View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Socivol
Joined: 26 May 2009
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 9:42 am Post subject: Rejected from jobs because I am black? |
|
|
I submitting an application to CDI (yeah I know) along with my roommates. They both got jobs and I didn't. The weird thing is that we all go to the same school and I actually have graduated and have 2 degrees while they just finished their first. On paper we are all basically the same and we all applied within a week of one another. They both got hired and I didn't The only thing that's different is that I am black and they are not. I asked my recruiter to find out why I was rejected and he said there was no reason given. It really has pissed me off and kinda made me not even want to come to Korea anymore. And I've heard it seems to be more difficult for black people to get jobs in Korea, is that true? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
richardlang
Joined: 21 Jan 2007 Location: Gangnam
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 9:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
Apply to SMOE. They seem rather open to all people. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
kokujin
Joined: 17 May 2009 Location: Washington, DC
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 9:56 am Post subject: Re: Rejected from jobs because I am black? |
|
|
Socivol wrote: |
The only thing that's different is that I am black and they are not. I asked my recruiter to find out why I was rejected and he said there was no reason given. It really has pissed me off and kinda made me not even want to come to Korea anymore. And I've heard it seems to be more difficult for black people to get jobs in Korea, is that true? |
I'm not sure about other programs and companies, but I applied and got into EPIK and I'm an African-American male from the US. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
digsydinner
Joined: 24 May 2009
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:22 am Post subject: |
|
|
question...are your two friends korean-americans? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
E_athlete
Joined: 09 Jun 2009 Location: Korea sparkling
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
From what I've heard many (not all but many) K-schools discriminate based on looks and ethnic background. I've heard of stories of how blacks/kokujins have been accepted for a job but then after submitting a picture the school change their minds. Not fitting their image of an ESL/English teacher can realistically ruin your chances which is sad. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen in North America because it does in many different professions.
I've been discriminated because of both my ethnic background and gender when I applied to be a waiter even in Canada. The manager who was this middle aged white guy told me to my face that he was "looking for girls, white girls". I was shocked at how blatant it was and considered taking legal action but I couldn't afford a lawyer anyway. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
alphakennyone

Joined: 01 Aug 2005 Location: city heights
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:49 am Post subject: |
|
|
Maybe it was because you're black, or maybe you just didn't write as good of an essay (what a pain in the ass it is to apply to CDI). You'll never know because they didn't say it to your face, as others sometimes might in the future.
I had a class of high school grads who were about to go study in San Bernardino who thought it was totally acceptable to use the "n" word during break time in my class. Hopefully they've gotten their asses kicked once or twice by now; San Berdoo isn't the softest city in the world. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
digsydinner
Joined: 24 May 2009
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:53 am Post subject: |
|
|
must be tough always having to ask the "was it cos i'm black" question each time something doesn't go your way... |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
kokujin
Joined: 17 May 2009 Location: Washington, DC
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 11:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
digsydinner wrote: |
must be tough always having to ask the "was it cos i'm black" question each time something doesn't go your way... |
It is tough. Really tough. The problem is that although in today's society the possibility of a black male or female to make something of himself/herself is greater, discrimination is still alive and flourishing today not just in the US but throughout the world. The problem is that the cases of discrimination are ambiguous and one can tell the employer's motives unless him/her say outright it was because someone was black .It could be that the OP's application essay could have been bad or it could have been the picture of himself submitted with the app. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
E_athlete
Joined: 09 Jun 2009 Location: Korea sparkling
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 11:47 am Post subject: |
|
|
the very fact you have to submit your picture in your application to be consider should be a red-flag that they are open to discrimination based on looks and ethnicity. I think we all know this. I would even go as far to say that your resume and application is secondary to your photo. If they wanted qualified English teachers they wouldn't hire BA's with no teaching experience.
For me, being half-Asian male is not as good as being a white girl with blond hair but it's not as hurtful to my job prospects in Korea as being a black man. Your probability of being hired just drops the farther away you are from the white girl archetype and this is something that is openly acknowledged by some of the recruiters I talked to. It's even in the FAQ of some recruiter websites to Korea. You just have to have realistic expectations for yourself and know that it happens a lot even today. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
digsydinner
Joined: 24 May 2009
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 11:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
E_athlete wrote: |
the very fact you have to submit your picture in your application to be consider should be a red-flag that they are open to discrimination based on looks and ethnicity. I think we all know this. I would even go as far to say that your resume and application is secondary to your photo. If they wanted qualified English teachers they wouldn't hire BA's with no teaching experience.
For me, being half-Asian male is not as good as being a white girl with blond hair but it's not as hurtful to my job prospects in Korea as being a black man. Your probability of being hired just drops the farther away you are from the white girl archetype and this is something that is openly acknowledged by some of the recruiters I talked to. It's even in the FAQ of some recruiter websites to Korea. You just have to have realistic expectations for yourself and know that it happens a lot even today. |
sad... but true. and it's not that it's a beauty contest either...as most white/blonde girls who get hired here are absolutely busted cows... |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Location: somewhere in China
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 12:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Quote: |
the very fact you have to submit your picture in your application to be consider should be a red-flag that they are open to discrimination based on looks and ethnicity. |
I guess I don't have to type that. Yep, I agree, but when you ask for 1 photo of the school, the recruiters act like you are starting an forensic investigation on the school. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
wesharris
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 3:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
You must understand that in South Korea, there is no discrimination.
Here all Koreans live in Confuscianist Harmony. All others invited do
so with great enjoyment and pleasure at being in this wonderful
nation here. Korea is Sparking. In Korea there is no Discrimination,
only Sparkling. Korea Sparkling.
_+_+
Wes |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
VanIslander

Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
|
|
Back to top |
|
 |
JJJ
Joined: 27 Nov 2006 Location: Seoul
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 3:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
%$#@ happens. I didn't get a job a few times because I'm Canadian and the school wanted only Americans or British.
Try again and good luck. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
cdninkorea

Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Seoul
|
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 3:45 pm Post subject: Re: Rejected from jobs because I am black? |
|
|
Socivol wrote: |
It really has pissed me off and kinda made me not even want to come to Korea anymore. And I've heard it seems to be more difficult for black people to get jobs in Korea, is that true? |
It can be harder for black people to get jobs in Korea. I see why you're upset, and you have a right to be. However, are you going to write off a whole country because of one case of (possible) racism? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|