Korean Job Discussion Forums

JustaGuy81 · Joined: 09 Mar 2003

is it true that hakwons/schools will not likely hire Korean-Americans or gyopos? any information in what you've seen at your school will be helpful.

Zyzyfer · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2003 3:35 am Post subject:

What I've seen at my school is not the norm, I suspect, but we had a gyopo on staff, and the boss outwardly showed a lot of interest in the guy. She even took him out for special lunches to let him try some Korean foods.

Like I said before, though...I doubt this is the norm. Doesn't sound like it, anyways.

kricket · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2003 4:31 am Post subject:

My hogwan has 2 kyopos working here. There treated the same as the other teachers.

Singer · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: Seoul

My Hagwon manger is a gyopo, but in my experience, wheather one is a Korean citizen or Gyopo doesn't seem to matter. they are treated equally as Korean citizens. That means they get the Korean salary and no accomodations.

kojangee · Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Location: Canada

I don't think it's a case of discrimination, rather a case of business nessesity.

Every Hagwon has to have a white face or parents won't send their kids their.

Why?

Who knows! It's just the way it is.

So, it's not "discrimination", it's just vital for their business.

From what I've seen, bigger schools hire gyopos, and treat them the same as all the other Koreans.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

Yes, thats true that SOME hogwans SOMETIMES don't need or don't want to hire a gyopo SOMETIMES.

Sometimes they also don't want to hire a native english speaker, and ONLY want to hire a gyopo.

Other times they don't want hire a male. FEMALES ONLY PLEASE.

I've yet to see a sign that said MEN ONLY PLEASE. Maybe someday..

There are all kinds of variations depending on what the employer gets in his big huge korean head from time to time..

Since you asked, is this true at your school (or I'm assuming everywhere I've ever worked in Korea). Everywhere I have worked has had Gyopo teachers. However they are set aside and do gyopo things. Generally they are expected to at least understand Korean, and probably have more of TOEIC classes.. (don't know why my gyopo co-workers always teach TOEIC?).. or other stuff.. usually more grammar-like as well.. and also generally, I've found gyopos very often end up in higher management positions.. generally.. generally because of the same ethnic blood.. and better relations/understanding (hopefully) with the native teachers..

sid · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Location: Berkshire, England

I worked with a Korean-American who really had the best of both worlds. He was in his 40s and had lived in America for 15-20 years after he came out of the military. I used to feel that within the school he was in the enviable position of getting all the priviledges of being a foreign teacher (no admin tasks, generous contract, free housing in his home town!) as well as the respect due to a Korean adjoshi. Obviously he was able to relate to the director in a way other foreign teachers weren't, and he certainly reaped the benefit with less hours, no kindergarten, most of the older and smaller classes and so on. During the the time I was working there he seemed to settle back into 'being Korean', and the American persona and accent became more and more unconvincing, at least to 'real' foreigners. Being a 'foreign teacher' was a rather shallow identity which could be thrown on when it suited him, in the classroom obviously but also when student mothers were around and he wanted to pick up privates or, to take a different example, when a policeman was asking for a driver's license...

Having got that off my chest I should mention two younger Korean-Americans who were ex-workers at our school and had gone on to bigger and better things. They were more genuinely half/half and seemed very well-liked within the school. The director stayed in touch with them and they used to come back in the university vacation for the occasional, and very lucrative fill-in class.

deshell32 · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

A previous post denied racism as being the cause as to why Korean-Americans have a difficult time obtaining teaching jobs. I have to disagree. They stated it was just business-related. Why is that? It is because racist stereotypes depict non-whites as not being articulate and not being able to speak proper English, therefore the school owners prefer whites. Whether it is business related or not, it stems from racism.

PRagic · Joined: 24 Feb 2006

I'll start crying over the discrimination suffered by Kyopos once the F4 visa is recinded and everyone with non-Korean citizenship is granted the same right to work in this country.