Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dee]

Hi everyone, so glad I found you lot!

I'm planning to teach in korea early January and I'm so happy to be finding all this stuff on the forum before I go. I do have a couple of other questions for y'all though:

I'm of mixed ethinicity, half white and half Afro-Caribbean. Am I likely to experience discrimination or prejudice in SK? (I already have a job offer with a GNB school and they've seen my photo but I'd like to be certain).

Also, if anyone is willing to look over my prospective contract and tell me if it's kosher I'd be really greatful, please let me know.

Good to join you.

Dee

[Novernae]

You may encounter some discrimination, but I think the majority of problems come up when actually applying for jobs. Schools don't want non-whites because parents don't see them as native speakers and might pull their kids from the school. Once the school has seen your picture hired you, then I think your biggest worry is over. You may run into stares (usually pure curiosity), and a few comments (my kids used to make monkey motions whenever the black characters showed up in the books), but a lot of your happiness depends on your outlook and the thickness of your skin (not condoning discrimination here, but people do sometimes overreact to some really little things). I'm sure some other people will be more qualified to comment on this than I am.

As for the contract, you can post it here.(make sure you remove the name of the school when you post it, some schools don't like them being posted.

[ttompatz]

[RACETRAITOR]

People who are racist arseholes will make themselves known, but decent people will too. I know a few black teachers here who are held in awe by most Koreans.

[mateomiguel]

yeah the last black guy I worked with was equated to Denzel Washington by giggling korean chicks almost daily, who all thought he was the best and most wonderful and wisest teacher that they had ever met. It helped that he was from England and spoke with an accent. But the last hagwan i worked at simply did not hire black people. So, uh, some good some bad I guess?

[RJjr]

For the past couple of months, I had been noticing a black lady in the neighborhood where I work. She's good-looking, but I hadn't talked to her, because I didn't know if she spoke English and figured she probably has a lot of guys hitting on her and harrassing her all the time.

The other night, she chatted me up, and we were having a good time talking. She was meeting some of her friends at a subway station beside of my favorite internet cafe, so we continued talking as we went there. As we were walking, an old guy sitting on the sidewalk started waving bananas at us. I think he was one of the guys who always sells fruit there, but that's the only time he's ever done that.

She just ignored it, and it caught me off guard. He didn't do anything the next night as I passed, but if he waits and does it again when I'm walking with her or any other blacks, I'm going to throw one of his banana bunches across several lanes of traffic into that big road he works beside.