Korean Job Discussion Forums

[KHerald]

It's a poll for a story in Expat Living. The results will be in the newspaper.

[afsjesse]

From a cultural and differential perspective, yes.

For the sake of accents and job security, no.

[Ultimo Hombre]

KEEP THOSE FOREIGNERS OUT OF MY KOREA!!!

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

Yes, I think it's a good idea and I'm also interested in what social ill Koreans will come up to scapegoat Indians, Filipinos, Singaporeans for. Us Western English teachers already have the drunken, debaucherous, lecherous mantle taken thank you very much!

[Insidejohnmalkovich]

More English teachers from wherever will cool down the labour market, so that those foreign teachers who are completely lazy and useless can be fired.

[jkelly80]

This won't cool down squat. This is aimed at the provinces, not Seoul and Gyeonggi, which might as well be Taiwan for all the effect it will have on labor supply in the money spots. No way these guys will end up at YBM or Wonderland anytime soon.

If EPIK is anything like SMOE, all this means is that the provincial Korean public education apparatus will mismanage non-native English teachers, rather than mismanaging native English teachers.

[Privateer]

It'll be interesting to get some Indian teachers on Dave's and hear what they have to say. Will they too complain? Complain even more? Complain about the same old things?

[sojourner1]

I voted no, becuase it could put me or other Westerners out of the opportunity to teach in Korea within 2 to 3 years from now. I've seen how I was beat in the job market at home by others from poorer countries due to companies looking to get a skilled person at the lowest cost. With times getting lean, the governments going to have a budget issue come up and they will be looking to cut costs within the next year or so. The budget crisis will be a sudden emergency publicly announced and acknowledged when it comes just slightly over due to say the least.

Don't expect this global economic downturn to resolve in just 1 or 2 years. While public school education is a nonprofit sector, it is indirectly affected and depends on how well the country is doing with exports and tax revenues among all other things money related that add to the governments coffers. In recent times, the past 6 or 7 years, the Korean, Japanese, and Chinese governments experienced unprecedented amounts of cash inflow due to unprecedented export business success raking in the taxes, fees, and tariffs. This now eroding model largely rode on American consumers access to almost unlimited credit in the 2000's while American corporations truly did international business rather than employing Americans do produce. There's no way the Americans can continue to buy at those levels nor pay back the huge debts, becuase they truly lack opportunity today. The deck is stacked formidably against those in said land of opportunity.

Now, American consumers no longer have access to credit and China is warning that the tab is getting too huge and they can feed the American economy forever. The big bailout is intended to provide more credit to American consumers, but it's being used as executive pay, bonuses, operating costs, and just to keep things going on the big business level for the time being. The real crisis is yet to come and this will drive a big blow to Asian economies home in the coming future. They'll realize within 1 more year it's bad so they'll cut back everything and get ultra conservative. This is where foreign American English teacher goes out of mode and low cost 3rd country English teacher comes into play. Of course, if things get too severe with money, business, and economics where it's really an unprecedented severe global depression, then English will be put on the back burner to focus on other more pressing issues. I have a hunch things are looking from worse to worst not to be a pessimist, but just frank about it.

[crosbystillsstash]

It's good. It will drive up demand for private lessons. Mrs Kim won't want Jinseok going to those "hard to understand" people if she has money.

Actually, I have asked a few Koreans about their opinions on this, and some of them actually said someting like the above.

Korea needs to open it's doors to more of the world if you ask me.

[ryoga013]

I wonder how the fact that Korea has wrongly imprisoned two great captains from India, treated them like crap, held them illegally to start, refused them religious paraphernalia, and not bothered about setting things straight.

I hope some hostile Indians come and break them out. Sorry Gandhi, a few people need their heads busted in.

[Paji eh Wong]

Anything that gets Koreans out of their shells and into the rest of the world is a good thing.

That said, sucks to be "them".

[sobriquet]

Any exposure to English is better than no exposure.

I've met very good Filipina/o and Indian ESL instructors in Thailand.

I've also met terrible ones

Their accent may be different but it's no worse than having a Manc accent, a broad New York accent or even a Kiwi accent.

Only people who really are scared of 3rd World ESL intructors are the one who are mediocre at best and know that they can easily be replaced.

[Evanzinho]

Sure let them come to Korea to teach, if you're a good teacher you should have nothing to worry about.

[tefain]

[alex83]

Larger Indian community = More good Indian restaurants