Bad news for native English teachers in Korea if this comes into law because it would reduce the number of English teaching jobs available in Korea:
Some 100 owners of private English institutes across Korea gathered in Seoul, Tuesday, to protest the government’s plan to ban native teachers from working at so-called English language kindergartens.
This comes after the Ministry of Education announced the plan last week as part of its efforts to help households reduce spending on private education.
Such institutes for children are often called English kindergartens, although they are not registered as under the law. With intensive English programs, they usually charge about double the cost of other kindergartens.
The ministry is now collecting opinions about the plan before making a final decision.
Members of the Korea Association of Hagwon said that the new policy not only hurts children’s ability to improve their English, but also violates parents’ right to choose the way they educate their children. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the plan to ban native English teachers is supposed to reduce the costs of sending children to English hagwons.
Here is another article that shows how discrimination against foreign English teachers in Korea is quite common:
Sean Jones was on his way for a job interview last week in Seoul and received a disturbing text message that reads “Hey Sean. Sorry they just told me they actually want a white teacher.”
“I was on my way to the interview when I received a text message from my recruiter stating that they only want a white teacher,” Sean told The Korea Observer.
“Regardless of my two plus years of experience, TEFL certification, great references and the ability to speak intermediate Korean, I was turned down before even given an opportunity to speak with them.”
To add insult to injury, the 30-year-old American from Oklahoma experienced racial discrimination again two days after the incident.
This time he received a facebook message that reads, “I am sorry. I just found out today that my school is one of ones that won’t hire black people.” [Korea Observer]
You can read more at the link, but to show that discrimination in Korea isn’t always about skin color either in the past people have been denied English teaching jobs due to accents and even perceptions of heavy drinking.
