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Non-white teachers in Korea?
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JAMZ



Joined: 18 May 2004
Location: Ori Station, Bundang

PostPosted: Mon May 24, 2004 9:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for answering the question... i've really been getting mixed opinions on this issue... i have a friend who has a korean exchange student from seoul living with her here in toronto and he basically said that in the more wealthy area's of seoul i'll find more of a discrimination problem (specifically he said area's south east of the river... i havent been there so i wouldnt know where that is really)... he said in the northern parts of seoul i wouldnt have too much of a problem... i dont know.. i guess im just gonna have to find out for myself.
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Alyallen



Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!

PostPosted: Mon May 24, 2004 9:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

JAMZ wrote:
thanks for answering the question... i've really been getting mixed opinions on this issue... i have a friend who has a korean exchange student from seoul living with her here in toronto and he basically said that in the more wealthy area's of seoul i'll find more of a discrimination problem (specifically he said area's south east of the river... i havent been there so i wouldnt know where that is really)... he said in the northern parts of seoul i wouldnt have too much of a problem... i dont know.. i guess im just gonna have to find out for myself.


No problem, JAMZ. I guess it is a sort of a crapshoot when it comes to finding a good place to be in Korea. There is certainly more to Korea than Seoul, so at least if it doesn't work out in Seoul, there are plenty of other places to go. But who knows, Seoul might work out perfectly for you. Best of luck finding a place in Korea....

Good Luck,
AlyAllen
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Sammy15



Joined: 18 May 2004
Location: Canadian in Korea

PostPosted: Wed May 26, 2004 5:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My husband and I are Canadians but we aren't caucasians and we aren't black. So people have a hard time figuring out what to do with us here. We are working in a smaller city and often Koreans come up to me and speak very slow english and ask if I know how to speak english. They also treat us differently than our blue eyed, blond haired coworkers. Often people ask me where I am from and when I reply Canada they say "No, Where are you REEEEEEAAAAAAALLY from?". This really irritates me because I've never been treated so unequally in my life and I hope that Koreans can broaden their minds.
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JAMZ



Joined: 18 May 2004
Location: Ori Station, Bundang

PostPosted: Wed May 26, 2004 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sammy, if you dont mind me asking what IS your ethnic background???
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Alyallen



Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!

PostPosted: Wed May 26, 2004 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sammy15 wrote:
My husband and I are Canadians but we aren't caucasians and we aren't black. So people have a hard time figuring out what to do with us here. We are working in a smaller city and often Koreans come up to me and speak very slow english and ask if I know how to speak english. They also treat us differently than our blue eyed, blond haired coworkers. Often people ask me where I am from and when I reply Canada they say "No, Where are you REEEEEEAAAAAAALLY from?". This really irritates me because I've never been treated so unequally in my life and I hope that Koreans can broaden their minds.


Don't feel bad. People have done that to me in the U.S. which I have found fascinating more than insulting. How anyone can figure out I'm Jamaican-American and not African American is beyond me....

Also, when I was in Korea I was there for World Cup. Once World Cup got into full swing EVERYBODY thought I was South African or from other various African nations involved in the games. I thought it was funny more than anything.

Inequality is one of those things we have no control over. I can't really blame Koreans for being shocked that a non white person can be Canadian or American. Americans at least have minorities in their military so there is some connection to be made somewhat but *shruggs* what can you do. What they see is Hollywood and not the real world. So I don't penalize them for not knowing the reality of the situation.

Wow....I really don't know what to tell you. My usual answer when someone asks where I am from (and that includes in the states) is either " I'm from NYC (Or the United States) but my family is from Jamaica." Is it necessary? Probably not but it saves me and the person I'm talking to a lot of problems....

Good luck and feel free to vent here on the board or to me through PM

AlyAllen

PS. I hope what I said made some sense, if not PM me and I'll try to explain it better Smile
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new horizons



Joined: 25 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2004 10:36 pm    Post subject: my two cents Reply with quote

One of the things I've learned in life is that people have a big difficulty with defining different as equal. If something is different then it must be better or worse. This is intensified when the differences are race, culture, or nationality and like matters. (And strangely enough it seems to be almost worse when the people share a language and don't really look that different from one another.) I grew up in the Southern United States in a middle class suburb with a multicultural group of friends. And I have found that we all make racist or stupid assumptions from time to time, despite the fact that we should know better. There have been a few harsh lessons but among the "lighter" things that have happened to me:
Being in college and having everyone assume my every statement presented the view of the whole race.
Countless instances of well meaning "Oh, but you're different," or "I don't think of you as . . ." type remarks.
Being mistaken for a local in the oddest places, like: Zurich, Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris. And very rarely having anyone assume I am from the States. (Which can be a good thing on occasion . . .)
Running into a bunch of Russian sailors in Oslo, Norway in November who found me to be such a novelty that they took a pictures.
And, of course, countless instances of staring and innocent yet impudent questions.
With the luck of the powers that be I shall soon find myself teaching English in some part of Asia- most likely S. Korea or Taiwan. The US is so diverse we tend to define ourselves in broad and often ill fitting categories. It can be pretty severe culture shock to go somewhere where everything and everyone is so similar. I imagine before my time is done that there will be a few more additions to the list. But the other list, the one full of cool people, incredible experiences and awesome adventures, that list will be getting a few additions as well.
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new horizons



Joined: 25 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2004 10:42 pm    Post subject: my two cents Reply with quote

One of the things I've learned in life is that people have a big difficulty with defining different as equal. If something is different then it must be better or worse. This is intensified when the differences are race, culture, or nationality and like matters. (And strangely enough it seems to be almost worse when the people share a language and don't really look that different from one another.) I grew up in the Southern United States in a middle class suburb with a multicultural group of friends. And I have found that we all make racist or stupid assumptions from time to time, despite the fact that we should know better. There have been a few harsh lessons but among the "lighter" things that have happened to me:
Being in college and having people assume my every statement presented the view of the whole race.
Countless instances of well meaning "Oh, but you're different," or "I don't think of you as . . ." type remarks.
Being mistaken for a local in the oddest places, like: Zurich, Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris. And very rarely having anyone assume I am from the States. (Which can be a good thing on occasion . . .)
Running into a bunch of Russian sailors in Oslo, Norway in November who found me to be such a novelty that they took a pictures.
And, of course, countless instances of staring and innocent yet impudent questions.
With the luck of the powers that be I shall soon find myself teaching English in some part of Asia- most likely S. Korea or Taiwan. The US is so diverse we tend to define ourselves in broad and often ill fitting categories. It can be pretty severe culture shock to go somewhere where everything and everyone is so similar. I imagine before my time is done that there will be a few more additions to the list. But the other list, the one full of cool people, incredible experiences and awesome adventures, that list will be getting a few additions as well.
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bibimbap



Joined: 14 Dec 2003

PostPosted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i'd just like to respond to a couple things:

"racism is everywhere"

true. but that doesn't make it acceptable.


"can't blame the koreans; they haven't been exposed to many cultures."

well, we're here to expose it to them. ladies and gents, wake up - it's 2004. and we should all have a zero-tolerance attitude towards racism.

i'm caucasian, but i'm embarrassed to work in such a discriminatory system. i won't be returning.
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Lindylou



Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Location: San Diego

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2004 3:32 pm    Post subject: Korean adoptees Reply with quote

Hiya, I haven't used any of the eslcafe discussion boards in a looooong time. Anyways, my partner's brother is job hunting in Korea. They're both adoptees. Greg has already had one recruiter tell him to stop applying for jobs because he's not caucasian (or however you spell that stupid word). Shocked Any ideas, suggestions, thought? I've already thought about shooting the stupid recruiter (works for a large organisation in Korea - we're just waiting until Greg gets a job before we blacklist the recruiter).

thanks Very Happy
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JAMZ



Joined: 18 May 2004
Location: Ori Station, Bundang

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2004 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm not white (i'm actually 1/4 white and the rest asian) and it took me a long time to find a job in korea... I was applying to every add I saw and posted my resume on every website I cam accross and it still took me over 2 months of applying to finally land something... even then I kidna got lucky... from my experience recruiters pretty much stayed away from me cause of my ethnicity. The ones that did contact me offered me all the jobs that no one else wanted. I actually almost took a job in Busan until i talked to one of the teachers there and they told me not to take the job cause of horrible living conditions. I'm in Korea now and I managed to land a nice job from posting my resume online.. it's lower pay than other jobs but i have a nice apartment and the school does a good job helping me out when they can. My best advice for your friend would be to not put their hopes into the recruiters... try contacting schools directly.. also try applying to smaller schools but be carefull to check out the working and living conditions as much as possible by contacting teachers at the school or posting on the message boards... when applying you'll find that as soon as they see his picture most of them will never contact you again. Basically I had a really hard time but if you keep at it long enough and be carefull about researching the schools eventually I believe they'll get something decent. Hope this helps.
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curiouswd



Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: St. Louis, MO

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi, I just joined the forum because I recently started looking for esl jobs in Korea and I was afraid of finding out what the previous post says. I'm Chinese, but was born and raised in America. So it sounds like I will also have a really hard time finding a job. And I'll be looking for summer position only, so I can only imagine it'll be that much harder =) The previous post was from over a year ago. I'd appreciate any new advice/tips.
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peppero



Joined: 16 Nov 2005

PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 4:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

curiouswd wrote:
Hi, I just joined the forum because I recently started looking for esl jobs in Korea and I was afraid of finding out what the previous post says. I'm Chinese, but was born and raised in America. So it sounds like I will also have a really hard time finding a job. And I'll be looking for summer position only, so I can only imagine it'll be that much harder =) The previous post was from over a year ago. I'd appreciate any new advice/tips.


It will be harder for you to find a job, but it's not impossible, especially if you have some marketable skills. If, however, all you want to do is teach English, then you will encounter significant competition from those who are Caucasian. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say that if it comes down to you and a Caucasian, assuming very similar qualifications, you will lose. Full stop.

I'm not Caucasian, and it was difficult for me to get a job here. Took about 4 months of active searching/applying/etc. from my home country and within Seoul before I got the job that I have. However, if I may offer some hope, this job I have is one of the highest-paying teaching jobs in Seoul. It did take quite a bit of effort, but it was all worth it in the end.
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ardis



Joined: 20 Apr 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, now I'm worried about how hard it will be for me to find a job. I'm an adopted Korean, my boyfriend is half-Irish and half-Chinese, and we both want to teach English in Korea after we graduate college (we're rising seniors). I'm an English major, so I think that might be an advantage, but since we both look Asian...is that a really huge step back? We're an attractive couple, though, so would that aid anything?! I'm getting nervous. I *really* want to do this, because I haven't been to Korea since I was born, and I've always wanted to re-connect with my Korean history.
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mamaille



Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Location: seoul- close to olympic park

PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I recently decided to come to Korea to teach and knew that it would be different for me as a black person.

I didn't have a problem getting interviews and offers but one recruiter made me start thinking about the racism there. He told me that Koreans don't like to hire black people and I should feel previleged that he's offering me a position. HE would hate for me to pass it up and not get anything else. I couldn't believe that he said that to me. He was obviously trying to scare me into taking the position but I knew there were some truths to his comments.

I started wondering what my experience would be like as a black person.
I'm learning on this forum that there aren't that many blacks there and I can't even prepare for the experience but I won't let that deter me from going.

Unfortunately, racism is something a lot of us can't avoid.
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RobinH



Joined: 18 Feb 2006
Location: Mid-bulk transport, standard radeon accelerator core, class code 03-K64--Firefly.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It helps to apply places where foreign staff are doing the hiring, that is if you can find out. I did the hiring at my last uni and we liked to have a variety of teachers. Not being white was almost worth bonus points.

If you have a CELTA and a few years experience, try the uni curcuit.
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