Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jmkeralis]

Background: I lived and taught in Gwangju for almost two years and am working on an advocacy initiative to end the human rights violations against English teachers due to the HIV testing requirement. I am an epidemiologist by training, currently working in HIV prevention, so this is closely linked to my "day job" so to speak. In case you had not heard, the UN’s Committee to End all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) ruled in May that Korea's mandatory HIV testing of E-2 visa applicants constitutes racial discrimination. You can read more about it here: http://www.gwangjunewsgic.com/online/united-nations-declares-south-koreas-mandatory-hiv-testing-for-foreigners-is-racial-discrimination/

The only way to ensure that ROK respects the rights of native English teachers is to broadcast the CERD's decision to apply international pressure - my work specifically is focusing on action through UNAIDS. I submitted an abstract for a presentation to do just that at this year's Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association - and it was accepted! You can read the abstract here: https://apha.confex.com/apha/143am/webprogram/Paper318038.html I am also trying get a policy passed for APHA to take an official stance on the issue and am working with the human rights lawyer who tried the CERD case to get other NGOs involved in the effort.

Unfortunately, conferences are expensive, so I started a GoFundMe page to help with the conference registration (discounted because I am a presenter), airfare, lodging, and incidentals. I will be staying in a budget hostel and taking the subway to the conference center. You can more at http://www.gofundme.com/e2_hiv. I will go whether or not I get any donations - I have already booked the airfare and hostel - but could really use any help you can spare ($5, $1, whatever). The rest will come out of my pocket. Feel free to contact me if you want any more information. Please help me get to this conference so I can advocate for the expat community in ROK!