A hogwon is a
South Korean
private school. Hogwons are usually subject-specific can be found for nearly any
subject, from English to the game of
Padouk (
Go).
There was a lot of corruption in hogwons until recently; evil school directors would mistreat and extort their teachers, especially foreign teachers. The problem has, however, been mostly resolved.
One well-established chain of ESL hogwons is known as Wonderland. I am currently working at one of two Wonderlands in Gwangju. I have experienced no trace of the corruption I'd been warned about, although I hear that some of the Wonderlands in Seoul still have corrupt directors.