[sunah]

I can't seem to find a thread for this topic, which I thought would be floating around on this forum for sure. So I'm taking it upon myself to start a discussion here, where others can post their experiences and give advice. Also, we can use this thread for networking and obtain information about other things concerning their stay in Korea when they go there to study the language.

I'll start with my piece of advice. If you are researching Korean language programs (hagwons) around Seoul, do NOT go through World Link Education. Their website is fancy and they seem trustworthy. In the end, I overpaid approximately $600 to their company simply for the exchange of the name and address of the hagwon. Let me backtrack here and start from the beginning.

I knew nothing of the hagwons and their tuition costs. Upon finding WLE, an international site, I was lead to believe that WLE directly runs the schools. Impressed by their international span and reach, I decided to go through WLE. At the end of all financial transactions however, ($100 application fee, $1170 for two months tuition only), I got a badly formatted "student handbook" with broken map images, an outdated calender by email, and the school address. I did not even get the name of the hagwon. They wait until mid-month to deliver this handbook to you so that you cannot request a refund after finding out where the hagwon is located (requires 20 days advance notice for a refund). When I arrived in Seoul, I didn't have a clue about how to actually find the hagwon based on its address. Luckily, I was staying with relatives in Korea and my cousin found the map for me. On the day I went to the hagwon for placement testing, they gave me my books and a packet of information - the UPDATED calender and tuition costs. I saw that the cost per month is 350,000 Korean Won which equals about $226 US dollars. Again, I want to point out that I paid $1170 for two months. I paid twice as much and more. I asked the hagwon about their connection to WLE and their reply was that they only take the 350,000 Won from WLE, and simply use them as a referral. At this point, I realized that WLE is a referral service and have nothing to do with how the schools are set up and run. I paid a referral service fee of $670.....No where on their site for their tuition only cost does it say that there is a 200 percent commission fee!!

I felt stupid and naive for falling into their trap. I want to take legal action against them, but do not know if I have grounds. Any lawyers/law students willing to help out? Any journalists willing to write the story??

Please learn from my mistakes here, and do some research on your own. If you plan to attend a Korean language program in Korea during your next visit, please let me know and I'll happily give you the contact information for the hagwon I'm currently attending (which besides their connection with WLE have good teaching material and methods). There are also more around the Kangnam area if you're closer to that part of Seoul.

Stay away from WLE - they're thieves! Let others know and spread the word. I do not want others to go through the same experience as I did.

[riceavocado]

Thanks for the heads up! I'd like to do some studying in Korea, I'm not completely sure what school my school contracts with at the moment though. I would only go with study abroad scholarships anyway.

[Aziraphale]

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=267160

Post there please.