Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jdog2050]

Ok, we get it, the guy is a douche-bag, but could we please stop posting his car-wreck style articles?

His latest, about Koreans being a "soulful" people officially made me throw up in my frakkin' mouth.

That's right Mr. Huer, let's ignore that the country was basically 50/50 Buddhist Shamanist/Agnostic before Christianity arrived, and is *still* hovering at about 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 for each category.

Let's also ignore that if you dig deep enough you'd see that a lot of Christians here see it as a legacy religion (i.e., I'm christian because my parents, husband/wife is christian, etc) and not something that they really wrestle with or even study deeply.

Guys, Huer is fluff, and he's just the latest in a long line of garbage editorials and even cartoons that the K times trots out.

Let's stop giving him more of a voice, please.

[Captain Corea]

Don't worry, there's a new guy on the chopping block.



http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=153322

[jdog2050]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

What we could do is write to the KT and KH complaining that such authors have poor perspectives and make their papers look bad. I don't really care if Huer wants to go off about characterising Koreans as this or that, but when he starts going off about education it really annoys me. I'm sure the other douche bag will be a one-offer.

[sarbonn]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Adventurer]

04-21-2009 15:25

Off the Mark

Dear editor,

Once again I can not help but feel that Jon Huer is off the mark. In his April 18-19 article he tackles how unhappy English teachers are in Korea.

I think his analysis that foreigners are extremely bitter and hate all things Korean is more of a reflection of his reaction to the responses he has received over his articles from the foreign community.

I am not sure what sort of response he was expecting when he started writing articles for The Korea Times, but I am sure he felt that he would receive some positive feedback.

The feedback he has gotten thus far has been highly critical. His articles have been received with ridicule and scorn. His intelligence has been questioned and many people have openly wondered how he ever managed to get a Ph.D.

What is Huer's response to the biting criticisms he has received? He writes a scathing article about ``backpacking, unemployed English teachers.'' Rather than writing a fair and balanced about the attitudes English teachers have toward Korea, we are treated to damning indictment.

Personally, I rarely agree with any of what Huer has to write, and when I read his articles either a groan or expletive or both escape my lips.

If I want to read an insightful column about Korea, Korean culture, or those dwelling in Korea, I will read Michael Breen's column. If I want to torture my mind, I will read Jon Huer's.

Chris Benedict
English teacher from Canada
Ulsan City

http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2009/04/137_43531.html


At least, we are given a chance to respond to the unempirical columns posted by Jon Huer. I am rather confident that many EFL teachers with undergraduate degrees in the social science would write more empirical, critical articles than Jon Huer, who has a PH.D. He is using anti-Western prejudices and his prejudices against the Japanese people to taint his writings. That's not becoming of a sociologist.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Here was mine re: the same article:

Dear Madam / Sir,

I have read several of Mr Huer's latest articles about English education in Korea. As someone who has been teaching English in Korea for over four years I must say that I find his analysis to be simplistic and completely inane. While it may not be obvious to people who speak English as a second language, his writing ability is pedestrian and I strongly suspect he would have trouble getting by as an academic in a strictly English speaking environment. His research on educational matters is not even sophomoric and makes your newspaper look substandard to English readers.

I would strongly suggest that in the future you find someone else to write reports for you about the state of English education and English teachers in Korea. Perhaps Mr Huer is well qualified to speak from the perspective of a C-grade academic who has made a career out of vacuous commentary about Korea, but he is certainly not qualified to speak about the nature of English education here, nor is he remotely representative of the foreign teaching community in Korea.

To be sure, institutional environment varies enormously from teaching job to teaching job in Korea. Mr Huer's attempts to generalise foreign teachers' experiences based on their individual attitudes demonstrates a very poor understanding of this. This is hardly surprising given that he has never actually taught English here. If he had he would no doubt know that there are some institutions in which foreign teachers are supported, appreciated, and allowed to teach effectively, and many in which they are not. He would also know that Korean employers of foreign teachers often take enormous gambles by failing to conduct proper reference checks for prospective teachers, often choosing instead to take a gamble on a random selection, resulting in such a mixed quality of foreign teachers. He'd furthermore understand that the heart of foreign teachers� problem lies largely with Korea's visa system, which prevents teachers from leaving bad jobs for good jobs before a year-long contract is finished.

In any event, I think your newspaper would be well served by finding someone who is actually a dedicated, experienced teacher to provide readers with a somewhat deeper and more informed perspective on teaching in Korea. Such a person may also be able to focus more on what foreign teachers and Korean students can do, not just what they cannot.

Sincerely,

[Benicio]

It's obvious that the KT will print any shite that makes Koreans look good and foreigners look bad.
Substandard academics like Jon Huer and waygook hating complete lunatics like Steve Shertzer and this new guy Hayden Sennet(sp?) are taking advantage of this very poor policy.
Recently, there's the spate of Korean & Korean-American females studying in American universities, like Jessica Kim, writing opinion pieces that smear all foreign English teachers and foreigners in Korea as "losers".
Should we just ignore it or continue writing to the KT in a campaign that seems to be ignored?

The KT thinks since Jon Huer is a Ph.D. and kisses a$$ on Korea while blaming foreigners for all problems, then he must be great. Shertzer & Sennet do the same thing.

The KT obviously doesn't care what we think.

Boycott the paper! Don't open its website!

[Adventurer]