Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BUSTAK]

UPDATE OF FREED

Who is FREED, you ask?

FREED is First Response for English Educators, the alternative association of English teachers focusing on the conditions and welfare of the newest of newcomers. We got started in April 2010.

FREED aspires to make a difference in the lives of teachers, students and others. It identifies with the movements for democracy and human rights in Korea and beyond.

How is it going?

[color=black]We've gone far fast. A committee with John, Stephannie and Barbara began working on a Charter They are all former leaders in ATEK looking for a new kind of support group. The draft Charter was circulated and discussed, and now it is posted on the website.

New folks joined. One was Dan who offered to create our website, and what a great job he did. Check it out:[/color] www.freedteachers.org.

We also built the labour committee of Galen, John, Sean and Barb. A lawyer stepped forward with some answers, free of charge, and he continues to stand by for FREED as a consultant. We've handled quite a few inquiries. Out of the inquiries, we're making a Q&A section on the website.

We have the Busan Human Rights Counseling Center as an ally ready to serve. That's our postal address and meeting place, should we need it.

Lately, we've mostly been talking with a group of teachers who work together at one site for a big corporate hagwon. The are experiencing multiple problems continually. We've helped some of them leave and go on to better things. We're hoping though to facilitate a resolution enough to improve the day-to-day situation there. But the employees have been fearful. Finally, one person quit and went to the authorities to register complaints and the HR center is looking into the matter.

On the other hand, we had an inquiry from a hagwon owner wanting to know how to hire someone properly and negotiate the teacher's transition from the old workplace to the new one. That was cool.

The English speaking counselor, Ae-Young, at the Foreigner Services Center of BFIA (Busan Foundation of International Activities) is also collaborating with FREED to help teachers. We consult each other on cases, and she refers callers to various English speaking services. Ae-Young also sends us information on major cultural events in Busan to keep us tuned into what's happening in the city. (see www.bfia.or.kr)

We're grateful to Sean who took on the role of Vice-Chair to back up Barb and assist with making sure that FREED functions and grows. Barb and Sean met recently to discuss how to publicize FREED further, and they decided to post ads on Facebook and use the forums like this one.

[color=indigo][color=indigo]Consensus and grassroots collaboration
If you followed FREED's history, you'd know that we wanted to escape unnecessary bureaucracy. Our organization does not organize in a conventional way that minimizes labour and time. So we depend on telecommunications, while we have quick in-person get-togethers, at least one-on-ones, as required.
Self-reliance

Really, though, FREED works on equipping teachers to be self-reliant and vigilant. By educating ourselves, we can prevent and reduce crises, rather than operate to rescue people from emergencies all the time. We can also give each other the tools to handle our own problems effectively, and in turn inform other teachers.

Yes, we need the special skills and knowledge of certain experts and professionals. Fortunately, we already have some friends like that who are assisting us voluntarily. Also, we're very fortunate that the BFIA exists and is setting up a network and services that teachers and others can access. We do not have to build everything from scratch in Busan.

Medical assistance, urgent and otherwise
BFIA provides a handy list of English speaking physicians and other medical professionals. It has even listed places where required overnight surgery and diagnostic appointments and treatments can be had without charge for teachers stuck without medical coverage. Go to the website and download the guide or drop by the BFIA office in the bottom floor of City Hall to get it. You see, we do not need to find and hone our own experts. We're teachers, and we have lives. FREED does not need to become emergency services specialists or legal specialists.

Legal assistance
[color=black]We advise against investing in legal services, through membership contributions or monthly fee paying, and the like. There are many sources providing free legal help to migrant workers including teachers. See our website for some such sources. There is the YMCA, Catholic Migrant Centre, Busan Human Rights Counseling Centre, and various church people who can and do provide free translation and legal support when necessary. Yes, sometimes a legal representative is helpful and even required. For instance, some labour issues cannot be handled by the labour bureau and must instead be handled in the courts, where a lawyer might be needed. That's where the above-mentioned free services come in. They will also write letters and make phonecalls to defend the rights of teachers and other workers.[/color]

The key, however, is to educate ourselves and learn how to manage situations ourselves.

Building solidarity and alliances

Following the general labour and political situation is important too. Let's remember that most people have really serious problems. FREED likes to express solidarity, for what goes around comes around and building understanding through education, formal and grassroots, can help us stand up and be strong and address injustices for the sake of making things better.[/color]
Barb just came back from the International Solidarity Affair where she was a delegate for a friend of FREED's, TEA-KOR. Look up the Facebook and Unionbook.org group pages to learn more about TEA-KOR. Anyway, the ISA was in the Philippines, and the international delegates exchanged information about their respective countries and then met groups offarmers and sweatshop workers who told us about their conditions and struggles. Barb in turn got to tell people about the situation facing teachers of English who migrate to work in Korea.

[color=black]Well, to wrap up, we'd really like you to get acquainted with FREED and subscribe Just go to[/color] [b]www.freedteachers.org. [/b]

[PatrickGHBusan]

Reviewed the website.

It shows promise.

Liked:

However, there is an acute need to build a national network for teachers to assist each other in a range of other issues, especially the most newly arrived teachers. Teachers from abroad need help with cultural adjustment, settlement, employment and social life.

Great motivation and goal.

Disliked:

The history of organizing teachers within South Korea with the intention to provide a service to teachers, especially foreign teachers, has exposed that organization either detached from the working and living conditions of the people or without a vision based on human rights and democratic change, cannot work. A hollow organization is an empty bureaucratic cage that has nothing to say. It loses compassion and results in despotism and petty conflict. It then loses its mass appeal.

1- The Human Rights and Democracy rethoric is out of place and the use of the word despotism is complete innapropriate in this context. It sounds more like a Human Righs advocacy group than a Teachetrs network. This was the exact same problem ATEK had initially.


Also disliked the sidebar with the messages concerning the conflict with ATEK. These messages have no place there on the website of a professional organisation. They are there for selfish reasons rather than organisational reasons.

They drain credibility from the organisation from the get go because it is in no ones best interest to share the inner infighting between ATEK and FREED.
The tone of the messages is also too personal and too emotional.

Still, good luck to this new group.

Finally, I have not been pro-ATEK and had severe reservations about that group but this latest news hardly seems like they are detached from the working and living conditions of Teachers in Korea and also hints that they can achieve things without the Human Righs all workers of the world unite in democracy rethoric.

http://www.koreaherald.com/lifestyle/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100510000488

[TheUrbanMyth]

I've probably been the most vocal critic of ATEK on these boards. And I still do not see it doing much or going very far.


That said I am pleasantly surprised by the link posted above...it seems to be long at last moving in the right direction.

[T-J]

[PatrickGHBusan]

I missed that one TJ.

It is not sad or funny..no no...it is far worse then that. What it is is disgusting, ignorant and shameful.

Sharing the "plight" of foreign teachers in Korea with people who deal with sweatshop wortkers in the Filipines is a flabergastign display of idiocy.

[BUSTAK]

[Scouse Mouse]

I've been trying to keep out of the FREED discussions, because I keep getting this overwhelming urge to type MENTALIST! in a huge red font. Oops.

Well now the cat's out the bag, let's play:

[yfb]

Keep up the ATEK infighting, guys! It makes for some quality drama!