Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bucheonguy]

Hey,

just heard about a Korean citizen's organization that's on the hunt for "bad ESL teachers." They are trying to catch teachers who sleep with their students (university), who do drugs (weed) and who "sexually harass" coworkers. They then turn their names over to the police. Just wanted to get your thoughts on this. Do you think it's a good idea or do you think it's witch hunting? Also everything is published online.

[cruisemonkey]

[roknroll]

yeah, it's been in the news before....also mentioned about teaching privates...purporting to be helping the image of native teachers by 'weeding out' the undesirables. to the contrary, they exemplify the xenophobia in the rok--guilty foreigner until we invade your privacy by tracking you like the animal you are and in our esteemed position of moral superiors deem whether you are 'fit' or not.

[roknroll]

yeah, it's been in the news before....also mentioned about teaching privates...purporting to be helping the image of native teachers by 'weeding out' the undesirables. to the contrary, they exemplify the xenophobia in the rok--guilty foreigner until we invade your privacy by tracking you like the animal you are and in our esteemed position of moral superiors deem whether you are 'fit' or not.

[Whirlwind]

The Gestapo would be right at home in Korea. This sounds like something that happened, oh, in the 30's and 40's in Europe. Lemme guess, pretty soon we are going to have to wear armbands that say, "Waegookin". I can see something like that happening.

[some waygug-in]

Korea does not want us here. They may want their kids to learn English and they may wish to exploit us on the way to achieving that goal, but they simply do not want us here.

They way they treat foreign teachers in the land of morning clam, they really don't deserve the people who they do get.

[buymybook]

I showed the animation movie trailer Monsters vs. Aliens to my students this past week and in it American humans shoot bombs at the Aliens. One bomb had written on it E. T. Go Home. One 7th grade boy quickly cried out "English Teacher Go Home." I looked at the boy but he didn't look at me. Should I have asked him why he said that? He can't be too young to know about E.T. can he?

[laogaiguk]

[Bibbitybop]

I laugh at them. They are the equivalent of the KKK or other uneducated bottom-of-the-barrel citizens in the USA. I laugh even harder knowing it's Koreans who do more drugs per capita than foreigners, Koreans are the ones who hit their students, often with hard sticks or rods and its Koreans who molest underage students and are then reinstated in schools by the government.

Sure, it's wrong to sleep with your university students, but at least that is between 2 consenting adults.

[Gusss]

Indeed.

[travelingfool]

[ulsanchris]

ET means English Teacher

[cruisemonkey]

I'm a GET - 'guest' extraterrestrial... this makes me an alien (literally and figuratively).

[weatherman]

You mean these asshats don't you.

http://cafe.naver.com/englishspectrum.cafe

[sojourner1]

Some individual Koreans, mostly in Seoul, hate foreigners just as a few Americans hate the Chinese being in America. Speaking for the majority of Koreans, no it's not that they hate us, they're uncomfortable.

I think it's more about Koreans feeling uncomfortable around foreigners than simply they don't want us here. I get the sense they feel insecure around me and may act kinda rude since they're in discomfort, but not hostile. If they didn't want us here, we'd get a lot of resistance and more violent reactions than what we're seeing. We'd also hear about a cry in the media for the government to stop inviting foreigners to teach which we haven't seen or heard about. This cry would be similar to the Korean out rage over US beef. After all, Korea only thinks about it's domestic interests and only does anything internationally to advance it's status in the world to achieve it more financial wealth and power.

However since most Koreans feel insecure around me, I get the sense they don't really like me, but respect me for having something they don't have that they want and that I can share with them. The Englishee.

The staring and discomfort thing is more prevalent in cities than in small towns and rural areas. I would had thought it's the other way around, but not so. This demonstrates it has to do with not being liked, because you make them feel smaller and less competent by what and who you are as a foreigner; not your behavior, now you dress, or personality. Despite the Korean idea of dressing up, if you wore nice suits, you'd just make em' feel smaller, but gain more superficial respect. Most all the respect I've gained is very superficial as a way of saving face over feeling uncomfortable around foreigners.

There's no way around it and it is the awkward fact why Korea is not a fun, relaxed, warm, and accepting place to be though we tolerate it, because they mean no harm and they're demanding foreign English teaching with their new money out the global market. Koreans are very up tight and insecure and they have every reason to be with how they're between a rock and a hard place. Also, Korea is technically still in a state of war, so they are not going to be relaxed, honest, and down to Earth friendly happy folks we wished they were. For them, they're taking huge risks, but they just want to advance as a small, but powerful nation who can protect it's domestic interests. This is all Korea thinks about and wants, because it knows what it's like to be poor and invaded by force which Korea is trying to prevent from ever happening again. Gaining superior power and competence to protect it's domestic interests is all Korea does and it will do anything, regardless how silly or expensive, to achieve just that.

This is not about a cultural exchange or friendship between 2 from opposite sides.