Korean Job Discussion Forums

[william.mekemson]

I would like to implore anyone considering Yeosu public schools to reconsider. I have no problems with the town (it's a bit small and rural, but homely and a great foreigner community) and my job is quite nice (smaller classes, but lower levels of English from students, most of whom love me [minus some middle school students... uhg middle school])

The problem is the new head of education in Yeosu. To my understanding, these are largely political offices, run for by politicians, not by people who understand education. The new head of education is not hiring any non-whites, and instructed recruiters not to even bother forwarding their applications. They are not, however, openly saying that they will not hire any non-whites. But the recruiters have been told, and have passed the message on to prospective applicants.

All non-white English teachers in the public school system are from before she took office. Some got in just before, and couldn't even get their friends a job a week later. They are all also unable to renew their contracts, no matter what their school thinks of their teaching ability, or how the kids like them. I would not want to work another year in Yeosu if I were them.

Unfortunately, it seems that the only way to make a difference would be to give them a severe shortage of teachers. Hopefully recruiters will then say that people are refusing Yeosu because of her hiring practices.

Some people have even tried to justify this action, saying it's merely "preferential" or "what the parents want" - sorry but these are not valid excuses for racism.

The country will have an international expo in the summer of 2012. Tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of foreigners will come to this small city over the summer. People here still openly stare at non-koreans, point and giggle, or refuse service in soju tents. I know that these things happen elsewhere in Korea, but racist hiring practices is going too far. They've got 2 years to figure out what they'll do when their town is overrun with foreigners.

I love many Koreans I met here in Yeosu, enjoyed my job (except for when they changed my contract on me, limiting my vacation time outside Korea - but that's another topic, and also happened to people all over Korea, so that's a general warning to all who come to Korea - contracts aren't even be worth wiping you ass with, so take it all with a grain of salt)

But I cannot let people come to Yeosu without knowing that they are supporting racist hiring practices if they do.

See:
http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/10/discriminatory-hiring-practices-by.html
http://us.asiancorrespondent.com/korea-beat/reader-alleges-racial-discriminatio.htm

And yes I'm aware this is my real name and that I'll be labeled by the Korean School Board as a problem person, possibly thrown on black lists, but any school that will not have me simply because I am vocal that I want my contract upheld and the rule of law regarding racism upheld, I'd rather not work at any way.

Love and peace to all my friends in Yeosu, waygooks and locals - I hope the new head of education is fired for her illegal, racist, and closed-minded actions.

[zipper]

It would be nice if all the Hagwons would reduce their long hours to those comparable to public schools, and offer longer vacations; then perhaps public schools would not be that attracting anymore. But with the current economic climate in the West, the allure of jobs will take precedence over political statements. The Korean government is obsessed with English, but don�t want the people that can teach it. How sparkling�

[kprrok]

[jinju necklace]

Hello William,

If it is indeed true that the head of the Yeosu Office of Education has set this new racist hiring policy then I implore you to continue to create awareness of this. Write an article/letter and submit it to the English language newspapers, and get a Korean friend to translate it and send it out to Korean media outlets. You might get lucky and have one of them pick up the story.

I certainly don't condone but I understand when hagwon owners employ racist hiring practices because they are profit-driven and worry about perceptions of parents - even though the most part those worries are unfounded because from my experience parents simply want teachers who are competent and can help their children improve. I have yet to hear a story of a parent taking their child out of a hagwon because their was a teacher of color working there.

But for a public school system, a system that is not profit-driven, to use racist hiring practices is 100% objectionable. The only criteria should be qualifications and experience. This needs to be publicized more and I'm sure if the general Korean population heard about this they would not want their country to be represented in this way.

William, I would be happy to help you with writing the article/letter to the media. The langauge used needs to be carefully chosen. I also remember hearing about a presentation at the last KOTESOL international conference about this very topic. Perhaps we can contact that presenter and maybe get some insight from him/her as well.

[Smee]

http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/10/discriminatory-hiring-practices-by.html

Well, in my post on it we heard from several people in Yeosu who had experienced the same thing, and also from other teachers throughout the entire country who demonstrated that there are discriminatory hiring policies in place. I'll repost it on twitter to see if any Korean followers pick it up.

But I think what you'd need, though, is something from recruiters or even from the Office of Education saying it won't hire black teachers. That would add weight to simply teachers telling their experiences.

[Xuanzang]

Maybe the King of Seoul aka Ukon should give it a try. He seems to have a way with Koreans.

[zipper]

[sulperman]

This is terrible.

But it is nothing new.

The really upsetting about this is that they won't rehire people of color who work there. If that was me, I'd be FURIOUS. That is awful.

BUT..... this does seem like a good black and white messed up situation to get involved in though. It's one thing for private schools to publicly (and on paper) discriminate, but for a public school....have you called the New York Times yet? They love this kind of this stuff.

This could be an excellent case to do some shaming. Really, NYT, they will print the article tomorrow!

[CentralCali]

[ED209]

It may help to file a complaint with http://www.humanrights.go.kr/english/index.jsp

[blue.sky]

Unfortunately this isn't news. Nor is it unique to Korea. My wife has dealt with many recruiters while being a PS teacher and they used to ask her whether or not she would accept black teachers for an interview.

They no longer ask her because they have enough white ones to choose from that the non-whites are purged by the recruiter before they are even offered to the schools.

[Goon-Yang]

OMFG...A Korean school not hiring non-whites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1one!!!

Welcome to the 1990s.

[pkang0202]

Welcome to Korea.

One time I did an interview for Korean public school English teachers.

I evaluated each candidate. Guess what?

The principal hired the guy with the WORST English ability just because the guy was from Mokpo, and the principal was from Mokpo.

The woman who spoke like a native and got her MA in TESOL in the USA was taken out of consideration just because she was a woman.

Another qualified male wasn't considered because the principal said, "He gives me the feeling of a Hagwon instructor".


REALITY: Koreans don't hire on merits. They hire purely on superficial qualities.

[8 years down]

Why do you think they ask you to send a picture with any resume/cover letter you ever submit in this country?

[asylum seeker]