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Korean Perception of Foreign English Teachers
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Paddycakes



Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 12:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

These guys are all currently working in Korean public schools:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPyeyH31Aqg
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I'm With You



Joined: 01 Sep 2011

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 12:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paddycakes wrote:
I'm pretty sure this guy is a Visiting Professor at one of the local uni's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqQGsSpgTeE


LMAO!!

Yeah, that's pretty much it.
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Dodge7



Joined: 21 Oct 2011

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 3:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paddycakes wrote:
These guys are all currently working in Korean public schools:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPyeyH31Aqg


A freaking +. LOL
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PatrickGHBusan



Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 4:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is very interesting and highly entertaining.

How are you perceived as a FT? Well, that depends on where you are, what you do....

Do some Koreans dislike you? You bet but when did life become a "everyone must love and accept me" contest?

A FT can be respected and valued in his workplace and even in his immediate community (I know many FTs in that situation).

Does KOREA want to get rid of older more experience FTs? Maybe certain hiring programs prefer younger FTs but then again, certain programs were built as entry-level and were meant for inexperienced applicants (ex: EPIK). Hakwons are so varied in nature that it is pretty tough to generalize. Some will prefer experienced applicants, others will not. The list goes on and is linked to the type of employer.

One thing is for sure, how you are perceived as a FT will depend on how you behave and on how you go about doing your job. The video shows a type of FT in Korea. Why would that type get any real respect...seriously.

FTs in Korea (and in asia in general) are in large part an imported commodity that provides a specific skill for what was perceived as a short term period hence most foreign teaching visas being valid for one year only. That is not a knock on FTs, it is just the reality of the situation and is not something negative in nature.
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Old fat expat



Joined: 19 Sep 2005
Location: a caravan of dust, making for a windy prairie

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 5:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

congratulations, you just managed to describe a normal curve.

where that curve fits into the greater society is the discussion (or should be).
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some waygug-in



Joined: 25 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="PatrickGHBusan"]This is very interesting and highly entertaining.

How are you perceived as a FT? Well, that depends on where you are, what you do....

Do some Koreans dislike you? You bet but when did life become a "everyone must love and accept me" contest?
*_*

Except when their disdain for the local FT brings them to interfering,
undermining, hindering, obstructing and otherwise preventing said FT from
doing the job they were hired to do, and then turning around and saying
"See, FT's are all useless. This guy can't even do a lesson plan, yada yada".
------
A FT can be respected and valued in his workplace and even in his immediate community (I know many FTs in that situation).
*_*

True, I wish more of them were.
------
One thing is for sure, how you are perceived as a FT will depend on how you behave and on how you go about doing your job. The video shows a type of FT in Korea. Why would that type get any real respect...seriously.
*_* *_* 0.0!

Sadly, I have to disagree with this. (partly) I do recall the time when
some idiot from Vancouver was caught on a tourist visa, teaching illegally in Seoul and selling drugs on the side.

What did the Korean media do? They had a hayday accusing every foreign teacher in the country of being a dope dealer and an illegal
worker. The local education office called all the FT's in for a special meeting (basically accused us all of the same) and then wondered why
we should be upset.

This kind of nonsense happens time after time after time.

You can do your best, sure and you should.

But that is not going to help you when this kind of crap happens.
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aq8knyus



Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Location: London

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I suppose it is also true that all sectors are pilloried in one way or another.

I mean if you asked the average Korean what they thought about lawyers or estate agents I doubt that many would be positive.

Naturally these stereotypes will affect the way in which the people themselves are viewed. Think of the common perceptions of lawyers as amoral and bankers as corrupt.
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Captain Corea



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

some waygug-in wrote:


Sadly, I have to disagree with this. (partly) I do recall the time when
some idiot from Vancouver was caught on a tourist visa, teaching illegally in Seoul and selling drugs on the side.

What did the Korean media do? They had a hayday accusing every foreign teacher in the country of being a dope dealer and an illegal
worker.
The local education office called all the FT's in for a special meeting (basically accused us all of the same) and then wondered why
we should be upset.


Did they now?

Must have missed all that. Mind linking?
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tiger fancini



Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Location: Testicles for Eyes

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Captain Corea wrote:
some waygug-in wrote:


Sadly, I have to disagree with this. (partly) I do recall the time when
some idiot from Vancouver was caught on a tourist visa, teaching illegally in Seoul and selling drugs on the side.

What did the Korean media do? They had a hayday accusing every foreign teacher in the country of being a dope dealer and an illegal
worker.
The local education office called all the FT's in for a special meeting (basically accused us all of the same) and then wondered why
we should be upset.


Did they now?

Must have missed all that. Mind linking?


I also don't remember being accused of dealing dope and being illegal. Perhaps all the drugs that I've (supposedly) taken have damaged my memory. Confused
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PatrickGHBusan



Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 5:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was never accused of dealing drugs or using drugs by the KOREAN MEDIA....guess you take things too personally waygugin.

The lawyer analogy is pretty good. Lawyers are the target of numerous jokes yet do you think lawyers feel like PEOPLE disrespect them on a personal basis?

By the way it is SOME media\reporters waygugin, not ALL MEDIA in Korea who wrote or produced sensationalist pieces on foreigners...

Finally waygugin, we agree on this: in a given workplace, a FT can be treated badly, interfered with and so on. In a given workplace. This is normal as not all jobs will be great. Conversely, in a given workplace, a FT can do a lot of things that warrant him or her not being respected. It does swing both ways.
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Steelrails



Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If Koreans cared as much, and as strongly, about us as some people believe they do, then life here would be drastically different.

I hear more these days about Korean-Chinese immigrants than I do about NETs.
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ATM SPIDERTAO



Joined: 05 Jul 2009
Location: seoul, south korea

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah...

i have no respect for ESL teachers either.

mainly because most of you SUCK!

Seriously, you people look like FOBS here. people who aren't making an effort to fit in and adapt to this new way of life. it happens here too.

i taught english here for 3 years and thought i was making friends with everyone and all that jazz but after i left my school and got a real job at a real company, i realized that koreans simply hate working with foreigners in general and tolerate it because they have to. lots of my co workers have girlfriends who are teachers and they always say "foreigners suck but my co worker is GOOD! she is against the norm!"

even though 99% of the foreigners they meet are "good" this supposedly goes against the norm.

anyway, keep in mind that TEACHERS are also thought of as an easy, cushy government job. so you're ENGLISH teachers, teaching something that you are intrinsically experts at... at some super easy position. it makes you look lazy. that coupled with the fact that foreigners simply DO have a more relaxed work ethic makes everyone just think you're lazy english teachers.

anyway, you're not gonna get any of the social elites to bring you home to their parents that's for sure. i don't even know what the point is i'm trying to make but think about it

you're making 20k a year... doing a job that ONLY requires a bachelor's degree with ZERO previous experience. and you're being hand fed either with a co teacher to make your life not as miserable as it would be, or with no guidance at all at a hagwon.

not much respect in that kind of job lol


BUT TRUTH BE TOLD, it's a BOMB ASS JOB, like seriously. for the amount of work you actually DO and how difficult it is and for how much money you're getting paid compared to the average salary at your age group, it's an EXTREMELY well paying, relaxed job.

so even though they don't like you and think you're lazy and stupid or whatever... you're getting the last laugh =)
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hiamnotcool



Joined: 06 Feb 2012

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ATM SPIDERTAO wrote:
yeah...

i have no respect for ESL teachers either.

mainly because most of you SUCK!

Seriously, you people look like FOBS here. people who aren't making an effort to fit in and adapt to this new way of life. it happens here too.

i taught english here for 3 years and thought i was making friends with everyone and all that jazz but after i left my school and got a real job at a real company, i realized that koreans simply hate working with foreigners in general and tolerate it because they have to. lots of my co workers have girlfriends who are teachers and they always say "foreigners suck but my co worker is GOOD! she is against the norm!"

even though 99% of the foreigners they meet are "good" this supposedly goes against the norm.

anyway, keep in mind that TEACHERS are also thought of as an easy, cushy government job. so you're ENGLISH teachers, teaching something that you are intrinsically experts at... at some super easy position. it makes you look lazy. that coupled with the fact that foreigners simply DO have a more relaxed work ethic makes everyone just think you're lazy english teachers.

anyway, you're not gonna get any of the social elites to bring you home to their parents that's for sure. i don't even know what the point is i'm trying to make but think about it

you're making 20k a year... doing a job that ONLY requires a bachelor's degree with ZERO previous experience. and you're being hand fed either with a co teacher to make your life not as miserable as it would be, or with no guidance at all at a hagwon.

not much respect in that kind of job lol


BUT TRUTH BE TOLD, it's a BOMB ASS JOB, like seriously. for the amount of work you actually DO and how difficult it is and for how much money you're getting paid compared to the average salary at your age group, it's an EXTREMELY well paying, relaxed job.

so even though they don't like you and think you're lazy and stupid or whatever... you're getting the last laugh =)


I agree with this. The one thing I will add is that along with all of that is what Paddycakes said. A lot of them don't even care at the end of the day. What you wrote is their opinion, but unless asked they aren't really going to be shoving it down our throats. A lot of my Koreans friends don't respect my job, but wish they could do it for a few years themselves.
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JustinC



Joined: 10 Mar 2012
Location: We Are The World!

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ha ha! Funny ad.

Not all students are as good as the smiling faces you see on those little people, who are writing for all they're worth on the posters for the local hakwon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvpikUEIaLI&NR=1&feature=endscreen
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