Korean Job Discussion Forums

[in_seoul_2003]

I don't work for a Christian school, but quite a few of the Korean teachers are Christian, particularly of the evangelical type. Some have experience as missionaries, others don't but are of that mindset.

The younger kids are particularly vulnerable since they don't really know what is going on. A few of the teachers would begin every class with a prayer. Walking by the class, you could sometimes see the teacher and kids with their heads bowed down and eyes closed as the teacher recites it. The teachers themselves have admitted as much but don't make an issue of it.

The older kids, however, get pissed sometimes. One class told me of a teacher who would always push Jesus on them even though in this class of 10 there is only one Christian student.

I find it especially cowardly that these teachers would do this to young kids whose parents I don't think signed them up for this kind of teaching.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[oneofthesarahs]

Not exactly, but I do somewhat feel your pain. Our director is very very Christian. Of the Korean teachers, all but one claim to be Christian, but about half of them are pretty blase about it. I think they only say they are Christian to make the boss happy. Occasionally there will be school recruitment drives that invite in a bunch of parents and the director always says grace over the food, even if it's just like a plate of cookies or something. There are also various bible verses on a few posters/paintings hung about the place. Sometimes she tries to get the parents to go to church services with her. Her church is right next to the school, incidentally.

One of my older students once told me that a lot of parents are a little annoyed with it, but they put up with it because we are the best hagwon in the area. (And it's the only school that actually treats its foreign teachers well and has one employed consistently.)

[samd]

The kids at my last hagwon had to say,

"God is good, God is great, thank you for the food."

I taught them to say,

"Sam Teacher is good, Sam Teacher is great, thank you for the Sam Teacher."

They liked the second one much better.

[postfundie]

what about ruba dub dub thanks for the grub...yeah god

[uberscheisse]

christianity here is a hagwon.

[wylies99]

I've been around a lot of it, and, believe it or not, I don't mind it as long as they're not hypocrites about it. Don't just say it- live it. It's the hypocrites ("Praise the Lord, oh, and I've got to stop and pick up some cigs and soju on my way to the gay bar") that drive me nuts.

[mindmetoo]

[RACETRAITOR]

My boss (who is not a hakwon director and not a Christian) has two young daughters. At some point in recent years, they both became Christian. Now they refuse to do little things like even climb mountains because they know there's a Buddhist temple on it. My boss is annoyed about it but doesn't really understand what happened. The way I see it, some ass hole teacher told his kids he's evil and that they must become Christian. Back in Canada this group of people tried to do the same thing to my younger sister. Luckily she's still atheist but they helped mess her up good.

Christians have been very calculatedly using the schools to recruit kids at a young age. I think that's why Christianity is growing so fast here. What annoys me is Buddhists and Catholics and atheists are not doing anything about it. They're being steamrolled by the jesus vampires, and it's sick.

[uberscheisse]

[RACETRAITOR]

[in_seoul_2003]

I found out the full force of it from one class in particular. The Korean co-teacher for this class was one of the worst offenders (this was a ways back). The class had a book that we co-taught. I was the second so in order for them to understand my lesson they would have first had to get through her own. But it seemed that everytime they didn't seem to know anything. At which point I said, "Well, what are you doing in here with your K teacher?" They said that they did another lesson. They showed me this grey folder with stories of baby Jesus and baby Moses. It turns out she really wasn't teaching the assigned book at all. She was just photocopying this religious stuff and giving it to the kids.

Everyone who mattered knew what she was doing but no one seemed to care. So, I thought, maybe Christianity is viewed by many Koreans as just being part of the Western nature of the school.

At any rate, I still think that she was a fucking coward and knew exactly what she was doing coming to a hagwon full of little kids.

[shaunew]

I had an experience with a christ vampire yesterday in Iteawon. She came up to me. Asked me what I did, where I was from. My age. I asked how old are you. She said she is 53 so I guess I'm alittle to old for you, she tells me. I said it does not matter I'm married. I continued to walk down the street. Then she asked if I could help her. I said depends on what that is. She asked me for a donation to her church. I thought here we go, a wacked out christian. I told her I was Jewish. She did not understand at first. Then I told her in Korean. She told me she hated me and wanted my people to die. I'm not jewish just said that to get her away from me. After she told me to die. She still asked for the money. What is wrong with these bible thumping Koreans.

[mindmetoo]

[contrarian]

I was hired an fired in the space of 20 minute by a Korean Pentocstal University. Some one looked at my degree and BYU are you a Mormon. They tor up the conract when I said yes.

[twg]