off to Gyeongsan City

Daegu Haany University is located outside of Daegu proper in the city of Gyeongsan. I'll be heading there in the morning, taking the slow train to Gyeongsan Station to arrive in time for a 5PM interview. My contact down at DHU, Scott, has been a longtime reader of this blog. I've never met the man (I suppose I'll be doing just that tomorrow!), but it's incredible to me, the amount of effort and time he's put into bringing me south for this interview.

I'm hopeful that the DHU interview will go well. I have no idea what sort of competition I'm up against, so I don't know what my odds of being hired are. As Tom keeps pointing out, I went to fucking Georgetown! Ideally, that should be a point in my favor, but in practice, my Hoya credentials haven't been enough to impress even the hiring committee at Hanyang University in Ansan. As I said before, the hiring process is very, very subjective; who knows whether I'll come off as the next messiah or as a radioactive mutant?

DHU's package is, if Scott's reprint of a year-old job ad is true, not bad, all in all: 2-year contract, 15 hours/week of in-class work, 4 days/week of work, W29 million/year salary (not so hot*), 4 months/year paid vacation, off-campus housing assistance (find housing on your own), plus benefits (insurance, etc.).

I'll be leaving the apartment around 10:30AM, training over to Seoul Station, and taking a regular train to Gyeongsan Station—a ride of about four hours and ten minutes. Scott has told me about a bus from the train station that goes all the way to his building on campus; it costs W1100, which beats the hell out of the other alternative: a W10,000 taxi ride. I did that nonsense in Yongin; never again.

I'll try to snap some pics during my trip. I have no idea whether the regular train will be Wi-Fi-capable. At a guess, it won't. But you never know.

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*At current rates, W29 million/year comes out to about $26,400/year. That's before taxes. Ouch. Assuming a 20% cut, the net pay is closer to $21,120—way less than what I'm making now in terms of net earnings. But there are some compensatory factors to consider: as friends have pointed out, the cost of living out in Gyeongsan is doubtless much cheaper than it is in Seoul. Also, you can see that the salary translates to a high hourly pay: if I work two 16-week semesters per year, that's about eight months out of the year right there. No more than that, if it's true that we get four months' vacation. So: 15 hours per week = 3 hours per day (this is valid for calculation purposes, despite the fact that I'd be teaching 4 days/week). 3 hours per day at 20 days per month = 60 hours per month. 60 hours per month times 8 months = 480 hours/year. A net salary of $21,120/year, divided by 480 hours (remember: vacations are paid), comes out to an amazing $44 per hour, which is about twice my current hourly gross pay. So the stark choice is this: (1) continue working at YB for no paid vacation at X rate of pay... or (2) work at DHU for 2X pay plus 16 weeks' vacation. Man... what a dilemma.


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