Korean Job Discussion Forums

[koreakowboy]

To be fair I want to post some positive happenings with reference to the situation.

This morning I again was frustrated when my co-teacher approached me and said she was shocked but the man had apologized and that was the end of the situation.

An hour or so later the call came through from the GEPIK office of education concerning my complaint. The vice-principal, a good man, became somewhat frustrated and started talking to my co-teacher and the other teachers. It was not until lunch that she approached me and asked if I knew everything about the situation. I said I did and was still frustrated nothing seemed to be happening. She then mentioned that the man had offered to clean the school. After further dialogue with me they have now decided to have a meeting about the situation and actually asked what the police could do. I thought at the very least it would give the man a good scare but thought it was important they asked. The vice-principal apologized for how he handled things and the co-teacher apologized for "Korean culture", her words.

I have to commend my school and the GEPIK office for at least trying to understand why I was so upset and not brushing things aside.

For all of you who think nothing can be done in these situations, I hope you at least try.

[CasperTheFriendlyGhost]

Sounds heavy. What the hell are you talking about?

[pkang0202]

You don't have to live with the father. That girl does. I haven't seen Social Services in Korea so I doubt they'll put the girl in protective custody.

#1. Now the whole school knows what a crap father the girl has.

#2. The crap father now has to deal with public humiliation and loss of face.

#3. The crap father will most likely blame this whole thing on his daughter since it was her smoking/drinking that started the whole mess.


I know you just couldn't stand by and do nothing. I understand that and if I were in the same situation, I might do the same thing. The reality is, after August you are going to leave the country. The girl still has to live with her father, who now is humiliated.

What he did was inexcusable, but now that you've taken action, you have to take responsibility for them. I hope things will turn out for the best.

[the eye]

Beatings not done in public will be done worse in private.

[crazy_arcade]

[Typhoon]

Well done! More people need to stand up to things that are wrong. The "culture" excuse is very weak. Wrong is wrong. You can make a difference. Hopefully the dad will think twice before being a dink again.

[oldfatfarang]

Well, everyone's had their say. But I'd like to congratulate the op for standing by his principles/beliefs. You saw a child being physically abused - and you stopped it. Well done. To me this shows you are someone to be admired - someone with the courage of your convictions.

Take heart that your Korean colleagues have also taken notice of your principles - and that they now know not everyone - in every country - is willing to watch a child being abused and not do anything about it. Your intervention shamed them - and rightly so. They now know that while child abuse may be OK in Korean culture - it's still OK for a civilised 'teacher' to protect his students - even from their parents.

I still live with the shame of not intervening in a 'father - daughter' beating in a small/isolated African village. My girfriend and I watched a father repeatedly 'bitch slapping' a young girl and we did not intervene.

This 'father' used force that would likely have broken the daughter's jaw - but the hundreds of Africans looking on did nothing to intervene. After all, she was his daughter - and a female - she wasn't even worth as much as his cattle. We were both aware of the cultural implications of us intervening - we'd likely been kicked to death by the crowd.

So my hat's off to you op. Well done.

[Fresh Prince]

[garykasparov]

[lowpo]