"I am from South Korea. I work for one of the companies which belong to Hyundai Motor Group. I get up at five, get to work by seven, and I don't know when I can leave work. The labor contract says I am supposed to work by five, but the salary is given supposing that we work until six. The problem is I have never left my work at six. I always work overtime, usually until seven thirty or eight, and I don't get paid for my daily additional work.
When I am done with my daily work and try to leave, I find my my bosses and all the staff still there working. I am the newest employee, which means I am the LOWEST among everybody, and the military and collectivist culture prevalent here does not let me leave earlier than people HIGH up avobe. When I dare to leave for home in this situation, it means I accept that I will become an official outcast.
When I bow to everybody to leave for home, my coworker, who is also an associate as I am, but has worked for three more years, asks where I am going. He even says he is irritated that I leave earlier than him while he has so much left to do.
My boss likes hanging out with his working group members. When he suddenly feels like having dinner and drinking outside, he gathers people in his working group and we have no choice but to follow him. I should give up all my personal schedule for those unexpected and sudden gatherings. Yesterday he got annoyed that I made my personal appointment with my German friend who dropped by to meet me during lunchtime. He is visiting Seoul very briefly, and I don't know when I can ever meet him again.
During weekends, we, new employees, would practice dancing, or get drafted to go to a trip with team members, or do all the sundry other things that the company requires us to. We, newest, thus lowest employees dance in front of every staff and directors when there is a party thrown by the company.
In this hellish situation, I find it almost impossible to make any personal plans and build my own individual life for myself. I always dream of leaving this inferno. I want to get a life.
It is not just me. Almost everybody working in this country is suffering from the same horrible thing every day for life. I want to get out of here. We want life.
"
Chez SEI, on est loin de archétype de l'entreprise corenne, l'ambiance est plutôt familiale et j'ai l'impression que les employes y sont plutôt épanouis. En discutant avec quelques collègues ayant travaille dans des chaebols, il semble que ce témoignage soit assez représentatif, peu de place pour la vie personnelle, le travail prime sur tout le reste, famille comprise !
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