Korean Job Discussion Forums

[garykasparov]

https://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/08/08/200708080072.asp

This is a response to Matthew Lamers' article "Another English teacher bites the dust" about an English instructor who received a six month prison sentence for falsifying degree credentials. - Ed.

Like many others, I am glad to see that The Korea Herald is addressing the issue of fake diplomas in the field of English education in Korea. Fake diplomas are a big problem for everyone, including honest teachers and parents who are cheated when someone teaching at a hagwon is passed off as a college graduate.

We need to be proactive in order to eliminate those with fake diplomas. There must be more checks and balances to make sure that no one teaches English in Korea with a fake diploma.

The way I see it, there are three distinct problem areas. The first is those who are teaching on tourist visas. Since this is already illegal, it is up to the Korean government to get serious about how long some are allowed to stay in Korea on tourist visas.

We also have those with fake diplomas who are teaching in hagwon. The hagwon owners must be ultimately responsible for those teaching in their business. With the E2 visa system, the hagwon owners are responsible for the actions of their teachers. It only takes a few minutes to call the university listed on a prospective teacher's diploma to verify it. Therefore, the hagwon owners should be made to sign a form at Immigration verifying that they have checked the diploma of the prospective teacher before an E2 is issued. This way, everyone who profits from the work of the teacher will be responsible if the diploma is discovered to be a fake. If the punishments fall solely on the illegal teachers, then the problems will continue.

Lastly, we have those who are teaching in hagwon from countries other than the English-speaking nations and are being passed off as native speakers.

The Korean government has to start checking on the employment status of these immigrants and get serious about punishing illegal recruiters.

If parents have any questions about the skills of a foreign teacher, they should not hesitate to ask some hard questions. Many of those teaching with fake diplomas are not very good at writing or speaking the English language.

Those of us who earned a diploma are ultimately being cheated by the presence of teachers with fake diplomas. It is in everyone's interest to get rid of those with fake diplomas.

William Mattiford, Jr.



2007.08.08

[wylies99]

This is a great letter to the Herald. I agree 1000000%.

[garykasparov]

How long are the Canadian tourist visas? I would be in favor of shortening them up to one month. More problems are caused with illegal Canadian teachers in Korea on their lengthy tourist visas.

[MrsSeoul]

Are there really that many losers in Korea working because of fake diplomas?

[garykasparov]

It's really hard to count especially in the Incheon area.

[PaperTiger]

Nice. How much time do Koreans get for falsifying their degrees?

[lastat06513]

Having and using falsified qualifications is a big no-no in alot of places worldwide and the consequences for doing it very from place to place.
Honestly, Korea is only following international law when they "try" to verify a foreigner's qualification....

But.....and I do mean but......

what about those that come to Korea with no qualifications at all?
What about those that innocently enter Korea with a C-3 visa and Canadians who enter on a 6-month entry stamp?

To be honest, what is there to see in Korea that can take up to 6 months? (You can go around and see all the major attractions Korea has to offer in only 2 or 3 months)

OH!!!!!......Right, I forgot.......silly me........the 6-month entry stamp is only given in reciprocity for Canada granting Koreans 6-month entry stamps into Canada (where many of them simply just drive into the US looking for work.......illegally, of course) and I can see that it might take a Korean who has legitimate reasons to travel to Canada 6 months to travel around Canada....if he/she wasn't there trying to cross the border to get into the US.......

If they get rid of the fake degree holders, they are only going after (I guesstimate) 25% of the total illegal teachers in the country.

They don't go after those with only entry stamps, or even Working Holiday visas (which really has nothing to do with teaching, except that it allows foreigners an excuse to come to Korea and teach short-term, but are many of them qualified??....except for the fact that these people can apply for this visa because certain countries offer the same holiday visas to Koreans)

This is all just a political game to make Koreans think they are the most important people in the world.....

[contrarian]

I agree with what has been said. The good old union is closong ranks to keep out the competition. It needs to be done but The Brotherhood of Korean English Teachers is going strong.

[sniperteam6]

Equally, there are many losers with degrees.

[hellofaniceguy]

Those who squak the most are usually those with the fake degrees.
Same with those preaching on Sundays about the evil of hookers only to be using their "services" later that day.

[Paji eh Wong]

[Kimchi Cowboy]

[tigerbluekitty]

[wylies99]

Many of you are missing the point. Those "teaching" in Korea with phony diplomas are helping keep crapwons in business. Pull that leg out from under the table of crooks and the entire rotten structure collapses.

BTW- More than 25% of those "teaching" in Korea are here with fake diplomas.

[Whistleblower]

Another Korean is found to have fake academic credentials. I wonder how many Koreans it takes to change the law for academic performance. I count five Koreans who have resigned after faking their academic achievements and being caught out. It takes 5 Koreans a short time to lose their embarrassment but it takes native English teachers 6-12 months in jail to pay their dues if they faked their academic achievements.

---

University Professor Fakes Credentials

By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter

Jung Duck-hee, professor of Myongji University, was revealed Monday to have faked her academic records.

According to Sisa Journal magazine, Jung said she had graduated from the Air and Correspondence College, earned her masters' degree at Dongguk University and had previously worked as a professor at Kyungin Women's College.

However, she had graduated from Yesan Girl's High School in South Chungcheong Province, and hasn't legitimately attained any further academic degrees.

Jung, 51, completed a study course without a degree from Dongguk University. She also wasn't a professor at Kyungin Women's University either, but instead served as a part-time lecturer.

She was a self-made person, overcoming her husband's morbid suspicion about her chastity, troubles with her mother-in-law and economic difficulties to become a life coach teaching people to live happy and positively. Her humor, candidness and experience have put her on the road to stardom. She is said to have given more than 1,000 lectures at large corporations, TV programs, governmental organizations and many universities.

Jung admitted her forgery, but refuted that her publishers and publicists were the real culprits.

She told the magazine that the society drove her to exaggerate her records. Governmental organizations and big companies always welcomed people with more academic profiles and so did the others. Therefore, she had no reason to correct her profile, she reportedly said.

``Korean society always weighs on outlooks of a person. I always tried to tell people that I am a high school graduate but no one seemed to want to listen to it. I always suffered from the fact that I am not well educated,'' she said. She also said she had received offers to buy foreign diplomas with certain amount of money, which she turned down.

Jung is the latest in a recent series of diploma forgery cases involving prominent figures in various fields: Art curator Shin Jeong-ah who was dismissed from Dongguk University; English instructor Lee Ji-young who quit her radio program; renowned architect Lee Chang-ha who also quit teaching at a college; and Kim Ok-rang, head of Dongsoong Art Center who is placed under the prosecution's investigation.