Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Stan Rogers]

For you teachers who work in the public schools, could you please give your take on this article. I've read many posts from people with biracial kids saying that everything in Korean schools are fine and their kids enjoy it. But this article seems to suggest otherwise. What's the real story there?

http://asiancorrespondent.com/66424/skorea-too-many-bi-racial-kids-not-getting-an-education/

[jvalmer]

I'd say it's probably accurate, but it doesn't mean every single bi-racial kid is going to drop out. And I think urban vs rural school setting can have an impact too.

I've only noticed two obviously mixed race children and one girl whose father is a 2nd generation Korean born ethnic Chinese and another whose mother is Japanese. The girl had problems, not due to the ethnicity of her father, but her parents divorce (and both getting re-married) and the act of them dumping her in some orphanage in her mid-teens. As for the two obviously mixed race kids, one of them had a black US army grandfather he's never seen. He seemed to have no issues, but it's not like I track them once they move onto high school. The other one, well from what I was told his mother is Filipino, but this was in a rural school, and his father is Korean and therefore probably treated better in a rural school. And one more student was half-Japanese, however her father is Korean and probably changes the dynamics of things. And again I don't exactly keep tabs on them when they move on. But I have seen them roam the streets.

With the exception of the girl dumped in the orphanage (who was hanging around a much much older college boy), I've seen the others roaming around in their uniforms with their friends all smiles and laughs.

[ttompatz]

[T-J]

I'm following your post Tom up till the final part.

I agree that people on Dave's are by and far from developed countries are educated and if married with children here are in a higher income bracket than the majority of bi-racial children's families in Korea that are made up of poor rural farmers that have married brides from SE Asia. Therefore the experiences of expats with children here on Dave's will be very different from the statistical majority.

The part you lost me on was the 'entitlement mentality' part.

Hoping you could clarify that for me.

Personal antecdote on the subject, our son is excelling here in the Korean PS system and both he and my wife and I are very happy with his experience to this point. He's in third grade and we plan on remaining here until he starts high school at which point he'll return to the U.S. for high school to prepare for U.S. university.

[Adventurer]

I agree with Ttompaz. We have to consider that often Korean males who marry South East Asian women are often not the most educated Koreans and are not economically very successful. There are exceptions. It would be one thing if you have a wealthy Korean father who is very educated with a Vietnamese bride versus a lower class Korean father married to a Filipino wife. The daughter or son could possibly face disadvantages, as well, if he was the son of Korean parents of a similar background. However, since the child has a foreign parent who doesn't know Korean society so well, the child could be at more of a disadvantage. They do need help otherwise we could see some of those children engaging in criminal acts because they're outside the system.

I think kids who have Western parents should do much better. The Western parent already has a university degree and in some cases will know some Korean, and will have married a Korean woman in many cases who is rather educated. If he married another foreign woman, she would rather educated as well. The other day I saw some happy Western kids who I was told spoke good Korean and were happy in the Korean schools.

I don't know enough about the subject matter...I think bi-racial kids are not all alike with the same circumstances.