Something I realized while thinking back on my difficult Yes Youndo experience was the fact that a job with them wasn't my first choice. After finishing a contract at one hagwon, I had several options. I could go to work somewhere else in Korea, return to my former hagwon or work in Taiwan. For a time I looked for jobs in Taiwan. I don't want to go into the whole story, but some things such as knowing I'd lose 20% of my income in tax and having to pay$1200 for airfare got me to go back to Korea. I was like most teachers I knew then repaying student loans. I knew if I had to pay for my airfare then I'd have to repay it with my first paycheck and then return to paying off my student loan.
As far as returning to my former hagwon, it was the number of problems there that kept me from signing a second contract. The biggest problems were long work days and not being able to trust the boss. It's good that I didn't go back because the situation became much worse. The first thing I looked for when looking for new jobs was shorter working hours. I was satisfied with what Yes Youngdo offered. Free mornings. Classes in a six hour block straight through 4-10pm. My previous hagwon had classes going from morning 'til night so this sounded like heaven.
I ruled out other options and made the decision to accept a contract with Yes Youngdo. It definitely wasn't my first choice or my idea of a perfect job. I chose it because I thought the conditions were all reasonable or as good as could be expected and it seemed logical to take that job. My biggest priorities then: pay off student loans and do some travelling in Asia.
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