Graytlist Rankings:
(1) South Korea No, coming number 1 in this ranking is not a good thing!!! Korea has a seriously bad reputation compared to any other country. You only have to look at the complaints on Daves Cafe every day to realize somethings wrong. A large part of the reason for this is that the teachers in Korea are so active on the internet, unfortunately for Koreas sake. After all most teachers in Korea get their jobs through the internet or agents who advertise on the net. This is in marked contrast to most other destinations like Taiwan and Japan. Most of the complaints about Korea are over extras like not getting severance pay, the free but substandard housing provided. If Taiwan or China typically offered these extras I'm sure they would have problems too. Actually petty cheating in Taiwan and China are even more common than Korea and lying is just as frequent. Where Korea really stands out though is in their not uncommon practice of not paying people all their salary not to mention the problems as mention with their extras like severance pay.in the latter two countries are just as common as Korea. In short Korea usually has the most serious cases but you're more likely to get cheated in China or Taiwan. Why don't the latter two have such a bad reputation then? Two reasons: 1) Teachers in Korea get their jobs through the net unlike China or Taiwan and and far more familiar with forums like Daves and 2) For the Chinese its nothing personal, its just about money so they avoid interpersonal conflict and are far more mellow so things don't blow out of proportion with teachers leaving heavily resentful and sending off bitter letters to blacklists.
If you go here take enough money for a rainy day. They can have awful weather.

(2) Taiwan and China

This is not Korea. Still dishonesty in Taiwan and China is far more rampant than Korea although it works in different ways. They just worship money. Its nothing personal and they will often smile while offering to rob you blind. Whereas in Korea they will usually cheat you after the fact, by for example by not paying you your last months pay, the Chinese will usually do it at the start or as things progress. For example if they sense you are broke they might just offer you two thirds the going wage. If you're in Taiwan you will know its way to low, and you don't have to accept, but you may too broke to say no. Another common ploy is once they get your work visa they may think they have you by the balls since they can cancel the visa anytime and you have to leave the country. So they may load you up on unpaid office hours with telephone testing and the like. You can leave but you have pay for an air ticket and getting another visa can be problematic. Apart from things like this though, and lying, short changing teachers etc problems don't tend to get as serious as you get in Korea but strangely there are even less legal recourses. So if you get caught out theres not much you can do apart from leave. So why do Taiwan, China and Korea have these troubles? Well theres cultural factors of course but a big factor is the lack of legal protection in these three countries. Japan has good protections and a safe visa system (you own the work visa not the employer) and so has hardly any trouble compared to other countries. Even Thailand has a better visa system than Taiwan. In Taiwan even if you have finished your contract you still need a release letter to work somewhere else if you want to work legally although in practice many end up working illegally. Basically they own you if you have an ARC which gives a lot of room for abuse. In short it rains a lot in Taiwan but usually without the serious storms you get in Korea.

(3) Middle East

Many complaints come out of the Middle East especially Saudi Arabia. However the nature of the complaints are very different from those that typically come out of Asian countries like Korea. Korea has many serious complaints of a contractual nature like not getting paid. In the Middle East the complaints are more of a nature like difficult or even abusive students, incompetant management, having to give failing students good grades, babysitting rather than teaching (even more so than Asia), students not studying like Asian students do, low teacher morale and so on. Unfortunately teachers coming to the Middle East have to realistically expect most of the above things as being an almost universal part of teaching in the Middle east and have an idea of how to cope or they shouldn't go. Unpleasant weather, make sure you have the right gear before you fly off. look out asia here i come LOL

Disclaimer:

Please note that I can't and don't accept any responsibility for the accuracy of any of the information contained in this graylist. Take any opinions or experiences posted with caution since none of them have been confirmed or verified in any way.

What Teachers Should Know before Accepting a Job in Korea

This is advice for E2 and E1 Visa holders. Most of the rules/advise listed here does not apply to F1-2, F4, F5, E5, E7 or other visa holders. For further information about your visa limitations, always inquire at your local Immigration Office before starting a new job.

1. It is illegal to work without a proper visa.
You must have the visa sticker in your passport before you can start work- without exception. If your employer asks you to work before you have your visa sticker, refuse. Insist on getting your visa before you teach your first class or you are working illegally.

2. Your visa is associated with ONE location.
If your employer asks you to work at more than one physical school, you need to get Immigration permission and apply for a secondary workplace permit. EPIK and GEPIK are exceptions. EPIK employees can legally work in multiple locations without Immigration permission.

3. Working "Privates" or "Part-Time Jobs" without Immigration permission is illegal.
Working in a second registered business place is possible (a secondary workplace) if you have permission from Immigration. However, working "privates", or tutoring at a non-business, is illegal.

4. You need Immigration permission to work at a camp outside of your primary workplace. It will either be registered as a secondary workplace (if you currently hold an E1-2) or you may be eligible for a Temporary Employment visa. Inquire at your local immigration office before teaching at a camp to ensure your legality.

Knowing your rights and finding a good school

One of the most valuable sites for teachers looking to understand their rights is www.efl-law.org There are a number of things you should look for before signing a contract. EFL-Law.com has a very comprehensive guide to contract information at www.efl-law.com/contracts.html There is also a very useful FAQ , a discussion forum, and a lot more valuable information on that site for teachers.

The Hagwon Checklist www.hagwonchecklist.com
A free site that gives teachers a chance to review a school as well as find multiple perspectives from a variety of teachers about a school. Teachers submitting their schools rate them as "great, good, poor or unacceptable".

The Mother of Greylists www.geocities.com/koreagraylist
This site provides alphabetical listings of schools in Korea that have received complaints and the complaints in question.

The Korean Hagwon Blacklist www.geocities.com/hagwonblacklist/
The goal of this site is to: "make it extremely difficult for schools who have previously mistreated teachers to find new recruits. We aim to do this by letting other teachers, as well as recruiters, and the schools themselves know who is blacklisted and why."

The Korean Schools White List www.geocities.com/teflgroup/koreawhitelist.html
The mission statement of this site is to provide information about decent, "white listed" schools so all teachers (new and seasoned) will know about the "good schools" that treat people fairly.

English School Watch www.englishschoolwatch.org/index.php
This site provides a forum on which one can "blacklist" a school as well as some helpful information about working overseas.

ESL Teachers Board www.eslteachersboard.com
Most schools on their "School Review" board are Chinese, but there are a few Korean schools on the list.

Leon's Greylist efl.htmlplanet.com/greylist.htm
This page is for those looking to become expatriate English teachers in Korea, and/or for those expats already in-country experiencing labor-related problems. It primarily functions as a watch list of institutions to watch out for. Secondarily, this page contains copious amounts of advice on how to deal with many possible problems in the Republic of Korea.

Blacklisted blacklists2003.proboards13.com/
Information Sites about Teaching Conditions in Korea

Anyone who would like to know more about Graylist, herein these site list below you will find testmony's of people who was there.

Korean Black List
GTC Forums - General - Gray list
Hogwan.com


ON the form here is a site for white list schools, all schools are not bad there are a few good ones left.

THE KOREAN SCHOOLS
WHITE LIST! This site provides information about decent, "white listed" schools so all teachers (new and seasoned) will know about the "good schools" that treat people fairly (yes, they are out there!) list below are whitelist schools.

Mun Hwa Language
School in Gwangju
Jung Chul Academy
YBM Songpa
KOREA - What You
Need to Know ...
Spartan English Academy, CES
Kids Herald,
Eomsa
Si-Sa Chungju
2 schools from
1 teacher!
KEC, Suwon
ADD English
ECC Center
One World
GnB Ulsan


Here u will find information to help if you are having problems with ur employer, list below are some helpful sites.

Association of Foreign Workers' Rights
Ministry of Justice Republic of Korea
Ministry of Labor
Ministry of Education

seeking a new job

In order to change employers before your contract expires, you must obtain a 'Release Letter' from your first employer. You can find more information about obtaining a release letter at: http://www.geocities.com/baxterautry/releaseletter.html

Teachers in Korea get their jobs through the net unlike China or Taiwan and and far more familiar with forums like Daves, For the Chinese its nothing personal, its just about money so they avoid interpersonal conflict and are far more mellow so things don't blow out of proportion with teachers leaving heavily resentful and sending off bitter letters to blacklists.
If you go here take enough money for a rainy day. They can have awful weather.

Tip of the day:
Check ! And ur sure not to bounce LOL

Why teach English in China?

Working here has more to offer than an understanding of China itself. It's a huge and incredibly varied country, and I'm willing to wager that none of it will be what you expected. You'll live a life you never dreamed of, and see up-close a truly different way of life - a different culture.

It also offers the opportunity to learn a great deal, not just about the country and it's culture, but also about yourself. All you need is the right attitude.

Finding Reputable English employers

There are a lot of crummy language schools out there and you’ll want to avoid them like the plague, here’s how to do it…
An interview is as much about you finding out if the school is right for you as it is about the school finding out if you’re right for it.

Prepare some questions before the interview and make sure you ask them.
Does the school only hire qualified TEFL, TESOL teachers?
Does the school perform regular teacher assessments to ensure teaching quality?
Does the school follow a set syllabus?
Does the school encourage student feedback?
Does the school have regular tests to assess student progress?
What is their contract like
Have the company send you a email copy look it over
never send them your orignal diploma copies, send photo copies.
Do the companies that are hiring provide?
Work visas: If they won’t support your application for a work visa then you need to find another school that will.

Qualifications:You should be wary of any school that doesn’t ask for some kind of formal qualification. Some schools ask for degrees, other just require a TEFL, TESOL qualification, but they should require some proof that you are able to perform your duties as a TEFL teacher.