Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jbiz91]

I am Jaeun Limb from JoongAng Daily and looking for English teachers who had problems with hagwon that put teachers at a disadvantage by abusing rules regarding E-2 visa. I won't use your name if you don't want your name on the newspaper.
You can be anonymous. I promise there would be no misquote. I wouldn't be writing this story if I want to distort the reality. Why bother?
My e-mail adress is [email protected]

If you had such problems,
1) because of no, or late, pay; no pension or insurance.
2) because hagwon does not issue a letter of release E-2 and abuse their power over teachers.
3) because you set a schedule for labor hearing but you have to leave in two weeks after they quit their job.

Please be specific. Answer questions relevant to you. And please introduce me other teachers who had similar problems.

What is your name (optional) and hometown? Where, when and for which hagwon or school did you work in Korea(also optional, if you are worried about your identity being revealed)? How long?

What kinds of problems did you have with hagwon, or school?

Did you get health insurance, pension, or severance package? Have you asked your hagwon, or school to provide you with health insurance or pension? How did they respond?

Did your hagwon, or school, issue you a letter of release? Were you able to get another E-2 visa and switch job even without a letter of release?

Were your problems solved?

After the experience with hagwon, did your perception about Korea change?

[Adventurer]

I am not sure how many foreigners still living in Korea would want to be in the papers considering you could get sued in Korea.

[Chamchiman]

[Otherside]

I think a response to this excluding name would be sufficient?

[Adventurer]

[jbiz91]

No misquote, I promise. I'll be very careful not to identify any of you.

[Sincinnatislink]

jbiz, the Korean press, like the Korean government, legal system, and immigration, has made me feel very unwelcome here.
If you are earnest about this, I suggest you start by reading old Korean newspaper articles about foreigners and write an editorial from there.
Nobody wants to talk to newspapers because Korean newspapers have developed a reputation for portraying koreans as infallible, and portraying Western teachers as predatory and ungrateful for the "amazing opportunity" to work in "Korea sparkling."
When was the last time you read something nice about a foreign teacher in Korea in a newspaper? The newspapers have said or implied, since I've been here, that I am a woman-stealing, overpaid, genetically-inferior race who wants to sell you meat because I am too busy importing it from Australia. Then, a President who looks to improve trade relations with my country (for better or worse) is looked upon as a traitorous pig in the Korean press.
When I began the process of filing a complaint against a suspicious employer, I was forced to enlist my own translation help and/or hire a lawyer, and it took roughly one month of calling those four-digit "help lines" and being told "I don't know" at least 10 times a day by one or two of them to even find out how to start that process.
The labor board, for instance, suggested I file a complaint at epeople.co.kr after THEIR website wouldn't accept a complaint because the coding was so awful.

Would you talk to a newspaper if you read things like that about Koreans in the newspaper? Would you talk to a newspaper if it was illegal to say uncomfortable true things about a former employer, and when you went to look for help, the government told you to call someone else every day for a month?

[CentralCali]

In addition to what Sincinnatislink just posted, let's not forget that even America-based news organizations have figuratively "taken a dump" on us Native English Teachers here. ABC's fiasco did not help us or even Korea one bit.

[Jandar]

Can you point us to any article you have written recently on the subject of foreigners so that we can can discern your intent?

[Sincinnatislink]

http://english.kbs.co.kr/society/people/1366371_11774.html

Start here.

[Sincinnatislink]

[Adventurer]

I think there is probably pressure with the new president in power to move away from the anti-foreigner drivel from President Rho's days to a more Western friendly line. Park Chung-Hee was more pro-American and friendly with the Japanese and so is Lee Myung Bak. There is pressure to be more positive vis-a-vis foreigners, but how much will that translate into being fairer to foreigners who work here, I am not sure.

[Sincinnatislink]

You see foreigner-friendliness?
Racial profiling?
Increased immigration demands?
That article?
Are you nuts?

[Adventurer]

[Rumple]

You have a Korean reporter for an English language paper reaching out to you all, who wants to tell your story. How often does that happen?

This is the guy who wrote the story recently that said that Canadians were having a hard time with the new VSS requirement. Cut him some slack.

If you don't want to tell him your story, I can respect that, but don't dump all over him just because he's Korean media. We've all been generalized and marginalized, so let's not turn around and do exactly what we're crying foul about. At least he's trying.

Oh, and by the way, the JoongAng Daily got a new chief editor about six months ago. He's a Pulitzer Prize winning American who is a damn good investigative journalist, and he's trying to turn things around. Help him or stonewall him, its your call.