&#91LETTERS TO THE EDITOR&#93Hagwons are used to ‘milk’ parents

My association with Korea began nearly 15 months ago, when I was recruited by a hagwon to teach English, and like most expatriates living here I have formulated my own impressions and subsequent opinions about the country.
Obviously, for foreigners living here impressions are based on the major source of contact we have with Korean society, and that is generally through the companies where we work. Unfortunately, in my case, I have had a fairly poor experience with the hagwon system, mainly due, I think, to the difficulty I have had dealing with what I consider to be the confrontational management style here. I have seen and heard of foreign and Korean teachers at these schools being treated appallingly bad by their management.
And I have heard of schools that are extremely caring in dealing with their teachers. The hagwon system is flawed and benefits few, including students and parents . The problem starts with the lack of respect hagwon owners and their foreign staff have toward one another. The schools seem to be set up to milk as much money as they can from the often unsuspecting parents.

by Peter Taylor