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SteveSteve
Joined: 30 Jul 2010
Location: Republic of Korea
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 Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:28 pm Post subject: Teacher Suicide in Busan |
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I regularly read a Korean Expat blog by The Metropolitician (http://metropolitician.blogs.com) and I just finished reading a disturbingly sad and unsettling story about the apparent suicide of an English teacher living in Busan and the disgusting media response by the Busan Ilbo. Wear a helmet with a chin strap because either your jaw will hit the floor or you will want to slam your head on the nearest table. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I cannot believe that a major newspaper can use this tragedy of a suffering HUMAN BEING and spin it as another "foreigner" issue.
A link to the Metropolitician's analysis is here: http://metropolitician.blogs.com/scribblings_of_the_metrop/2011/02/this-is-how-much-the-korean-media-hates-us.html
And here is the article:
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[News Follow-up] Severe Alcoholic Openly Teaches Students
Unbelievable Native Speaking Teacher Employment System
At 6pm on the 19th native speaking teacher B (32) was found dead after jumping naked from the waist down from an apartment in Millak-dong in Busan.
Police said that according to the apartment watchman and other sources, B threw off his pants in the hallway on the 14th floor and then threw himself [out of the building]. CCTV also caught him alone in the elevator with a soju bottle.
Before this on the 14th at Gimhae Airport B wanted to go home without a ticket and caused a disturbance. At this time he was also drunk.
Why did the native speaking teacher jump to his death?
American B entered the country in December after receiving a visa to work as a native speaking teacher in Busan. At the apartment he jumped from, he was known to acquaintances who lived there. After receiving his pay at the hagwon on the 15th, he caused problems such as being absent without leave, and left the 'one room' he had lived at until then to stay in a motel. Police said he drank alcohol in the nearby Gwanganni area the day he died and are trying to determine precisely what led to his death.
The hagwon said B already had almost 2 years experience working as a native speaking teacher in Gyeonggi-do and a clean criminal record.
Through the health center it was found that a employment health exam had been completed. The hagwon said, "He was a big person and normally had an outgoing personality so we can't imagine him doing something like this."
But acquaintances in the native speaking teacher community knew B differently. In New York, where he lived for some years, he received treatment for severe alcoholism, and at the time he entered Korea he had not fully recovered. A severe alcoholic who caused a disturbance in a public facility and jumped to his death worked as a teacher and openly taught students in Korea.
Native speaking instructor recruiting is full of loopholes
Due to increased demand for native speaking instructors and economic difficulties in North America, the number of foreigners wanting to come to Korea has grown. Loopholes in the native speaking instructor employment process persist, however.
After frequent incidents, in 2008 there was a trend towards strengthening screening such as instituting criminal record checks, but checking for drug or alcohol addiction is a blind spot that remains neglected. Education is being crippled by native speaking instructors who are frequently absent, or who unilaterally break contracts.
Kim Jeong-suk, policy department head for the Busan branch of the National Association of Parents for True Education said, "At this time in the area of education there are many saying only that native speaking instructors are needed but there is little effort to make real teachers" and, "It's urgent a system be established in which there is a certain deferment period allowing for verification and administration instead of hiring them immediately after registration due to instructor supply and demand, which is said to be an issue."
A hagwon official explained that teachers must go through a phone or video interview, but with such a short and indirect interview the danger of potential incidents by them cannot be completely ruled out. As one hagwon official put it, "When hagwon owners gather, they all complain, "When recruiting native speaking teachers, it's the luck of the draw,"" and, "It's unreal that there are more than 12 kinds of academic and other background documents. Hagwons can take desperate measures like hiring gyopos or hiring directly without going through agencies, but there are no reliable alternatives."
Health authorities also said, "As employment health exams provided by health centers are limited to checking for contagious diseases like AIDS, TB or Hepatitis, it's not possible to determine drug or alcohol addiction."
Meanwhile, due to this incident, Busan's native speaking teacher community is not hiding its troubled mood. There's a worry that instructors who work diligently in hagwons might also be caught up in a witch hunt. On the 21st, ATEK released a statement to its members and the mood is easing. ATEK said, " whoever's fault this situation is, one can not help regret it" and "We want to help foreigners experiencing social adjustment or contractual difficulties at any time." |
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Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:34 pm Post subject: Re: Teacher Suicide in Busan |
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| SteveSteve wrote: |
I regularly read a Korean Expat blog by The Metropolitician (http://metropolitician.blogs.com) and I just finished reading a disturbingly sad and unsettling story about the apparent suicide of an English teacher living in Busan and the disgusting media response by the Busan Ilbo. Wear a helmet with a chin strap because either your jaw will hit the floor or you will want to slam your head on the nearest table. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I cannot believe that a major newspaper can use this tragedy of a suffering HUMAN BEING and spin it as another "foreigner" issue.
A link to the Metropolitician's analysis is here: http://metropolitician.blogs.com/scribblings_of_the_metrop/2011/02/this-is-how-much-the-korean-media-hates-us.html
And here is the article:
| Quote: |
[News Follow-up] Severe Alcoholic Openly Teaches Students
Unbelievable Native Speaking Teacher Employment System
At 6pm on the 19th native speaking teacher B (32) was found dead after jumping naked from the waist down from an apartment in Millak-dong in Busan.
Police said that according to the apartment watchman and other sources, B threw off his pants in the hallway on the 14th floor and then threw himself [out of the building]. CCTV also caught him alone in the elevator with a soju bottle.
Before this on the 14th at Gimhae Airport B wanted to go home without a ticket and caused a disturbance. At this time he was also drunk.
Why did the native speaking teacher jump to his death?
American B entered the country in December after receiving a visa to work as a native speaking teacher in Busan. At the apartment he jumped from, he was known to acquaintances who lived there. After receiving his pay at the hagwon on the 15th, he caused problems such as being absent without leave, and left the 'one room' he had lived at until then to stay in a motel. Police said he drank alcohol in the nearby Gwanganni area the day he died and are trying to determine precisely what led to his death.
The hagwon said B already had almost 2 years experience working as a native speaking teacher in Gyeonggi-do and a clean criminal record.
Through the health center it was found that a employment health exam had been completed. The hagwon said, "He was a big person and normally had an outgoing personality so we can't imagine him doing something like this."
But acquaintances in the native speaking teacher community knew B differently. In New York, where he lived for some years, he received treatment for severe alcoholism, and at the time he entered Korea he had not fully recovered. A severe alcoholic who caused a disturbance in a public facility and jumped to his death worked as a teacher and openly taught students in Korea.
Native speaking instructor recruiting is full of loopholes
Due to increased demand for native speaking instructors and economic difficulties in North America, the number of foreigners wanting to come to Korea has grown. Loopholes in the native speaking instructor employment process persist, however.
After frequent incidents, in 2008 there was a trend towards strengthening screening such as instituting criminal record checks, but checking for drug or alcohol addiction is a blind spot that remains neglected. Education is being crippled by native speaking instructors who are frequently absent, or who unilaterally break contracts.
Kim Jeong-suk, policy department head for the Busan branch of the National Association of Parents for True Education said, "At this time in the area of education there are many saying only that native speaking instructors are needed but there is little effort to make real teachers" and, "It's urgent a system be established in which there is a certain deferment period allowing for verification and administration instead of hiring them immediately after registration due to instructor supply and demand, which is said to be an issue."
A hagwon official explained that teachers must go through a phone or video interview, but with such a short and indirect interview the danger of potential incidents by them cannot be completely ruled out. As one hagwon official put it, "When hagwon owners gather, they all complain, "When recruiting native speaking teachers, it's the luck of the draw,"" and, "It's unreal that there are more than 12 kinds of academic and other background documents. Hagwons can take desperate measures like hiring gyopos or hiring directly without going through agencies, but there are no reliable alternatives."
Health authorities also said, "As employment health exams provided by health centers are limited to checking for contagious diseases like AIDS, TB or Hepatitis, it's not possible to determine drug or alcohol addiction."
Meanwhile, due to this incident, Busan's native speaking teacher community is not hiding its troubled mood. There's a worry that instructors who work diligently in hagwons might also be caught up in a witch hunt. On the 21st, ATEK released a statement to its members and the mood is easing. ATEK said, " whoever's fault this situation is, one can not help regret it" and "We want to help foreigners experiencing social adjustment or contractual difficulties at any time." |
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this report is laughable when half the population of korea is alcoholics.  |
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West Coast Tatterdemalion
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Agreed. It is laughable and quite stupid. Now I suppose they'll want us to sign a document promising that we'll never drink alcohol in Korea. Of course, they'll also want to do a type of "pre-crime" thing(a la Minority Report). "You drank in college?" No visa for you. But, yeah, seriously, it is a pot meet kettle situation regarding alcoholism in Korea. Their national pastime is drinking. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:53 pm Post subject: |
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| but I cannot believe that a major newspaper can use this tragedy of a suffering HUMAN BEING and spin it |
You serious? That's what newspapers have done since they first set ink to paper.....
The article makes numerous errors
1)
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| "but checking for drug or alcohol addiction is a blind spot that remains neglected." |
Liver function and drug test are good enough. If you can pass that you are at least functional.
2)
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| Education is being crippled by native speaking instructors who are frequently absent, or who unilaterally break contracts. |
Oh please.
3)
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| Hagwons can take desperate measures like hiring gyopos |
This one is a real gem. Nice to see that gyopos rate lower on their slime scale.
4)
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| "As employment health exams provided by health centers are limited to checking for contagious diseases like AIDS, TB or Hepatitis, it's not possible to determine drug or alcohol addiction." |
So that 24 panel checklist of items that they did on me was for 24 kinds of AIDs, TB, and Hep?
5)
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| Busan's native speaking teacher community is not hiding its troubled mood |
I bet 50% of Busan's NET community hasn't even heard of this. At least. Or they heard it and have forgotten about it already.
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