Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Sadebugo1]

Goodness! This must have been a nightmare. In the next to last paragraph, the KFWA says that they believe this is the first time something like this has happened to a Westerner. Not to make light of the situation, but I wonder how they feel about the slavery in some of the hagwons!


Human traffickers trap unsuspecting Teflers
By Jean Briesbois, Tuesday 13 January 2004
Fears over the safety of Western males teaching in South Korea are growing after a New Zealander's escape from a human-trafficking ring.

Alex Wyer, 26, was discovered unconscious outside an apartment building in northeastern Seoul wearing only a G-string after the gay bar where he had been imprisoned was engulfed in flames.

Security guard Lee Byung-woong, 52, said that Wyer was in a terrible condition when he and his partner found him. 'We couldn't believe our eyes, here was this foreigner wearing strange underwear covered in soot lying in our garden.'

Unable to produce any form of identification, Wyer was taken to a migrant hostel where he received medical treatment and clothing. A hostel employee speaking on condition of anonymity said that they had never seen a foreigner in such a state of distress, describing Wyer's appearance as 'ruined'.

Wyer's unwitting involvement in human trafficking occurred after he accepted a position teaching English to Russian college students in South Korea following his dismissal from a City job in London. The contract was organised by a company that advertised the EFL opportunity in an East London DLR station, with interviews held in Soho.

'I couldn't believe this was happening,' Wyer said. 'One minute I had nothing and the next, a hundred quid advance in my hands and a one-way ticket to Seoul. I didn't need any encouragement; I went straight home and packed. I was so naive, so bloody stupid.'

Wyer and three other men, one from Spain and two from Italy, met their Russian chaperone at Heathrow Airport for the flight.

Upon arriving in Seoul, they were greeted by a 'Mr Larionov', a heavy-set Russian in his mid-40s who took the group's passports for 'safe keeping' before driving them to a house where they were separated and locked in cell-like bedrooms.

After 48 hours confinement, Wyer was brought into Larionov's office where his passport was burned in front of him. It was at this point that he was told that he would have to work as a go-go dancer and escort in a foreigner-only gay bar.

Refusing to comply, Wyer was imprisoned and beaten on a daily basis before succumbing. 'It was a nightmare,' he whispered. 'I am not gay but I was forced to dance for men and entertain them. I just switched off, it was like I wasn't there, I was a total zombie.'

A spokesperson from the Korean Foreign Worker's Association believed that this was the first time that a Westerner had fallen prey to human traffickers in Korea.

Speaking before his departure for New Zealand, Wyer said, 'I know that people think that something like this could never happen to them. I can't even believe that this happened to me. I just want everyone to be aware that they need to be very careful when they accept a job in another country. If the offer seems to good to be true then it usually is. I just want to be able to walk down the street like a human being again.'






Other news
Korea to make English official

[Hank Scorpio]

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

Bullshit

[buddy bradley]

Old news. This was in the great reporting, uh , journal Seoul Classifieds.

[Lawrence]

In NZ, this qualifies as a good work opportunity.

[Real Reality]

Human traffickers trap unsuspecting Teflers
http://www.elgazette.com/ElNews/NewsStory.asp?StoryID=438

The English Language Gazette is a subscription-based monthly printed newspaper. Distributed in over 100 countries, the Gazette has been the English language teaching industry�s leading newspaper for 24 years. Each edition is packed with news, features, classroom resources, teaching materials and teaching tips. Our readers are trainee teachers, experienced teachers, academic managers, school owners, academics and publishers. If you�re involved with English language teaching, the EL Gazette is your newspaper.
http://www.elgazette.com/ElGazette/AboutUs.asp

Trafficking in Persons Report 2003: Republic of Korea
South Korea is a source, transit and destination country for women trafficked for sexual exploitation. Victims come mainly from Southeast Asia (particularly the Philippines and Thailand), China, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Women often enter South Korea on �entertainer� visas and are forced to work as prostitutes in bars and private clubs. South Korean women are also trafficked abroad to Japan and the United States.

South Korea has no anti-trafficking law, but uses a variety of criminal statutes to prosecute traffickers. In 2002, the government reported that it detained and investigated 450 suspected traffickers, indicted 90, and convicted 68 perpetrators. Penalties varied based on the criminal statute applied, but three years was the average sentence. South Korea cooperates internationally on law enforcement, working with INTERPOL and national governments to identify and arrest traffickers. Senior police officials have addressed incidents of corruption in their lower ranks, and two Korean consular officials were indicted for accepting bribes to issue visas.
http://www.humantrafficking.com/humantrafficking/client/view.aspx?ResourceID=4281

Transparency International's "Corruption Perceptions Index 2003" lists Korea 10 places lower than what it was last year, meaning the country ranked 50th. According to a recent survey, as many as 90 percent of Korea's youth think they live in a country that's corrupt, and a considerable number of them say they're ready to join the club if the occasions calls for it later in life. Our society has become rotten to the core.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200310/200310080034.html

Transnational Organized Crime and the Countermeasures in Korea
Russian and Korean-Chinese criminal organizations are involved in trafficking women and migrant workers. In Korea, an average of 2,000 members of criminal organizations are arrested each year. However, only an average of 700 are punished for the formation of a criminal organization, and the rest are punished for the individual offenses they actually committed, like assault, extortion and drug trafficking.
http://www.unafei.or.jp/pdf/58-06.pdf

[Shincheon_Blues]

Amusing piece of fiction. "...wearing only a g-string". ROFLMAO

[ulsanchris]

you would think that a story like this would be making headlines in several other papers. Anybody know if it has appeared in anyother paper.

[Marathe]

suprised they didn't mention the gang's affiliation with those worldwide kidney thieves.

that's true too, y'know

[Yesterday]

Its funny - but it is a joke on poor Wylde anin't it - (Motel blew up?)

[kangnamdragon]

Sorry, I just don't believe it. Why would they have to kidnap a foreigner? There are plenty of young Korean men.

[ulsanchris]

the customers they are serving probably don't want koreans.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

Methinks ENFCorp is behind all this.

Sparkles*_*

[On the other hand]

What I find odd about the story is that there is no mention of the police. I realize Korean cops turn a blind eye to a lot of stuff, but you'd think that Mr Wyer would have at least contacted law enforcement after escaping. Okay, so maybe he's afraid of repercussions, but then why go to the press?

At the very least, the reporter covering the story should've contacted the police to hear what they have to say.

[Gwangjuboy]