Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RLib]

Some background info- I'm Arab American, and therefore am dark skinned and have an ethnic name, which has already made things slightly difficult for me in terms of finding a position in SK, regardless of the fact that I'm qualified.

I was offered, and accepted, a high school GEPIK position. From what I understand, the recruiter was allowed to interview and fill the position himself, the school did not want to interview applicants. Which was fine with me.

My recruiter let the school know that he filled the position and he forwarded my resume, head shot, signed & scanned contract, etc. After receiving the materials, the school is now wanting to know what my ethnic background is. Is it normal for them to simply be curious, or should I prepare myself for the possibility that the school may pull the offer?

[Troglodyte]

Racism here is a lot more open (and acceptable) than back home. Obviously racism alive and well in America, but here it's a bit more obvious because most people consider it acceptable.

[plchron]

say you are white and aryan (partially true if from Iran). Who are they to call you a liar?

[happiness]

dude, all they care about is your look, just tell them what they want to hear.

[Konglishman]

[JustinC]

Korea has a lot of Christian churches, and lots of Christians. The school might have confused Arab with Muslim, so you'd need to clarify the matter and reassure them you're not going to be distributing copies of the Koran or try to convert students. Don't do that, as there are plenty of government-funded christian missionaries here already!

It sounds stupid to you, no doubt, but your colleagues are probably being ultra-cautious rather than being too lax, which is a good thing as you're going to be working with them. Also I'd go easy on any stereotypical actions - pray in isolation. You can eat with only your right hand here as Koreans do that with chopsticks. Go easy on females who dress 'provocatively' - it's their culture and not meant to attract male attention.

[Whistleblower]

Tell the school that you would be happy to share your ethnicity when you arrive in Korea but that you consider such a request incredibly rude and it should not be asked in such a crude way.

[YTMND]

[JustinC]

[YTMND]

[Troglodyte]

I'm not sure but I got the impression that the OP wasn't asking what he should tell the recruiter. Obviously it's not hard to figure out that he could claim any ethnic background. From what I understood, it was more about him being a bit shocked that they'd ask something like that.

If he's got a typical arab sounding name then he can't exactly claim to be Greek, Mexican or Belorussian. If he wants, he could try. He could also deny his heritage and claim that one of his great grandfathers immigrated from an arab country. Still, what it comes down to in the end is that his Korean co-workers, students, etc will draw what conclusions they want about his heritage, even if he denies it - even if it's not even true.

Will they pull the offer? Since it's a PS, probably not. If it had been a hogwon.... they'd pull the offer for a dozen petty reasons - a 20 year old blond girl applied for the job; someone willing to work for lower salary applied; someone already in country (not needing airfare) applied; they think that an Arab teacher might scare away parents/students; they suspect that maybe in your home you speak Arabic and thus could never be totally fluent in English; they heard that Arabs smell bad; etc.

The bigger question is whether or not you want to work for them. I don't know how the recruiter or school phrased the question. It might have been simple curiosity. It might have been regret at having hired a non-whitey. If you've already sent in your documents then it's too late to pull out now. My advice would be to tell them the truth. You're America (born and raised?) and that you consider being Arab a part of your cultural identity. There's no reason to hide it. If they don't like it, then it's good to find out sooner than later when their racism may lead them to make up some excuse for firing you.

But who knows, maybe it was just a curious questions. Korean have a whole different set of rules about what's considered acceptable to ask someone.

[RLib]

On point, Troglodyte.

I'm more concerned that they're asking because they're having second thoughts about hiring me. And I'm not planning to lie about my heritage. Anyone who follows world events would be able to guess it from my name-- and even that's beside the point, I shouldn't have to lie. I told them I was Jordanian/Palestinian American, and was born & raised in the U.S. I'm kicking myself now, though, b/c I implied that I'm first generation American, which, if you're right Troglodyte, they'll take to mean I didn't speak English in the home. But, if they read any of my application materials or view the youtube video I had to create, they should (hopefully) notice that I'm pretty fucking fluent.

The recruiter phrased it as, "The school would like to know more about your family heritage. Is your father or mother from East Asia? Could you tell us more about where they're from?" But I think the recruiter added the "East Asia" spin to make it a little less disconcerting (or tried to, thinking I'm unaware that those of East Asian heritage also have difficulties finding positions in SK). I've been mistaken for a hundred different ethnicities, but never East Asian.

Only thing to do now is wait. I haven't sent in my documents, and I'll probably wait another week just in case they find someone else who is "more qualified."

Also, just to head off any further speculations about what I must be like since I'm Arab American, the only thing not outwardly & typically American about me is my skin tone, odd last name, and the number of times I've been selected for "random" searches at the airport. Other than that, I'm pretty Western and a female, and short skirts and cleavage neither turn my head nor compel me to throw rocks. I realize you were simply trying to be helpful and I do appreciate the effort & insight into SK, JustinC, and I'm not one to be a dick on forum boards, but yeesh... I know from other posts that you have experience working in Saudi Arabia & Kuwait, which are very extreme & religious countries, but there's no reason to assume that me being Arab American means I would bring up religion in class, pass out Korans, or be outraged by or ogle scantily clad women. Most Arabs I know, Muslim or not, wouldn't do so if they were teaching in a foreign country.

[JustinC]

[YTMND]

[Who's Your Daddy?]