A Few Thoughts on the “Whining” Nasty English Teacher Kerfuffle
For some reason, I feel like answering a couple of posts that came out a reaction to an article published at the Korea Times. Bendan Carr at the Marmot’s Hole recently wrote a post that seemed from my perspective to be more or less an ad hominem attack on the writer of the article, who argued that a bureau should be set up to make sure that the contracts of foreign EFL teachers working in this country are honored. Subsequent to this, Jeff at Ruminations in Korea, and EFL Geek treated the issue, too. (Lest there be misunderstanding, allow me to say that I respect and like EFL Geek, who was kind enough to donate many hours of his time to creating a Moodle project for me; I also enjoy many posts by Robert, Brendon Carr and Jeff from time to time.)
My main point, in a comment at the Marmot’s Hole, was that (what I understood to be) the ad hominem attack on the writer of the article and a distinct lack of empathy for those EFL teachers defrauded by hagwons was wrong for a variety of reasons. (Brendon has since commented, although not specifically in response to my comment, with much more empathy for wronged hagwon teachers, to my relief.) I actually never read the English papers here, so I get to miss all this stuff that riles some of the folks at the Marmot’s Hole.
My main points:
1) The actual letter or article was not actually very whiny. Anyone who could look at the article objectively could see that. The definition of a contract was completely wrong, as Brendon correctly observed, and the comparison of the wronged members of the TEFL community to situations involving human trafficking was definitely over-the-top. Regarding the latter, however, a few mitigating factors ought to be considered. For example, although salaries for English teachers here are relatively high compared to what non-specialized B.A. or M.A. holders could get back in their native countries, or compared to what most Korean English instructors make here, the expatriates by and large have extremely large debt loads–debt loads that the Korean populace generally doesn’t seem to have. The fact that people take responsibility for their debts, rather than merely defaulting, is a point in their favor. They do need the money. Speaking personally, the amount of student debt I have, fortunately much lower than many others with the same amount of schooling, thanks to part time work and scholarships, constitutes the single biggest source of stress in my life as I earn money for my new family.
2) It is incorrect to claim that since greater wrongs exist elsewhere, that the fraud committed by some hagwons should go ignored. To some degree, this is the implication of the various posts under discussion, even if their writers have explicitly stated otherwise. If writing a letter or a guest article helps the writer or readers to obtain what is due them legally, then there should be no complaints about “whining.” Which is worse: fraud, or “whining”? If the latter, then one shouldn’t read the Korean papers–or, for that matter, the bulk of the comments at the larger expat blogs here, where Korea-bashing goes on more or less routinely. Mere “whining” is a pretty small matter to provoke such a storm.
3) Jeff’s claim that the bulk of the problems experienced by English teachers are caused by themselves is completely unsupported in his post, and is almost certainly wrong. One would have to have a massive amount of anecdotal or statistical data to back that up, and Jeff does not produce it. On the contrary, the vast amount of data that is available indicates that the hagwon owners do, indeed, defraud or attempt to defraud their employees on a fairly consistent basis. Doubtless, Jeff sees a fair number of problem cases. I have no idea what percentage of these cases involve blameworthy English teachers, but a great number of bloggers here have recorded their stories and incidents of employer contractual fraud, incidents that have not been solved in court. An even higher number of TEFL instructors do not blog; they are our co-workers, and we know what happens to them, too.
4) It is not self evident that Korea will or must solve the bigger abuses of “3-D” workers and foreign sex-trade workers before it solves the problems of English teachers. In a more reasonable world, the worst problems would be solved first, granted, absolutely. In this case, however, English teachers are in a much stronger position at the proverbial bargaining table than 3-D workers. Consciousness-rasing has to start somewhere. It is apparently acceptable for hagwon owners to violate their contracts, since many routinely do so with impunity. It doesn’t have to be this way. Since everybody else is pulling out anecdotes in support of their positions, I’ll pull out two, of an analogical kind, as well: (1) the universal enfranchisement of all British citizens owes its origin to the enfranchisement of some privileged barons who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta; (2) in professional sports leagues, the salaries are set by precedent from the top down. If foreign English teachers are willing to put up with illegal treatment, it makes things that much more difficult for the 3-D workers and the Korean English teachers.
5) It’s very easy for a non-English teacher to say “don’t think about teaching English here.” But as a statement it’s not especially helpful, or obvious. Thousands of people are here teaching English, and have been doing so for many years. For many English teachers, especially those with high student loans, teaching here is almost forced on them, especially if they are from a country like Canada where opportunities for gainful employment are difficult to come by for holders of all classes of Liberal Arts degrees. In terms of markets, perhaps only Japan and the Middle East are comparable economically; the high cost of living in the former, and the peculiar characteristics of the latter, make South Korea a better choice on all counts.
6) Several writers have expostulated that people should “do research on the internet!” Frankly, I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t do research before coming here. I certainly did mine, and have been rewarded with a largely positive experience; doubtless, luck played a part, too. Just who are we preaching to, here? It seems that a complex of emotions felt by various people about various other people (a few incarcerated for violation of immigration laws), and about various undefined issues and problems has coelesced around a stereotype of the Nasty English Teacher, who was then more or less identified as the writer of the article in the Korea Times.
7) Basic civility is sorely lacking in the expatriate Korean blogosphere. The ad hominem attacks directed at Shelton Baumgartner on a routine basis in the comments at the Marmot’s have largely kept me away from the commentary section there. That this tendency to mischaracterize, to ridicule, and to treat with contempt should escalate to the main section and to other blogs is a source of some personal sadness. (Incidentally, the trivialization of, rape that appeared as a joke on the main page of another major blog fits also into this pattern. [It was removed after I requested the site owner to remove it, or remove my own blog from his sidebar.]) In both cases, the posts in question received the approval of various members of the blogosphere, with no voices opposed. If it takes a lone blogger to say the obvious, then I will: I do not approve of the increasing prevalence of the glorification of the directed-at-a-person “rant,” that genre that has is so opposed to the basic values of humanism. This geographical section of the blogosphere is going to hell in a handcart, and will continue to do so unless people clean up their acts.
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Tuesday, March 21st, 2006 @ 8:21 pm
Great post.
I’ll have to read the original article and the Marmot post again but yours seems balanced and well researched. I wish I posted stuff like this.
Tuesday, March 21st, 2006 @ 9:51 pm
Why you Should not Teach in Korea
update Seoul Hero and The Asia Pages also discuss this topic. The asia pages agrees with Jeffs article wholeheartedly and then provides personal anecdotal evidence well worth Reading. Seoul Hero writes alot and a little later when I have more time I&ap…
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 @ 7:36 am
While agree with some of your points, mainly that ESL teachers can have a more positive effect on changing labour standards for 3-D workers rather than the other way around, I still see the original article as too whiney. I guess I largely see foreign workers as partly responsible for both being aware of the situation they are putting themselves in when working in a foreign country and also having to accept some basic realities when dealing with labour standards in their host country. I’m not saying they should accept those difficulties, but also they shouldn’t be so ‘wide-eyed’ and naive when confronted with things far different than their native country. I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on some points.
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 @ 11:57 am
this is non-sequitor and has no bearing on working in Korea. Just because Koreans know how to save money doesn’t mean they should be paid less than ex-pat workers. In this case you are comparing apples and oranges. I speak as someone who came over with high student loan debt. Everyone needs money – there is nothing new about this fact, but it has no relevance on the article or issue at hand.
You are wrong and Jeff is correct. There is massive amounts of anecdotal evidence supporting his statement. I suspect that somehow you have been sheltered from the number of freaky waegooks in this country.
I agree with this.
No one forces anyone to come to Korea. Canada is a socialist country and noone will starve or be without housing if they go on welfare and/or UI however distasteful that may be. I fail to see how anyone can be forced to live outside thier own country due to student loan debt.
it’s not any worse than other areas of the internet. Annonymity does strange things to people.
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 @ 1:55 pm
I think your thoughts are well presented. Having had problems in the past like this, I would like to see something done.
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 @ 3:47 pm
Kwangdong Brian, Thanks for your kind words!
Sumiyoshi Pilgrim, thanks for your comment. San Nakji, we’re on the same page—again!
EFL Geek, thanks for your detailed comments, which are interesting, as always. If I understand you correctly, I would say that I do not agree with you that the financial situation of foreign EFL teachers has nothing to do with the article. It has everything to do with it: most of us would not be here if it were not for our financial situations. We work for money. When that money is witheld, teachers are justified in making attempts to get it back. I made the point I did in the context of the attack on the writer of the original article. Please note that nowhere did I say that Korean teachers should be paid less than foreign teachers simply because they are Korean. I still do not understand what people have against an English teacher insisting in the pages of the Korea Times that the contracts of English teachers be honored.
You may be right about me being sheltered from the number of “freaky waegooks,” as you so humorously put it, in the country. It’s true that I haven’t socialized with foreigners, apart from the ones I’ve met through their blogs, and my grad school friend Ian, who is the hardest worker I know other than my dad. I guess I’m starting to socialize with some of my co-workers at my university. I do read many K-blogs, including those of first and second year teachers. Most of them are written by reasonable, good people. I stay away from the comments sections of the major blogs, and from forums like Dave’s ESL Café. It seems difficult to believe that the people there, who are by and large real whiners, are a representative sample; I think the bloggers are a more representative sample. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t: we need statistics based on sound methodology to conclude anything. Those are lacking at this time. Meanwhile, I assert that the burden of proof is on those who claim that the majority of foreigners bring a majority of the problems they experience on themselves.
Finally, I wonder if it is possible that the situation was even worse a few years ago than it is now. Korea has certainly changed a lot; is it possible the character of the foreign teachers has changed, too?
In the end, we may have to disagree on some things, which is fine. And you are always welcome to comment further, of course.
If I may condense my original seven points into a few, I would conclude, generally, not specifically in response to the comments here, by saying:
1) The post at the Marmot’s Hole was an unwarranted personal attack on someone who was merely saying that English teachers’contracts should be honored. Subsequent endorsements of that article on other blogs disappointed me because of that attack.
2)It is overly pessimistic to expect Korean society to refrain from adopting western notions of contracts. In a global economy, Korean companies already must adopt western standards for business contracts and legal issues when they operate outside Korea. It is consistent with this principle for me to argue that Korean business customs here change to include a more transparent approach to contracts with international English teachers. It is only a step from there to better treatment of 3-D and Korean workers also. The censuring of the Korea Times writer, and of others who try to make sure that contracts are honored works in favor of inertia and fatalistic acceptance of an unfortunate status quo.
Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 @ 12:56 am
The polarization on this issue is incredible and unwarranted. Korea too often mistreats its foreign workers and that cannot be excused. I have a very good Korean friend (who is actually very high up with a leading Korean company) and he often complains to me about this very point. He will say that because of what the Japanese did to the Koreans, it is particularly inexcusable for the Koreans to mistreat foreign workers. As for blaming the ESL teachers, yes, I agree with that also, but only to a limited extent. Jeff is correct that they should do more research, but sometimes they do and that is not enough. But the real reason they should be excused is because they are young people full of adventure and, usually no matter how bad their ESL stint, they learn from it and, at least in the end, are glad they did it.
China Law
Wednesday, April 5th, 2006 @ 4:40 am
Nathan:
Sorry for the belated comment. This topic seems to have stirred up a s***storm in the Korean blogging community! I agree in general that there is just too much polarization and overall nastiness. Apart from the outright racist stuff (which goes both ways), the whole Shelton-vs.-everyone else soap opera at the Marmot’s Hole is just bizarre. (I admit I’ve gotten involved in it from time to time, though never uncritically slamming Shelton just for being Shelton.)
Anyhow, your post seems reasonable and well balanced. I don’t see how simply saying to anyone (in bold letters), “Don’t come here!” solves anything, although I may agree with some of the other points that various others have said. (Though as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’ve never taught English in Korea or had to deal professionally with English teachers in Korea, so my ability to comment knowledgeably is limited.)
Anyhow, one point you made:
“the expatriates by and large have extremely large debt loads–debt loads that the Korean populace generally doesn’t seem to have.”
…might have been true up to, oh, about 5 years ago or so, and I think historically (over the last 50 years) South Korea was overall a much more saving than spending society (but spending judiciously on a macroeconomic scale; and the personal spending was held in check by, for example, restrictions or high tariffs during the Park Chung Hee era on conspicuous consumption-type goods), but very recently, consumer credit has been spiralling out of control, with many consumers running up huge personal debts.