Teachers In Korea---mildly amusing story!

[Lager]

I think so anyway. There is a job site for Korea (englishspectrum.com) which also has a forum..So teachers recently got on saying:among other things:


--They are making big money on illegal private lessons.

--Koreans are all morons.

--Korean women are easy.

--They get drunk every night. Also some pics were posted of K-chicks in bars.

So the Korean press ran with the story and it's causing a bit of a kerfuffle. The site is down (shut down?) There was a thread on the spoon which broke records and had to be taken down. Thinking is it was getting so many hits it was crashing the site. It hit 20 pages in less than 2 days....

Is there as moral to the story? Don't know but I wonder why people are so stupid...They make out like bandits doing something they aint qualified for and is illegal. And then go and gloat about it on anonymous chat rooms. This type thing (if you know Koreans) could cause a large backlash against teachers.

[Wolf]

lager said:

So the Korean press ran with the story

;D

That's funny. I knew it was only a matter of time before the more unsavory aspect of the online EFL world hit the mainstream media.

This is most definately not going to help images of foreigners any. If only the EFL industry in Korea and Japan didn't purposely rely on 21 year old yip-yaps for 98% of its workforce. Sure, there are 21 year olds who have the makings of good teachers, but when you hire tens of thousands of such people, with no more qualifications than a piece of paper they claim is a uni degree, then you're bound to get a few people like that in the mix.

To the detriment of everyone else.

[Lager]

Wolf---also in ROK (and maybe Japan) you have a situation where experience actually makes it harder to find work...An older hand wont fall for some of the stunts they pull. A teacher will also start to get ideas about actual teaching which Mcschools dont want to hear.

[Steve]

A Korean I met at church today summed up the situation pretty well - you've got to be careful before signing on with employers. There is such a booming demand for English in Korea and many employers are not trained in education but are simply in it for the $$$.

It's all been said many times already, but it's teacher beware when it comes to signing contracts. Unfortunately, those fresh out of college aren't thinking so much about these issues and the allure of adventure in a foreign land takes precedence. I could certainly relate to that when I just graduated, but I'm thankful I ended up with decent employers. Well, most of them.

My brother did a stint in Korea and got a really nasty experience at a hogwan. If I meet Koreans and they ask me, I would never tell them that, of course ;-)

Steve

[Raoul Duke]

Just wanted to say that it's a treat to see ya back, Steve. Please drop in when ya can!

[Wolf]

lager said:

Wolf---also in ROK (and maybe Japan) you have a situation where experience actually makes it harder to find work...An older hand wont fall for some of the stunts they pull. A teacher will also start to get ideas about actual teaching which Mcschools dont want to hear.

Yep. Japan too. I'm on my last legs here, and the massively advanced age of 28. I've got just over a year with my current employer, and after that I doubt anyone would touch me with a 10 foot pole, except for the handful of truly decent jobs out there.