Language Teaching 45
Private Academies Coping with COVID-19 Compiled by Dr. David E. Shaffer
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A Hagwon Owner’s Perspective
Then, the Shincheonji religious sect outbreak occurred, and panic exploded. My staff and I were in contact all weekend about what to do. There was no communication
I took a small salary in January. I did not pay myself anything in February or March. I watched my surplus drain to pay my teachers, rents, insurances, and other bills. The anxiety I experienced because of all those messages was intense. I urgently wanted someone to tell me what to do – to tell me, not ask me. I did not want it to be my choice to make. But the powers that be just pressured me: “We recommend you close.” “If you stay open and don’t follow all procedures, we will fine you or shut you down, but we can’t tell you exactly what procedures you’re expected to follow.” Many of my competitors were staying open. We talked about how we were being talked at from both ends, but no one could tell up from down. My family unexpectedly lost my mother-in-law in mid-March. Then the government delayed school for another two weeks. I lost it. The funeral had just ended. I screamed. I cried. I thought about packing it all in and declaring bankruptcy. I was not eligible for any of the loan packages available at the time. Either my business had not been open long enough, I did not have the right visa, or I
June 2020
As a hagwon owner, I was quick to notice that COVID was beginning to affect my business back in January. Parents called me to express their concerns, and we reacted immediately by taking extra precautions: sanitizing all desks and materials between classes, requiring hand washing with soap and water immediately upon arrival, requiring anyone with a cough to wear a mask, and asking anyone vomiting or feverish to stay home. Honestly, most of it felt like common sense.
While closed, I kept my teachers working by recording online lessons and checking in with everyone. The start of public schools was delayed a week, but over 40 percent of the parents wanted us to reopen. We received daily messages from either the Office of Education, the Centers for Disease Control, or the hagwon association recommending that we close, but it was not a requirement. They did this so that if I chose to close, I was still responsible for paying my staff 70 percent of their regular salaries despite the hagwon having no revenue.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Kat Sten is the owner of PEAK English Academy in Mokpo, about an hour south of Gwangju. She has been teaching in Korea for about eight years and has operated her academy since 2017. Here is her story.
from the local Office of Education. We made the call to shut down Sunday night and announced it then to the parents of our students. The Office of Education gave the recommendation to shut down at 1 p.m. Monday, an hour before classes usually start. There appeared to be zero sense of urgency around a decision that affects hundreds of businesses across the city.
EDUCATION
he coronavirus pandemic has encircled the globe, adversely affecting the lives of the entirety of its population. How it affects its residents, however, differs in many ways. For many expats involved in English language teaching in Korea, this has meant a sudden move from traditional classroom instruction to virtual, online teaching. A quick tutorial in educational technology appeared sufficient for language teaching to continue. But in the case of private language schools in the area, coping with the virus has presented different situations for different people that also require different responses. What follows are the accounts of three different members of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL and their encounters with the coronavirus situation: a private English academy (hagwon) owner-operator, a hagwon English teacher, and an English learning center ownerteacher.
