It is illegal to tutor privately in Korea.
If you're planning to tutor in Korea, just keep this in mind: if you get caught, the maximum penalty is one year in jail - or you could just be deported. Regardless, in the month and a half I've been here I've already heard about a bunch of people who are tutoring/have tutored privately. From what I've been told, you pretty much have to be an idiot to get caught. If you have common sense then you have nothing to worry about.
Speaking of common sense...
When you sign the contract with your school in Korea, you're agreeing to live in Korea as a law-abiding citizen. So if you have common sense then you're not going to break the law. The government is more concerned that the tutors get paid under the table and avoid having to pay taxes on their earnings. Even F4 visa holders, who are permitted to tutor privately, have to register with the government and report all of their earnings.
In my experience so far, I have not seen banners on the street warning E2 visa holders about the penalties, nor have I heard of anyone getting caught. (I'm not denying that people do get caught.) A few teachers told me that if your employer finds out that you've been tutoring, the most realistic scenario is that they would tell you to stop immediately - if you get in trouble with the authorities, your employer is in trouble too.
I've done a little research and found a few sites with information if anyone cares to read further on this topic:
Sounds pretty dire. What are the prisons like? Any information. A Year in the Clink in South Korea. Now, there's a story in there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Cally, please explain the money to me. It sounds as if inflation has really had a heyday in Korea.
Hmm I thought I already explained. It's about 85¢ for 1,000 won. I just pretend it's dollars by chopping off the zeros at the end.
ReplyDeleteIs private tutoring - or private instruction - paid well in general, as it is here? Private tutors in the US can get upwards of $75/hour!
ReplyDeleteSome foreigners charge a lot, but I haven't heard of anyone charging nearly that much. It seems that about 40,000 won ($35-ish) is the norm. It pays enough that people would be willing to risk the consequences.
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