Korean Job Discussion Forums

[in_seoul_2003]

From the article:

"President Lee has invited 500 ethnic Koreans in English-speaking countries to Korea to tutor rural students from August. The participants will receive round-trip airfare and allowances of about 1.5 million won ($1,500) per month, as well as a 400,000 won monthly housing allowance."

Yikes! 1.9 per month? I don't know whether they have a meal plan and how many hours that entails, but inviting ethnic Koreans over to most likely make less than non-ethnic Korean teachers doesn't send a good message. The government must be banking on one of two (or both) things:

1. their desire for participating in nation building must be high

2. they have a relatively low status where their coming from

Not sure why buddy is using the example of Jews in the White House in reference to Korea. Clearly the two countries are worlds apart in terms of their geopolitical relations to the US.

The entire article:

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/04/117_23336.html

By Kang Shin-who
Korea Times Correspondent

NEW YORK ― Many ethnic Koreans in the United States reacted negatively to the Lee Myung-bak government's plan to use a pool of young Korean Americans for the promotion of English education at public schools in rural areas.

On top of pay levels that are far from appealing, they said they see little merit in taking part in the program of volunteering to teach students in rural areas who have few chances to learn English from native English speakers. To attract Korean American students studying at U.S. colleges to the program, the government needs a program to instill a Korean identity into them before asking them to help rural students improve their English, according to the leader of an association of young ethnic Koreans.

President Lee has invited 500 ethnic Koreans in English-speaking countries to Korea to tutor rural students from August. The participants will receive round-trip airfare and allowances of about 1.5 million won ($1,500) per month, as well as a 400,000 won monthly housing allowance.

``I think many ethnic Koreans are ready to work for their homeland for about one year. If we systemize the project, there will be many volunteers,'' Lee said in January.

However, President Lee's plan is apparently getting a lukewarm reaction from Korean Americans in the U.S.

``I am not sure how many Korean American students would apply for the program. How can our children, who don't have a sense of Korean identity, voluntarily work for Korea?'' said Lee Chung-wha, founder of the Korean-American Youth Assistance Coalition (KAYAC) here.

KAYAC President Shin Young-soo also said that the government needs education programs teaching the Korean language, history and culture to second generation Korean Americans, who could have ``identity problems.''

``Money doesn't matter. If they have a strong sense of ethnic identity, they will extend helping hands to their homeland before they are asked,'' Shin said.

Established in 2000, KAYAC is a nonprofit association helping young people in the Korean American community understand their roots as descendents of Koreans. About two million ethnic Koreans live in the U.S. and a quarter of them are staying in the Northeast region.
The organization is offering homeland visit programs to young students in cooperation with Kyung Hee University. So far, 550 Korean Americans have visited Korea through the program.

``Actually, it is not our job. The Korean government should take this up and support more programs for young ethnic Koreans around the world. Still, many more young students are interested in learning about Korea,'' said former KAYAC President Ahn Yong-jin.

They said the government needs to learn from China, Japan and especially from Israel. ``The Jewish people work hard to embrace their kindred all around the world. There are about 850 Jews in the White House, for example, and they are the power and driving force of Israel,'' said Lee, who also served as president of the Korea-American Association of New York.

``We should do something for young Koreans overseas. If we don't, there will be no more chances and our children will have no roots,'' Lee added.

They also asked the Korean government to take care of Korean adoptees in the United States. ``Many adopted Koreans have bad feelings about their parents and mother country. Their motherland should embrace them,'' Ahn said.

They said a greater pool of ethnic Korean assets will be nurtured across the world in 15- 20 years. The government should invest in them so that it can attract them as driving power for Korea in the future. ``I hope President Lee suggests a vision and long-run plans for ethnic Koreans instead of just talking to us in `pragmatic' ways,'' Lee said.

[email protected]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[pkang0202]

Why is there no distinction between Korean Americans and Koreans citizens living in the US?

Of course Korean Americans would scoff at it. They are Native Speakers with F Visa's.

This is a good thing for ethnic Koreans living abroad who don't qualify for Native Teacher status.

[aarontendo]

Eh it's not so bad. If you can arrange things with your home university to do some distance coursework it would work out well. You'd have plenty of time to do your studies, and the money you make is better than student jobs. Also, you can try to get some sort of internship credit with some universities I'd imagine. I'm not sure on that last part, but hey worth a shot!

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[nate1983]

No one's forcing them to take the job. And it's free airfare. I haven't gotten any such offers from the Norwegian government, which probably couldn't give a rat's ass about me connecting with the "motherland."

[billybrobby]

It just makes no sense. They offer them bad jobs (teaching outside of Seoul) for low money. And they think that the person's Korean-ness will somehow override these factors. But clearly the person's Korean-ness didn't inspire them to take good jobs, which have been available all along for any gyopo who wants them. Isn't 2.1 + housing in Seoul standard? Is somebody ignoring that and then going to jump on 1.5 because it's for the homeland? You're teaching English to Koreans either way. Do these job offer other benefits like cultural education that aren't offered by the standard hogwon package?

There's also the inherent irony of contributing to your homeland by teaching them a language from ANOTHER country. For what purpose? So that they can become even more like America? Hooray, Motherland!

[billybrobby]

Oh...wait...it's for people who haven't graduated yet. Still makes no sense. They should offer course credits that can count to their university.

Also, I love there's a big controversy over unqualified english teachers who don't have degrees. And then what do they do? Actively recruit people with no degrees! Surely their Korean-ness will overcome all odds.

[Gwangjuboy]

``The Jewish people work hard to embrace their kindred all around the world. There are about 850 Jews in the White House, for example, and they are the power and driving force of Israel,'' said Lee, who also served as president of the Korea-American Association of New York.



Some Korean Americans are obsessed with Jews. They envisage ethnic Koreans forming a global brotherhood with considerable influence like the stories told about world Jewry in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Sadly, many of them pedal the same crap that you read in the Protocols.

[jdog2050]

[sargx]

There are a lot of adopted Koreans who might be interested in this. A lot of them don't have the money to casually fly over to Korea (i.e. poor college students). So it's not a horrible idea.

[Kashmir]

[mindmetoo]

Lee usually has a clue but really now. 1.9 million plus no free apartment and then you discover the whitey down the street gets a free apartment 900 bucks more than you and gets his or her ass kissed while you are expected to work like a Korean... and if you're a Korean female much more is expected of you.

Yeah. If you wanted to design a program to teach thousands of Korean Americans to hate Korea and see the real Korea, you couldn't come up with a better program.

[Passions]

What a total joke.

Most Korean-Americans goto Yonsei for the summer, why? To party it up, get wasted, and bang as many chicks as possible.

Offer them a country-side job with minimal pay and the opportunity to give back to the motherland... you'll only get laughs.

[Gwangjuboy]