Job Discussion Forums

Nismo · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 520

Were you offended? That's strange. I worked in a hagwon with elementary kids, and I've not once had anyone try to stick their hands up my arse. There's obviously something that would cause you to experience it and not me. When I said it was your character-type, I was merely suggesting that you may have given off the impression that it was OK for that to be happening.

There are petty teachers everywhere. Good luck trying to be picky when you look for a job in Japan. It's not a teachers' market.

And, for the record, I never insinuated that you were a binge drinker. It's just strange that you use it as a reason for disliking Korea (a place you willingly spent 4 years of your life), when you can get the exact same beers here as you can in Japan. (My wife is fond of Asahi Super Dry. Neither of us like Korean beer.)

I wasn't being a smart ass, I was being a realist. And it's quite apparent that I live in Korea (or at least that I'm back and forth between Japan and Korea) - I have it right over on the left side there, "Jeju-do".

HappyPizza · Joined: 07 Mar 2007 Posts: 40

nonsmoker · Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 1:49 pm Post subject:

Nismo · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 520

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=271425#271425

And, also, http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/search.php

Cheers, from "Land of the Morning Suck".

Gypsy Rose Kim · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 151

I agree with Nismo, actually. Dude, you started your post by referring to the Land of the Morning Suck. It does point to being fairly inflexible and negative.

Why get yourself all worked up and knock back valid advice? You don't have to listen to all of it, but I think he hit the nail on the head with the first post (before it all spiraled out of control).

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

HappyPizza · Joined: 07 Mar 2007 Posts: 40

Alrighty then........I guess that counts out Lingo School.

Oh, after four years of being here, I feel that I can pretty much say what Korea is to me...........the Land of the Morning Suck. Walk four years in my shoes, THEN suggest whether or not I am leading to inflexibility....OK? Being burned out is somewhat different then being inflexible.

Korea has a shitteeee reputation for a reason.

happypizza

Oh, I do know where the search forum is, thank you. I have tried it, and often times I get the blank white screen. Besides, I like to here real time thoughts, experiences on a given place.

mrandmrsjohnqsmith · Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 5

I just saw this thread and I'm so glad Glenski warned you. There have been numerous threads about that "school" on this website in the past but they routinely get deleted due to some kind of conflict of interest between the site and the advertisers.

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

mrandmrsjohnqsmith · Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 5

Yikes, I'd never thought of what might happen to Japanese/Korean kids who emigrate to the West and try to pull that move. If you're their teacher, I hope you consider it part of your duty to warn these kids in person before the "other thing" comes to them, and inform them that KANCHO is unacceptable in the U.S., because it certainly will get them beat up and/or suspended and might even land them in trouble with the law.

I was completely freaked out the first time my students started doing it to me, but I soon learned that this is a totally normal thing in Japanese kid culture. In the U.S. we have weird stuff too, wet willies, wedgies, various punching games, though we never involved our teachers. But in Japan I've even seen teachers doing it to the kids. It seems like sexual harrassment to us, but apparently it really is no big deal in Japan.

Westerners who are working in Japan, or Korea, apparently, if you feel strongly enough about it you might want to make a point of sharing your feelings with your students and coworkers upfront: you don't like being kanchoed and you're serious about it. Otherwise it will hurt and confuse them if you bite their heads off the first time they do it to you when it's not considered offensive to anyone else but you. Remember you're teaching culture not just words.

This is such a stark cultural variance that it really should be on the top ten list for people traveling between Japan/Korea and the West. No Westerner should take an elementary school teaching position in Japan without knowing about KANCHO.