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mack the knife
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: standing right behind you...
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 Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 3:14 pm Post subject: Buy today's (1/17) Korea Herald NOW |
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There is a fantastic article within written by Paul Robertson, a doyen of the Korean ESL industry.
All you wasters who ride my ass about being too negative on Korea, read this article and kiss my ass. |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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| I hope he writes better English there than he does at Koreabridge. |
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Real Reality
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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mack the knife,
Is this the article you are referring to?
10 years on and the mirror is broken
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... About 20,000 foreigners are in Korea teaching languages, and in any one week, EFL-Law receives around 50 reports of legal abuse involving Korean employers mistreating and deceiving foreigners. The problems are largely hagwon-related, but more and more problems are appearing at the university level.
Poor recruiting practices in Korea exacerbate an industry in decline. Universities employ known sex offenders, holders of fake degrees, or teachers who clearly have no place being in a classroom with young students in close proximity.
In the last 10 years I have been asked to assist in thousands of cases where foreigners suffered gross miscarriages of justice by an employer, by a government official, or by a society that too often myopically looks inward.... |
By Paul Robertson, The Korea Herald (January 17, 2007)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/01/17/200701170030.asp |
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crazy_arcade
Joined: 05 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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He's right, that's obvious. He doesn't take his examples and apply them to ALL of Korean society (unlke some posters...ahem ^^).
He points out positives and negatives and a lot of people do come here and have an amazing positive experience and they use it to build upon their skillset and career.
He's right about the Elementary schools (Middle schools aren't far behind) It's pretty obvious that the gov't needs to increase their regulation of hagwon owners and recruiters and not individual teachers ala Japan's system where this is less regulation of teachers than here.
It's a good article, but unless it's in Korean and done under a Korean pseudonym.....what's the point? |
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mack the knife
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: standing right behind you...
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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| It's a good article, but unless it's in Korean and done under a Korean pseudonym.....what's the point? |
I guess you haven't been here long, no? Every Korean knows Robertson; he's famous here, as famous goes. |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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He lives at Haeundae Beach in Busan.
He is a wise man. |
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Return Jones
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Location: I will see you in far-off places
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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| I like Paul. He gave me some excellent legal advice a few years back when I was in a sticky situation. |
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Boodleheimer
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Location: working undercover for the Man
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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| a good read. can we translate it into korean and send it en masse to our principals, hagwon owners, etc.? (i doubt they'd read the article on their own in English.) |
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Gamecock
Joined: 26 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Universities employ known sex offenders, holders of fake degrees, or teachers who clearly have no place being in a classroom with young students in close proximity. |
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| can we translate it into korean and send it en masse to our principals, hagwon owners, etc.? |
I can see the typical response from principals, hogwan owners, etc. after reading this article...
"Aha. I wonder if my waeygukkin is a sex offender...???" |
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Dev
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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I liked the article, but don't really agree with him that $2000 amonth is a bad salary (including a free apartment).
You won't earn much more in Japan or Taiwan.
At home, you'll fare much worse working for $15 an hour at the esl schools. The only place where you can get a high salary teaching English is if you can break into the public school system back home. And that's hard. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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| But the Korean government flatly refuses to either implement a salary that would entice professionals here, or to provide services and help for those that do come here. |
The government should not be in the business of telling hagwon owners what salary they pay their employees. Parents complain about the high cost of education and these private schools. Are there enough professional teachers in North America to handle the educational demands of parents? Raising the wage of a private school teacher and demanding instructors with qualifications will mean higher fees for parents. Many won't be able to afford it, they will worry their children are falling behind, and they will demand the government do something... And then we're back at square one.
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| Foreigners suffer the most hideous abuses at the hands of Korean employers. |
Are they chained to their desks? Locked in sweatshops? We're not exactly migrant workers. We're white people with university educations. Breach of contract is sure irritating as hell but a "hideous abuse"? Taken to a police station and sodomized with a broom I would call that hideous abuse. |
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Dev
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:02 pm Post subject: |
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| How much do Korean public school teachers make? How do we measure up? (don't forget to add 500,000 won to account for the free apartment). |
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Demophobe
Joined: 17 May 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Dev wrote: |
| How much do Korean public school teachers make? How do we measure up? (don't forget to add 500,000 won to account for the free apartment). |
At least 500,000 in Seoul, and the deposit, which ranges from probably 5 to 10 million. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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I think the article would have been stronger if the writer had divided it into the types of problems and dealt with each one separately, which with his wide exposure would have made fascinating and disturbing reading. And much more informative to the public.
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| ...gross miscarriages of justice by an employer, by a government official, or by a society that too often myopically looks inward. Foreigners suffer the most hideous abuses at the hands of Korean employers. |
With his status and range of inside knowledge, I think he could play a leading role in exposing the underside of the ESL industry in a series of articles. Some hard-hitting muckraking could stir up the dirt and clear the air. |
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flint
Joined: 11 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Dev wrote: |
I liked the article, but don't really agree with him that $2000 amonth is a bad salary (including a free apartment).
You won't earn much more in Japan or Taiwan.
At home, you'll fare much worse working for $15 an hour at the esl schools. The only place where you can get a high salary teaching English is if you can break into the public school system back home. And that's hard. |
I think he was talking about people who have teaching degress coming and working for that price long term. You will have some come, some of those may even stay long term, but few people who want to go have a career teaching would come to Korea for the money and incentives, plus lack of protection that is given. |
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