Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Chaparrastique]

[Stan Rogers]

I'm willing to bet they hired a few Irish alcoholics in the past and now want nothing to do with Irish people.

But who knows? Maybe her resume had a black beer stain on it and smelled like Guinness.

[atwood]

Just to muddy the stereotype waters, since most Korean women don't drink or drink very little when the occasion arises, why wouldn't they also think women in other countries were teetotalers as well?

Or does the all Western women are sluts (so they must drink like fish) viewpoint take precedence?

[saram_]

What has obviously happened here as some have said was the Agency or Academy had some bad experiences with Irish people and their drinking before. It obviously affected their teaching etc to the point where that bad stereotype matched.
Stereotypes don't always help people.

Its unfortunate but there you go.

Comparing how much one country's people drink to another in this situation is ridiculous.
(That's been happening elsewhere)
That's not the point..

We all know at least some of the people who come over here from various countries drink way too much and it has badly affected their teaching etc.
Foreigner teachers here are more likely to be missing days etc due to drink than Korean people IMO.
I know we are just talking about a tiny majority here that do that but still.

Crazy that there is such a furore over it though in fairness.

[aq8knyus]

I think we might hear more about this soon in the Korean press.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29929333

'Irish alcoholism nature' reason for job rejection for Irish teacher in South Korea

A teacher from the Republic of Ireland has been turned down for a job in South Korea due to the "alcoholism nature" of Irish people.

Katie Mulrennan, from County Kerry, had applied for a teaching job in Seoul.

She was told by an agency that their client did not hire Irish people due to their perceived drinking habits.

The 26-year-old told the BBC that she could not believe the email was real at first.

"Usually when you apply for a job and they don't want you, they don't send a reply," she said.

"Or they tell you they would prefer someone from North America, because some schools prefer the accent.

"But this reply was a first. When I got the email, it was so abrupt and short. I actually laughed when I read it initially.

"But then I wanted to write back a really angry response.

"In the end I took a deep breath and sent back a reply, that was a little bit sarcastic as I couldn't believe the email I had received. But I haven't heard anything back since."

'Your kind'

The teacher had emailed the application when a job was advertised on listings website Craigslist in September.

She told the agency that she had been teaching English for over three years, in Barcelona, Oxford and Abu Dhabi as well as South Korea.

Last week, she received a reply that said: "I am sorry to inform you that my client does not hire Irish people due to the alcoholism nature of your kind".

Ms Mulrennan said she did not know who the recruiter was as their details were not listed on the site.

However she has reported the advertisement to Craigslist.

"It was disappointing because these employers did not even get to see me," she said. "They never spoke to me and didn't get a chance to hear what I sounded like."

The English teacher has since found a job and said that she can laugh about what happened.

"I was annoyed about it. But I can also see it was a little bit hilarious as well. A friend saw it and encouraged me to post it online as it might go viral.

"I thought: 'Really? It's just another silly thing poking fun at Irish people'. But then I put it online and people started getting in touch.

"I still love the country and being in Seoul."

[northway]

[UseAsDirected]

According to Euromonitor, South Koreans consume 5.2 times spirits of the Irish and the most of the sample at 13.7 shots per week. Russia lies in second at 6.3 shots per week. (But, vodka is stronger than soju, if memory serves). Do Koreans also out drink the Irish in beer?

http://qz.com/171191/south-koreans-drink-twice-as-much-liquor-as-russians-and-more-than-four-times-as-much-as-americans/

[Chaparrastique]

[Hokie21]

Why is this international news?

[le-paul]

[Stan Rogers]

Was the picture on the resume taken in a bar?

[basic69isokay]

Honestly, MOST korean men I've met in 5 years here are full-blown alcoholics. Like 80%+

So, its a bit delusional to call another race alcoholics. Drinking to excess, puking, fighting, and passing out on the street is not alcoholism? Oh, its Korean culture. I see.
Good luck with that liver

[Shimokitazawa]

The Irish and Koreans remind me of each other.

Both love to drink and fight a little too much and walk around with a big chip on their shoulder.

The Irish and Koreans, though worlds apart, have a lot in common.

[GJM]

Basic, what exactly is 'a race' -- define it.

And as for Shimo's stereotype about 'drinkin' fightin' chippy' Irish...

Hmmm....

[mithridates]