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TheBrain · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Location: Acme Lab

https://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/06/27/200706270061.asp

The greatest slavery of all?

Writer Kim Seok-pil takes a not so tongue-in-cheek look at the EFL sector and asks the question: Are EFL teachers in Korea lower than Goryeo Dynasty slaves?

Are foreign teachers in Korea, slaves? Or rather, do EFL teachers in Korea receive fewer benefits than Goryeo Dynasty slaves?

During the Goryeo period (892-1259) there were landowning slaves. These slaves were not unique in terms of race or religion. They were simply people who could be bought or sold as property. At that time, social status was clearly defined and cemented in legal statutes such as those contained in Goryeosa and more specifically in the Gyeongguk Daejeon or National Law. Segregation and discrimination were intrinsic parts of the law.

The sources of slaves were many. Some were descendents of prisoners from the earlier unification wars of Silla and some were criminals. Others were forced into slavery by powerful local magnates.

There were at the time, both public and private slaves. Government female slaves included domestics, entertainers and courtesans. Punishment of slaves varied from execution to banishment and branding. However, by mid-Goryeo a slave could own land and even other slaves. A slave, no matter his position, was not as good as other men. With few exceptions, a slave could not speak for himself.

Now, let`s take a look at EFL teachers in Korea.

An EFL teacher cannot simply quit his job when he or she wants to. A foreign teacher attempting to flee the country before the completion of a contract can be arrested and held in jail. Then, after payment of a fine, he or she is deported, or "banished." A permanent record is imposed, similar to a branding, after only one offense. A slave during the Goryeo Dynasty however, could attempt three escapes before the punishment of branding was imposed.

Foreign EFL teachers cannot own land. Goryeo Dynasty slaves could.

Both Yangban (educated elite) and slaves during Goryeo were part of a social whole, which included responsibilities, benefits, and security. To deny anyone their part in this social whole would have been unthinkable. Foreign teachers in Korea are often fired in the 11th month of their contracts, thus denying them of the benefits they are supposedly guaranteed by Korean law. Foreign teachers are not part of any "social whole."

For the most part, EFL teachers are not prisoners of war, or criminals. They are, however, forced into a subordinate role in Korean society by what are often wealthy hagwon (private institute) owners.

Foreign teachers cannot speak for themselves. They can and often are punished in a variety of ways for advocating on their own behalf. An EFL teacher is only permitted to teach English at the educational institution to which he is contracted. No other employment is permitted.

Likewise, foreign EFL teachers cannot play musical instruments in public, as was proven recently when some were arrested in Busan and deported for that very "crime." A foreign teacher cannot teach orphans on a volunteer basis, or private students. Foreign teachers are "watched," and publicly warned that they are "being watched" as the 200 large signs displayed in Daejeon in May and June 2007 prove.

Let`s take a look at a few other things about slaves. Slaves have the comradeship of other slaves. They know they are slaves. But, foreign EFL teachers in Korea are often unaware of their true social status here. Foreign EFL teachers blindly move through society thinking they are free, when, in fact, in many respects, they are lower than Goryeo Dynasty slaves. This ignorance may be the greatest slavery of all.

By Kim Seok-pil

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2007.06.27