korea. A country the size of NJ where you are born into constant Competition, Demand and Expectation. Always being on top are mentally and physically pounded into you starting at a young age.

There's this Korean movie called Silenced and it's based on a real story about a new teacher at a school of hearing impaired CHILDREN and he finds out about all the horrible things that happen inside the school. The movie really made me feel disgusted to even be human, I couldn't believe such a thing even happened in real life.

I am glad someone is talking about it I wish I could talk about my experience because foreigners are not seen as human. I was stalked by my boss, endured workplace harassment, and was blamed when students misbehaved. Foreigners are no more than pets to some of them.

I heard so many similar stories I cant believe this is still happening. This is horrendous for everyone, students, teachers

Sadly, this type of testimony has been very common since well before I started working in Korea, back in 2002. A midnight run is the best option sometimes. ~an American in Korea 🇰🇷

The whole teach english in Korea thing sounds like a great opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture, travel, and gain experience. But based on all these videos I'm seeing it seems more like Korea using those programs just to get cheap foreign labor that they can treat like dirt. Some people get lucky and have good experiences, in the public schools. But the Hagwons sound horrible across the board. They are preying on people who love Asian or Korean culture and want to travel, and then trapping them in these nightmare situations. I appreciate everyone who's speaking out and warning others. I'm sorry you went through this and I hope you have a fulfilling travel experience somewhere else. I love Korean dramas, but the more I hear about the reality of life in Korea the more confirmation I have about not going there.

I feel like I needed to see this. I was going to move to Korea to teach before COVID hit and prevented me from leaving.

It’s currently 12am where I am and I wanted to find something nice to watch but then came across this wonderful thumbnail. heart nearly dropped to the ground.

How can the parents be okay with this?

As someone who works at an English kid cafe, which is just hagwon for younger Children it’s definitely a toxic environment I get no breaks and I’m not allowed to sit down, there’s a lot of rules and your forced to act so fake because your constantly watched on cctv

i'm a preschool teacher and I totally get not being able to sit down for hours in a day, being everywhere all the time, all at once. It's so crazy.

I hope you’re better 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻and I’m sorry you have to go through this terrible experience!!!

And I was bitter that at a point of my childhood I had to take extra classes until 5pm to skip a grade. I even promised myself not to put unnecessary pressure on my future children. These revelations are totally a shocker.

THIS IS FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS THE “KOREA SYNDROME” DUE TO K-POP/HALLYU WAVE….WHO ONLY CHOOSES TO SEE ONE SIDE OF KOREA..!! (people who dream/wish of moving to Korea & are in search of jobs/universities etc. I wish they see this & consider ALL sides before taking a decision..not only the side Media chooses to show them!!)

This need a longer coverage. In the last few months, there were several teachers suicided in consecutive which spark some protest. There need to be rule and regulations for the higher power and the parents cant harrass, abusive physically and mentally of these teachers. They dont get pay much and get treated like scum. The private schooler already have horrible attitude and look down on the teacher themselves. It is crazy on how the gov doesn't protect the only professional that would raise the "future leader" of the country.

As a korean, why you guys want to be in korea? For travel? It would be good. But working and living in korea is whole different story... When I was student, I studied for 15hrs a day from 8am to 11pm, which is very common in korea. Even on weekend. And now, I work for 12hrs a day from 9am to 9pm. And sometimes i work on weekend. We study hard to work to death. There is the reason for highest rate of suicide and lowest rate of birth... I love my country, but there are many things to change in korea.

I also worked at a hagwon and can agree that it was one of the worst experiences of my life. Would not recommend it to anyone.

I also worked at a hakwon for 6 months. I would never recommend it to anyone. I still have PTSD from those days

The most bizarre thing is that many Korean students come to American universities like the one I attended and they don’t know any more than American students. It’s like they’re forced to cram insane amounts of useless information into their heads for each exam, only to be expected to dump it all out and replace it with more useless junk for the next exam and never retain anything. We have the same issue in the US but East Asian education is insanity inducing with the level it reaches

this is in every way the most calm informer

I knew an American English teacher at a Hagwan who also hated it. She hated her experience so much, we have exact opposite opinion of S. Korea, which is so sad to me. I had an amazing time in S. Korea and she absolutely despised being there, she said she’d rather go back to China.

i agree that her situation isn’t rare and it’s horrible!! for the kids and teachers. however there are plenty of great hagwons. you have to look for red flags and ask the right questions during the interview process! i’ve worked at my school for 3 years and i love it here!!

I'm starting to feel like South Korea is just a shiny North Korea.

As a Korean, I applaud your courage and determination to share the truth. All you said are all problems. Perhaps international attention and scrutiny are necessary to bring about much needed changes. Thank you!