Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MESL]

LETTER TO THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR

I am not writing to you to inform you about the situation with ESL teachers. You have received enough complaints to understand how bad the situation is. Nor will I rehearse for you what bad hagwon owners typically do to foreign employees. You�ve heard enough horror stories, you could probably provide me with the same list. You're already aware that a large percentage of the 100,000 American citizens in Korea are ESL teachers. You're already aware of the importance of English as the international language and Korea's emphasis on learnging English. And I�m sure you�re aware that the North American accent is preferred here. Instead, I am writing to you to find out what you are doing about the situation and to suggest that there�s a lot more you can do.

Before we go any further, let me say that I am very impressed with the Korean people and their culture, and the Korean language newspapers have printed 2 of my editorials about my views on this topic. I have also stated my views on Dave�s ESL Caf�, the world�s #1 ESL website. So this letter is not about my host country. It is about the worst elements of Korean society, who have been drawn to the ESL industry because they see it as a way to make a lot of fast and easy money. They do not follow fundamental business principles: Earn your customers� loyalty by giving them a good product, earn your employees� loyalty by treating them with respect. They are exploiting the parents with fraudulent practices and exploiting the foreigners with illegal practices.

Another thing we need to get out of the way is your possible temptation to tell me what you have probably told many other ESL teachers: The embassy is here to represent the American government to Korea, the embassy doesn�t get involved in disputes with Korean employers, etc. If I were an American businessman launching or operating a company or joint venture in Korea, you would arrange meetings for me, mention my name to the right agency, etc. If I were a Korean businessman launching or operating a company or joint venture in America, you would make calls or send faxes to the right people.

The first thing you can do is lobby the Korean government to protect us with more aggressive, bilingual labor, pension, and immigration officials. The next thing you can do is start a hotline for people who don�t speak Korean and need help fast. They just arrived and discovered their apartment is a doghouse, or that the employer refuses to reimburse airfare, or that the hagwon expects them to work on a tourist visa, etc. Their employer is throwing them out of their apartment or out of Korea, or threatening to. Or some other situation with the same result - they have no money, no job, no legal right to work, no place to stay, no contacts. At the same time, you can lobby Korean agencies to help foreign employees understand their legal standing and legal rights. For example, I wish I had $50 for every different version I�ve heard about how to get a new visa if you want to work for another school. You can also lobby Washington to pass regulations against American citizens surrendering their passports to employers and against employers taking custody of passports, as well as authorize embassies to take aggressive action to get passports from employers who take them anyway.

Finally, you can get tough with the employers who engage in criminal behavior. Cheating an employee is another way to say stealing from an employee, and stealing is criminal behavior. In my case, one of the co-owners has a problem with her account books and the other has a problem with his hands, as his male employees discovered during a recent conversation over pizza. As you can see from the enclosed letter, if we had that same conversation in America, we would file a class action lawsuit. And we would have a pretty good case. Even if we didn�t win against him in a court of law, we would win in the court of public opinion.

What might you do to get tough with our co-owners? �Both of your sons are attending college in America and that requires a visa.� �You recently visited your sons in America and that requires a visa too.� "Those passports don't belong to you. They don't even belong to your employees. Those passports belong to the United States government and if you don't give them back to those employees, we'll send someone to your school to get them." (The situation in the north is sensitive. In an emergency, those employees might not be able to wait until someone with a key gets to the office.)

My experience with these type of people is that they don�t behave unless someone plays hardball with them, whether it be the American government, the Korean government, or the individual employees. Using my own hagwon as an example again, she stole money from the paychecks of 3 employees for several months to pay her half of the pension. When a pension inspector came, she lied to him and he went away. Only when he discovered that she lied and only when he returned to threaten her with heavy fines did she stop stealing, or rather, stop stealing with that particular strategy.

In short, you are long overdue to take major action against this problem. Because I recently finished my contract and will be traveling when you receive this, I will wait for your reply at the email address below. In closing, whatever your response is, whether it be positive or negative, I will relay it to the foreign ESL teachers of Korea. And if your response is silence, I will lobby the American media to expose your inaction.

[Gamecock]

Muahahahahahah...

Yeah, time for you to go home MESL. I'm sure your threats will carry alot of weight with the American ambassador. Just as I'm sure the media will be waiting at the airport to interview you.

[ChuckECheese]

MESL, very nice letter. I hope you CCed the letter to GWBush so the Ambassador will be obliged to respond.

[spliff]

The embassy has done something about it already, they've warned US citizens against working here as language teachers. If you are an ESL teacher here you are working at your own risk! What more do you expect them to do?

[ChuckECheese]

What we want is SOFA agreement for ESL teachers.

So we can beat up hagwon bosses with full immunity.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Fresh Prince]

Great letter!

I'm not sure how much it will influence anyone though. The media almost certainly wouldn't be interested as the plight of ESL teachers isn't sensational enough. If you wrote a letter in Korean and sent it to the Korean media you may have better results.

[dmbfan]

Excellent letter, very well written.

Honestly, I wish the U.S. Embassy would grow some balls and get more involved with what is going on here. Perhaps a standardized working contract? China has that.........hmmmm.

Or, perhaps people should just stop coming here? I do believe that the reputation Korea has created for itself is really starting to catch up with itself. No matter how many excuses Korea makes about the situation, they really don't have anyone to blame but themselves. I wonder if Korea realizes the reason(s) why it is becoming more difficult to find teachers to come here?

It has been said before, and I'll back it up. There needs to be a foreign teachers union here. Perhaps not an OFFICIAL union, because we all know Korea is too scared to allow that. But, an organization of teachers (or, don't even call it a UNION by name.........call it something else) who look out for each other, and the integrity of the industry here in Korea. However, we would run the risk of being deproted. But the same time, it does not have to be called a union, but rather an organization or club.

OH well, just a thought.

dmbfan

[Captain Corea]

[Adventurer]

[Trevor]

I Love my hagwon. I'm very happy. Send the ambassador my regards, though, and extend my regrets that I can't make it for brunch.

[captain kirk]

A letter to the American ambassador is a fine way to bring in the New Year! And what a poster above said about bringing in a standard contract with it being enforced (vacation, pension, tax rate, etc.) is true dat! My sympathies with all the leg work you're going thru. Big stick and for a good cause!

[hellofaniceguy]

Come on now...the ambassador's wife was "busted" working without a visa.....and nothing happen except a bunch of koreans squaking......you or I on the other hand would have been deported.......you think he gives a rats azz about American teachers in korea!?
He could care less about you or I....he's only concerned with making himself look good.....it's a hob knob job..PR, etc.
I am really ashamed that American tax dollars that we pay are paying for his salary and the other embassy employees.
You go there and try and get some help and you'll get a run around!
I have sent a number of e-mails to the seoul embassy over the year and never once was one answered by him or his staff. The same with letters.
While your letter is a good one....it's on deaf ears.

[huffdaddy]

[ChuckECheese]

I saw on Ariran TV once where the new Ambassador was actually playing drums performing at some Korean school.

Where were the immigration pigs then?