Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chris_J2]

If The_Eyeball_Kid wants to make an asinine fool of themselves, there's little I can do about it, apart from reporting the offending posts to the moderators. Start your own thread, if you wish to do nothing more than exchange insults & 'ad hominems'.

[vox]

This just in from Yahoo Canada... direct references to Dave's ESL Cafe

"As Thai police intensified their search for a Canadian schoolteacher wanted on child pornography allegations Wednesday, new details came to light about Christopher Paul Neil on a website popular with westerners teaching abroad. Investigators said Tuesday they believed the 32-year-old British Columbia man was posting on Dave's ESL Cafe website under the pseudonym "Peter Jackson," and some of Neil's colleagues have confirmed that suspicion to the Associated Press.
...
Neil was a prolific contributor to one forum on teaching in Korea. Until last month he had made more than 300 posts.
...
In one from last May, Neil weighs in on how to avoid being caught with pornography by immigration officials.
...
He appeared to be adept at erasing offending images from computer hard drives.
...
He also appeared particularly savvy on the subject of police background checks.
...
He writes that he had trouble finding work in Canada after he finished university. He hadn't thought much about going to Asia until he came across a newspaper ad about teaching in Korea.
...
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dave's ESL Cafe was abuzz with gossip about the alleged pedophile in their midst.
...
One poster, irked that forum moderators removed a sexually explicit comment Neil made about his students, took it upon himself to re-publish it. The comment was signed "kiddieporn."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071017/national/interpol_manhunt

I hope at least that these events result in closer working ties between the RCMP (i.e. the administrators of the National Sex Offenders List) and the Korean immigration authorities, particularly given how many Canadians are here. Hopefully the US and other English-speaking countries will follow suit. It wouldn't have stopped him, but guessing from his quiet record in Canada, perhaps closer ties between the two organizations may prove a deterrent for other future would-be offenders.

I know that several foreigners have, in the past, tried to make suggestions to various Koreans (employers, government, administration) to take steps to mirror Canadian screening practices to improve things in this industry in Korea.

[spliff]

[SeoulShakin]

[Hollywoodaction]

'Deleted'. Trying to remain on topic.

[4 months left]

Fuking stupid religion again:

Manhunt continues for alleged Canadian pedophile

...The school's website Tuesday morning listed Neil as a Grade 7-8 history teacher, with a degree from The Seminary of Christ the King in Mission, B.C. His name has since been removed from the website.

Archdiocese of Vancouver spokesperson Paul Schratz confirmed that Neil studied at the seminar.

"He apparently left at some point when he was not invited to continue his studies for the priesthood," Schratz told CTV British Columbia.

The school's rector is quoted as saying Neil did not have the qualifications to be recommended for the priesthood.

Neil then shifted his focus to teaching and began volunteering at St. Patrick's Catholic parish six years ago.

"He at some point did some volunteer catechism instruction in the parish -- so he would be working with students, preparing them for the preparation of the sacraments, their religious education, that sort of thing," Schratz added.

B.C.'s College of Teachers says that Neil never worked in the public school system. But the Archdiocese learned that Neil taught briefly at the Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School in Port Coquitlam last spring...

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20071016%2finterpol_cdn_071017&showbyline=True

[spliff]

Yeah, I've met them here...

[SeoulShakin]

[spliff]

No, if you're who I think you are...we're cool and you're an alright guy...

[Newbie]

The Toronto Star does a good job of showing hoe Korea has lame hiring practices

Full article:
http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/267707

Interesting bit:

"I had just finished university and was looking for teaching work in my province," he wrote in one post last November. "My Mom found this little ad in the local newsrag. Not much info: TEACH IN KOREA, MAKE $$ PAY BILLS, etc.

"Boy was I surprised when after I received a 10-minute phone interview at 1 a.m. I was offered a job!!"

[desperation]

[The Lemon]

[mysterious700]

Hope they catch the B@st@rd! Hope the kids in Korea wern't touched and that it doesn't give the rest of us a bad name.
An update on his story....
http://www.canadaeast.com/front/article/100930

[Gwangjuboy]

I saw this article today. I translated the parts which I found most interesting. I certainly didn't like the tone of it in places. A lot of what is included here has been touched on in this thread. (a apologise for any slight mistakes. It was a rush job.)


http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=086&article_id=0000072638&section_id=102&menu_id=102

외국인 강사 수십명 블랙리스트에 올라 - �잭이라는 캐나다인인데 전에 있던 학원에서 아이들에게 자신의 머리카락을 자르도록 하고 변태적인 행위를 해 학부모들의 항의를 받고 해고당한 사실이 있다.

Scores of foreign English instructors have been put on a blacklist. "Someone known as Jack had the children cut his hair and enaged in perverted behaviour so all of the parents protested and he was fired."

로빈이라는 캐나다인은 어린 여자 학생들에게 성적으로 집착하고, 만지는 등 정신적인 문제가 있다. 본인 스스로 여학생에게 접근하고 만진 사실에 대해서 자백했고 다시는 학생들을 가르치지 않겠다고 했지만 그 후로도 학원 주위를 돌고 심지어 학원에 침입까지 한 사람이다.�


Someone from Canada known as Robin got close to the students sexually and touched them. He has a problem mentally. He admitted that he would approach girls and touch them so he promised that he wouldn't teach again but after that he would walk around the neighbourhood and go as far as trespassing in the hagwon.


한국 원어민 강사 리쿠르팅 협회에 올라온 블랙리스트 중 일부 내용이다. 이 협회 블랙리스트에는 이들만이 아니라 수십명의 아동 성폭행 관련 강사 리스트가 올라있다. 하지만 이들 대부분이 해당 학원에서 성추행 사건으로 해고됐지만 사태의 확산을 꺼리는 학원이나 부모의 반대로 경찰에 신고하지 않았다.

That's only part of the blacklist for English teachers made by the recruiting association. On this list these aren't the only entries; there are tens of entries for English instructors connected with the sexual assault of children. Most of these instructors have been fired from their hagwons for molesation but the hagwons and the parents are reluctant to bring attention to these cases and don't make a report to the police.


문제는 외국인 강사는 급증하고 있지만 이들 출신 국가와 범죄 경력이 공유되지 않기 때문에 외국인 강사에 대한 검증 자체가 불가능하다는 점이다.

The problem is that the number of foreign teachers is rising rapidly but their criminal records aren't revealed by their police forces so it is impossible to check their backgorunds.

출입국 관리사무소 관계자는 �범죄 경력은 개인의 가장 중요한 사생활이기 때문에 모든 국가가 이를 공개하는 걸 꺼려하고 있다�며 �검증시스템 마련이 결코 쉽지 않는 상황�이라고 밝혔다.

A spokesman for the Immigration Office said that, "because criminal records are pieces of personal information all the countries are reluctant to share them so it isn't easy to put a system in place which would allow checks to be carried out.

슈란�이라는 네티즌은 불법 원어민 강사 추방 카페에서 �외국인 성추행범은 얼굴과 나이와 신변 정보를 인터넷에 공개하는 법이 필요하다�며 �정보가 쌓이면 학원가나 학부모들이 쉽게 파악하는 것은 물론 이들도 쉽게 한국에 다시 들어오지 못할 것�이라고 주장했다.

A netizen known as Suran said on a discussion forum which supports the deportation of illegal English instructors that " we need a law which would allow the photo (of face), age, andother personal information to be put online." He added "if we gather such information the parents and the hagowns can of course easily access it, and such foreigners couldn't easily get back into Korea either."

[ronin]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/interpol_manhunt


By Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press


As Thai police intensified their search for a Canadian schoolteacher wanted on child pornography allegations Wednesday, new details came to light about Christopher Paul Neil on a website popular with westerners teaching abroad.

Investigators said Tuesday they believed the 32-year-old British Columbia man was posting on Dave's ESL Cafe website under the pseudonym "Peter Jackson," and some of Neil's colleagues have confirmed that suspicion to the Associated Press.

Neil is believed to be on the run after leaving South Korea and arriving in Thailand last Thursday. Authorities say he's the same man whose digitally blurred image had appeared in about 200 Internet photos that showed him sexually abusing young Vietnamese and Cambodian boys.

Border guards in Thailand and in neighboring countries around Asia were on alert in the event that 32-year-old Canadian Christopher Paul Neil, who entered Thailand last Thursday, tries to slip out of the country.

"We are quite certain he is still in Thailand and we think we are moving closer," Thai police Col. Apichart Suribunya said. "Even if he uses a fake passport to try to get out of the country, his pictures are already published everywhere"

Neil's Thursday arrival from South Korea at Bangkok's international airport was documented by cameras at the immigration counter.

The photo of Neil was broadcast around the world Tuesday after Interpol and Thai police named him as their suspect.

Thai authorities were collaborating with police forces in several countries, including Interpol, trying to gather sufficient evidence for an arrest warrant.

Neil was a prolific contributor to one forum on teaching in Korea. Until last month he had made more than 300 posts.

In one from last May, Neil weighs in on how to avoid being caught with pornography by immigration officials.

He recalled an incident in which he tossed a few "Penthouse" magazines from his bag into a trash bin in an airport bathroom - only to find out it wouldn't have been an issue for Korean customs agents after all.

He appeared to be adept at erasing offending images from computer hard drives.

"In terms of computers, if you're worried about any 'content' there are several ways to encrypt your drive. A friend has highly recommended Truecrypt, which you can download," he wrote.

"If you want to get rid of old files so no one will see, then simply deleting them will not work. You'll have to get a program like Jetico's BC Wipe and 'delete with wiping."'

He also appeared particularly savvy on the subject of police background checks.

"Police checks are NOT needed to get a visa. Public schools will want one but you should be able to stall them. Often they want teachers SO quickly that they will 'wait' for some things," he wrote.

"I never gave a police check for my last public school job. I was in Vietnam at the time and getting one wasn't easy. I delayed and never heard about it again."

He writes that he had trouble finding work in Canada after he finished university. He hadn't thought much about going to Asia until he came across a newspaper ad about teaching in Korea.

"Why not, I thought. I actually thought they would NEVER hire me (you see how little I knew). I would need lots of references, great credentials, etc. Boy was I surprised when after I received a 10 minute phone interview at 1 a.m. I was offered a job.

," he wrote. He taught throughout Asia for six years beginning in 2000 before returning to Canada for a visit this year. He returned to Korea this summer.

He also wrote about how much he loved to use cameras in his classroom.

"There are some really good reasons for having cameras. One is REALLY good for teachers: If a student or parent makes an accusation of some sort, it is extremely easy to prove or disprove if the lesson is on film. Think of it as safety," he wrote. "And ham it up as well!"


On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dave's ESL Cafe was abuzz with gossip about the alleged pedophile in their midst.

One poster, irked that forum moderators removed a sexually explicit comment Neil made about his students, took it upon himself to re-publish it. The comment was signed "kiddieporn."

Neil seemed like a "pretty normal guy, as far as ESL teachers go," one person who met him wrote on the forum.

"I would never ever have guessed that he was sexually into children," wrote the person. "We didn't discuss it, and I never saw him around children."

There were vastly differing reactions at two schools where Neil taught.


At the Gwangju school in South Korea, where Neil had been teaching since August, former colleagues described him as outgoing, good at his job, and popular with students.

Ray Fowler, a Canadian teacher at the school, said the suspicions about Neil, whom he identified as a social studies and English teacher for grades seven and eight, came as a shock. He said Neil's apartment was next to his and that Neil would join some of the other teachers at his place to drink beer and listen to music on Friday nights.

"We didn't know anything until the police showed up Friday evening," Fowler told The Associated Press in a telephone interview late Tuesday. "He was a very good teacher. Well organized, well prepared. His kids really liked him."

It was a different story in Thailand. Officials at Ramkhamlaeng Advent International School-a Christian school in the outskirts of Bangkok-said Neil taught there from August 2003 to January 2004.

"He didn't pass the probation," said Poramit Srikureja, an assistant chairman of the school.


Poramit said the school gave Neil verbal and written warnings about his teaching performance, in particular sloppy lesson plans and instances where he left students unsupervised in the classroom.

Rajdeep Takeuchi, who was the principal of the school during Neil's tenure, said he was an ineffectual teacher, but never caused any problems at the school.

There were no complaints of abuse during the time Neil was at either school.

(With files from the Associated Press)