Korean Job Discussion Forums

[somersetrex]

Hi,

Is it fair to say that Korean schools cheat their foreign teachers quite a lot? Here's an extract from 'A Migrant's Tale.' A young, Polish guy, Jerzy, is teaching English in Korea and living with his alcoholic Thai girlfriend, Bird. A typical Korean experience?

Koreans have an obsession with the floor being immaculately
clean and it was true that he had left a few dirty clothes on the
A MIGRANT��S TALE
153
floor but it was difficult for Jerzy to accept what he felt to be
such harsh and unjustified treatment. His natural human
instinct for revenge, however, would be satisfied when he left
them on pay day, at the end of the week, with no teacher. He
was not looking for revenge; he was just very sensibly
concerned that if he gave any notice, Jenny would tell the
Immigration police that he was working illegally. This would
avoid the need to pay Jerzy and give him a punishment for his
terrible treatment of Bird. To a Korean, or to anyone from a
monoculture for that matter, the cheating of a foreigner is
thought of as a great victory. Jerzy had previously heard tales
of Koreans getting revenge on foreign teachers in this way and
he had every reason to suspect it of Jenny. Jenny would also be
egged on by her mother.
Pay day finally arrived and Jenny sat down with Jerzy to
discuss his pay. Jerzy knew that Koreans were notorious for
cheating foreigners so he was braced for an ordeal.
��You��ve been here one month, so your salary is two million
won minus 10% tax,�� she disclosed.
It was about 500,000 won ($450) short of what Jerzy had been
expecting and so his worst fears were realised.
��Sorry, I know I signed the contract stating that I started work
a month ago, but I actually started work a week earlier than that.
Do you remember? I started work as soon as I arrived. Do I not
get paid for that first week?�� he politely protested.
��That was a training week.��
��But you didn��t give me any training,�� he objected. ��Also,
how can I be paying tax when I��m working illegally? Am I
registered with a tax authority?��
��Yes, 10% tax,�� she returned, irritated at Jerzy��s impertinence.
��This seems a bit underhand, and you know, despite me
working very hard and trying to do everything right, I��ve also
detected a little bitterness towards me so if you don��t want me
here, I can easily��.��
TIMOTHY SOMERSET REX
154
A look of horror gripped her face as she realised that she
could loose her foreign teacher—her illegal immigrant visa-less
slave who had no legal rights and to whom she could do as she
pleased. Jenny thought his protestations of innocence were
ridiculous in the circumstances but it would be extremely
difficult to replace him. The children��s parents would only
accept a foreign English teacher and it would be very difficult to
find one to work in relatively small Pyongtaek. The parents
would also complain about any change of teachers. In addition,
Jerzy Teacher, as he was known, was very popular with the
children.
��OK, let��s sort something out,�� she interrupted. ��How about
you don��t pay tax this month?��
This was the best deal that Jerzy could expect, so he accepted
with resignation that he had been cheated out of a week��s pay.
��Is there anything else?�� she asked, hoping to reassure
herself that Jerzy didn��t intend to leave.
��Well, you and your mother seem to really dislike me,�� he
said, more for his own entertainment rather than anything else.
��Well, we��ve had a lot of foreigners working here. There was
Peter and Michael and James,�� she said for no apparent reason
except to say that she had come across a lot of foreigners and
never respected any of them, ��but there seems to be a problem
with your wife. She��s a little unhappy. And she never says,
��Hello,�� when she sees people. For a Korean, this is extremely
rude and sometimes I��m also like a Korean.��
��Well, of course if you��re comparing Thai and Korean
cultures, Thai culture is infinitely superior. Koreans are the
rudest people on the planet. And our relationship is none of
your business,�� answered Jerzy with an unprecedented display
of cheek.
Early the next morning Jerzy and Bird packed their bags and
left. Still fearing an episode with the Immigration police, they
walked slowly and silently so that no-one might hear them
leave. It is easy to mistake cowardice with common sense. This
A MIGRANT��S TALE
155
was common sense. It was a shame that the children would be
left without a teacher – a very good teacher – but immigration
rules meant that Jerzy had no choice but to leave them without
giving notice.

http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=6&cat=Mystery

[Ya-ta Boy]

And for only $16.95 for the WHOLE book you can get more howlers like this one:

"During his journey, Jerzy jubilantly discovered the secret of life, but this contributed to him entering a downward spiral ending in total disillusionment."

If anyone wants to buy this book for me for Christmas I'd be grateful. However, I cannot justify spending my less-than-hard earned money on it.

I'm almost certain the first sentence is "It was a dark and stormy night."

[somersetrex]

so what's the reason for the bitterness, nastiness, racism, xenophobia, anger in Korea then? It's even there when Koreans go abroad. In Laos, a place where it's almost impossible to get angry, my Korean employer, with a smug, racist, Korean grin, recently advised me that $200 would be removed from my first salary as a deposit. Where does the bitterness/hatred/anger come from? Have to admit, that line was a howler though!!

[Ya-ta Boy]

[somersetrex]

Seems to me the hatred's all around and contagious:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4463202.stm

[TheUrbanMyth]

So let me get this straight? An ILLEGAL teacher is whining about not being paid? Not only should he not have been paid, he should have spent a nice long stretch in a Korea jail. Illegals deserve no better treatment. It is hypocritical in the extreme to whine about being cheated when that is what the teacher is doing to the students and parents.


Do Korea schools cheat their foreign employees a lot? Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Just like other places on earth. Wow, isn't that a concept? If you work hard and do a good job, your chances of being "cheated" even by a bad employer are low. And if you have a backbone and are legal to boot you can generally stop this cheating.

[Homer]

[somersetrex]

The Urban Myth,
the point is that the Pole had no choice but to work illegally. Koreans only gave visas to native speakers and the nature of his situation meant that he had little choice but to work in Korea. He didn't cheat either the students or the parents as he was a fluent english speaker, with teaching experience, who had lived in london and who taught well. Think it would be better for Korea to change its silly immigration rules than for the poor guy to go to jail and for god knows what to happen to his Thai girlfriend. Actually, the point of the book is that most immigration rules are pointless and cause suffering.

[Wrench]

I thought was an excellent read..

I am Polish as well and I am a legal teacher

[huck]

Somersetrex....are you in Korea, or have you taught here so that you can give us your own personal views on it?

Living here, and reading complaints by people who live here are two different things. I might complain about something, but in general, I - and most people - are probably happy the majority of the time.

[Hollywoodaction]

Somersetrex, I take it you wrote the book. Is Timothy Somerset Rex a pseudonym?