Yeah, today was definately one of those days.
I just got back from a week vacation, and found out I will still be carrying the title of the most overworked English teacher in all of Korea.
The director of my hagwon was supposed to be hiring another foreign teacher from Miami to help me and my co-worker Sharon out (Sharon's Canadian). Our school has about 350+ kids crammed into a really cramped space on the third floor of a Korean private school. I currently teach about 100 kids and Sharon teaches about 85 kids. The average native English teacher in Korea teaches only 60 kids max. So, yeah, I was kinda looking forward to working, say, normal hours.
Then my supervisor calls and says the director doesn't want to hire this women. I knew they were prejudiced against hiring her in the first place because she's African-American (myself I got turned down from 3 schools before this one, simply because I'm not white). But then they fly this poor lady all the way out to Korea, just to say- to her face, mind you- that they don't want to hire her because she is overweight.
I mean, even discrimination in the U.S. isn't that blunt. I'd even take a "oh, that position has already been filled" over "hey, you're too dark and too fat to work for us." Now this women is stuck in Korea, trying to use the recruiting agency to help her find a contract with a school. The way things work here is that native English speakers are in demand, because this country is in the very beginning stages of accepting English (and trust me, it's really hard to get around not knowing much Korean). All they ask is you have a Bachelor's degree in anything and be from a Western nation of English speakers. The pay is descent, but with discrimination soo blatant, I can't imagine living here, with no contract or job, and having sold everything back home to come here (which is what this women did).
It's like this country wants to open up to English and Western culture on one hand, but still openly holds deep prejudices in the other. Argh... it's soo frustrating
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amaretto01 posted on Aug 03, 2006
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Comments
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jabba said on Aug 03, 2006....
I'm not surprised to hear that there is blatant prejudice in Korea. I've never lived there, but I have lived extensively in several Asian countries, & yes, there is definite discrimination. One of the best selling cosmetic products in China is apparently the skin whitening cream. It's targeted at local women who want their skin to be, well, whiter. My own mother uses it! -
ALIENated said on Aug 03, 2006....
That situation with the lady coming over there is horrible. She must be devistated. I think I have changed my mind. Do not look for me over there. I need a job, but not that badly. -
amaretto01 said on Aug 03, 2006....
Yeah, the skin-whitening cream is popular over here too. Did you know they actually have posters with pictures of Jessica Alba advertising one of the brands? And the last I checked, that girl is about the same color as me!! I would consider using that stuff for like the elbows and knees, but not really anything else. But yeah, I see that stuff advertised on Korean TV all the time... -
GrapeKoolaid said on Aug 04, 2006....
I think it may have something with the ingrained culture over there. Something like 46% of Koreans don't claim to be any particular religion at all. 25% Christian and 25% Buddhists, but the rest are a bunch of Godless heathens. This is because there is a strong Confucian tradition that still sirvives. Confucianism emphasizes education and culturing of the self, and when one is overweight, is mostly seen as someone with little self control. Not to mention the fact that they are extremely xenophobic, due to their history of isolationism. It's hard to explain. The East and the West sometimes has a very difficult time adjusting to one another. On the surface, it looks seamless and easy, but underneath, we see that it's not. It truly is a shame. -
amaretto01 said on Aug 04, 2006....
Well, actually, from what I've seen, there are almost 40 percent Christians here, and the seem to be the Bible-thumping kind that exist back home in Texas. Steeples with crosses at the top are EVERYWHERE! And if they are not openly Christian, they are Buddhists, and they where the symbol as jewelery (cross= Christian and in Korea the Swatika=Buddhist). So NO, I have NOT seen any sign of "Godless heathens", unless they happen to be agnostic or atheist members of the U.S. military here in Korea... White people here are treated in one of two ways: people try their best English with them and seem to kiss the ground they walk on or 2) rip them off in the case of taxis that charge $20 for a ride that was only supposed to cost $3 (trust me, I've ridden in cabs with both Korean and later white folk and there is a HUGE difference). Koreans simply can adjust to white folk a lot easier than people with any other color skin... many Koreans themselves try to look as white/Western as possible by dying their hair blonde or dressing in brand names like Levis (which is super expensive here), Tommy, Polo or Fubu (again, ironically very expensive here). So it really all depends on looks to see how "seamless and easy" it is to blend into Korean society... -
GrapeKoolaid said on Aug 04, 2006....
It probably seems like 40% because the Xtians there are an active group. Something like 11 of 12 biggest churches in the world is in S.Korea and they send the most number of missionaries out to the world excluding the US. Them Dutch did a bangup job propagating the faith there. As to the "Westernization" of the East, I think you may have something there. As you're living there, you should know first hand what it's like. However, I know there is also a trend in Korea leaning towards China as the cultural and eventual financial center. Have you seen or noticed this trend at all? Are there as many Chinese school as English schools? -
silverwhisper said on Aug 04, 2006....
that's really regrettable yet terribly unsurprising. korean prejudice against blacks isn't particularly news though to anyone who's lived in or near a major US urban area in the past few decades. ed -
amaretto01 said on Aug 04, 2006....
Grape- Some of my students take Chinese language classes, but I think that's because it's easier for them to learn than English classes. Both languages are character-based, so I think they're more able to grasp it than English. So why not Japanese? Well, most people that know any Korean history, know that there is a great underlying hate for the Japanese, so the Koreans are much more friendly to say, Chinese tourists, than Japanese ones. And as far as a financial backer... I think that's more of North Korea relying on the Chinese. South Korea is looking to attract more American and Western businesses to set up here than Chinese. -
jagiya said on Jan 10, 2008....
I completely understand people not being happy about the fairly blatant racism in Korea but you have to keep it in perspective and be careful not to make a blanket assumption every Korean is like that because they're not. Also, EVERY country has it's own prejudices of some form to a greater or lesser degree. The fact it is more transparent in Korea (and plenty of other countries) isn't nice but you know where you stand. In most western countries it is still there but just suppressed through political correctness and fear of litigation, so you face prejudice without it being visible. To me this is worse in some ways. If you're applying for a job and get refused for some bogus reason when you know it's because someone doesn't like your skin colour or religion or whatever, is that any better than the blunt truth? Some people just look for a reason to be offended because they've been conditioned to think that way these days and it kills a lot of conversations that might provide a chance to change peoples thinking. Don't get me wrong I don't condone racism at all and don't understand the mentality behind it at all. It just seems an irrational fear of something different, and I think that's part of the issue in Korea where conformity is normality, probably because of the strong confucian influence, even amongst the Christians and Bhudists. People react quite negatively to any deviation from mainstream society in Korea and this seems quite deeply rooted in their culture. although it is fast changing like everything in Korea. And that pace of change is another element. People are working such long hours there thanks to the remnants of Japanese influence over 40 years of occupation, that they simply don't have time to be polite. I guess the key is to observe with an open mind and be aware of your own prejudices and pre-conceptions.
I have been married to a Korean quite a few years now and have visited Korea many times so I'm close enough to this issue to understand it a bit. I also know teachers who work there and have heard their experiences. Most of them are no where near as judgemental as the comments on this blog. They accept they're in a different country and so accept you're playing by someones elses rules even if you don't like them. As a white man I haven't experienced the sort of racism that black people and south Asians experience in Korea of course and I feel sad that they have to face this in Korea or the U.S. or anywhere else. They face this every day of their lives while I might face it a few times a year at worst so you can't compare that experience. But everyone knows what it is and should be able to empathise. Those that can't or won't empathise are the ones that make all the noise and love to foster hatred. These people are mentally ill and need help as far as I'm concerned.
Look for some of the positives in Korea if you can, there is plenty. -
healthfreak said on May 06, 2008....
It's terrible how one woman who is obviously eager to teach in Korea, can be so brazenly discriminated because she overweight! Well, what can be expected from a backward third-world country? George http://www.acneway.com
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