links i find vital

where it all started for me! (btw it starts off with like a min of music)
http://www.filefactory.com/file/c0b6c4f/n/metro_025_black_in_korea_2.mp3
a seoul radio station interview about bssk
http://www.zshare.net/audio/94134128ba8ecd63/
a bunch of interviews with black expats in soko
http://www.youtube.com/user/BSSKSEXIES
find family on facebook: Brothas&Sistas of South Korea
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25747883752

Sunday, August 24, 2008

health insurance

it's illegal for your employer to not provide health insurance. i dont know how my job doesnt provide it, something about b/c we're contract workers. anyways, i didnt want to fight them about it, so i went to global village to ask about getting health insurance on my own.

they called around and told me that i can register for korean national health insurance as "self employed" but that i'd have to pay retroactively from my first arrival in korea feb 2007.

they told me where the nhi office in anyang is (anyang is where i live), gave the phone number and office hours, and they checked to make sure english would be available.

if youre reading my blog researching working at cdi: try to get insurance as soon as you get here. i'll update when i make it to the nhi office as to how much and what my insurance will cover. but even if you dont get insurace via nhi, you can get your own... i think footprints gives info on traveler's insurance. also see jo-anna's blog for info on insurace.

6 comments:

์กฐ์•ˆ๋‚˜ said...

When I was applying to jobs in Korea, I thought it was really sketch that CDI doesn't offer health insurance. If you are working full time, I don't see how it is possible for them not to offer it. I feel as if someone should be complaining to labor board about this. But then again, CDI seems to give a pretty raw deal anyway. Making your find your own apartment and working holidays and weekends and such. If I were you... I'd look for a job with health insurance and apartment provided so you don't have to worry about key money and dumb stuff like that that english teachers here shouldn't have to worry about.... or at least get paid enough to make worrying about it worthwhile. It sounds like you have been working here long enough that you could be working in a public school or at least somewhere that pays more so that you can afford your own health insurance.
Good luck with the health insurance stuff.

supa dupa fly said...

im lightly annoyed that this youngster noob is telling me what i need to do, but i'll forgive on account of her youth and good intentions, as well as my overall grouchiness.

Anonymous said...

Some people could not believe that I didn't have health insurance or stayed in a position that only paid 2.0 per month, but what they didn't understand was that I worked for a couple of great people, and I enjoyed teaching most of the kids while living a couple a blocks away from Costco.

When I was hospitalized with a burst appendix, the bosses paid half of my bill of 1.2 million won. In two years, all parties involved came out ahead on this health insurance deal. However, what was alarming was when I went to the pension office and found out that my bosses did not match what I was putting into the system. It seems that employees that aren't full-time (40 or more hours per week) don't have to have matching pension deductions or health care insurance. Well, live and learn.

If things with the actual franchise hadn't become unbearable (the mandatory use of their substandard, and absurdly expensive, texts over actual student learning), I would probably still be there.

After a long, warm vacation, I'm thinking of trying my luck in Taiwan, the cold of South Korea is just too much for me to take another 5-6 month winter of.

John, no longer in Daejeon

supa dupa fly said...

john friend, what's your email/blog? i cant find it.

Anonymous said...

My email is jawick (at) hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

more health insurance info

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=155535&highlight=