Korean Job Discussion Forums

[brucefox]

So I keep hearing that South African teachers are considered to be the least preferred alternative to Canadian teachers at PS. (This is a quote from gossip among my co teachers and NETs in other areas)

I've also come to realize that some schools outright pay them less compared to their Canadian counterparts with same qualifications/credentials.

Since arriving here, I've seen some South Africans and they're actually pretty impressive individuals when it comes to education. (Of course I might have just run into the most professional ones by chance)

So my question is... Are they actually discriminated against by EPIK/GEPIK and Co-workers? Obviously my source of information is gossip and heresay. Nothing reliable. If you can dispell this as an unfounded rumour then please do!

[ttompatz]

In my personal experience they have been treated no different than any other NET but that is NOT to say that discrimination does not exist; just that I haven't noticed it and I have worked with a few over the last decade or so.


There is a decided preference for North American NETS in hiring and as far as salary goes, the government program salaries are based on a qualification skill set. Meet the criteria and get the pay grade regardless of country of origin.

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[SeoulNate]

Some discrimination does exist, but it is usually for hiring practices and not workplace treatment.

My girlfriend is from SA and when we were applying to come back to Korea a few years ago man schools would not even look at her resume and credentials. All they said was, "we will hire the american, but I dont think we can hire the south african."

This happened half a dozen times or so, therefore some prejudice must exist.

The most comical reply we got was: (direct quote)

"We would like to hire the Caucasian."

What makes it insane is the fact that we are both white. They saw on the application that she was from SA and assusumed she was black. They never even looked at the picture that we sent lol.

[shifty]

Amongst hakwons it is understandable that owners will want to pander to parents' preferences. It is a very cutthroat business where marginal issues can make a difference.

Once I took over from a Canadian teacher and addressed a student by his name Shawn as in 'shorn'. After quite a few repetitions and him looking all over the place in confusion, another student said that his name was Shuuuuan.

Which was rather like I said, I thought.

I think Canadian accent is both clear and attractive sounding, as opposed to say Irish which is attractive but difficult to the Korean ear.

I'd go so far that Saffa accent is the most clear to Koreans. However, it is also the most unattractive sounding to other native speakers.

Koreans don't like to be associated with anything out of Africa and hence balk at hiring Saffas in an employer dominated market.

There are also a number of pioneering spirited Saffas whose home language is Afrikaans and they don't hesitate to offer their services in the world of EFL. Their English level is plenty good for what is required but they do cause question marks and an iffy reputation.

Arguably these Afrikaans 1st language speakers have better insight into teaching English since they had to literally and painstakingly study it. That is, they know the grammar rules, not like the rest of us.