What`s with racist hagwon?

Question: I was born and raised in England, graduated from a top English university and have been applying for teaching jobs in Korea for three months with no luck. I have all of my paperwork ready and there doesn`t appear to be any other problems aside from the fact that I am of Indian decent. Am I being rejected strictly because of my race?



Answer: I actually know someone who is having this exact problem. He`s a month into the application process, but never gets past the first phase, which is resume and photo submission. This is an issue that gets discussed a lot among expats and I`m certain that everybody knows someone who has dealt with this discriminatory practice.

Race relations on the peninsula have been tirelessly covered by countless bloggers and journalists from hundreds of angles and perspectives, so allow me to skip the fluff and give you the shortened version: Korean society is slowly working toward racial tolerance, but still appears to be some time away.



So, why can`t you, a native English speaker who meets the minimum requirements for teaching in Korea, get a job? Well, it`s all about enrollment, money, stereotypes, fear and mothers. The Korean mother has total educational power and if they organize, they can pretty much guarantee the demise of a small English academy. Perception is king and while the average mother doesn`t have anything against non-Caucasians, she is more comfortable with what she knows and likely prefers her child to be taught by a white teacher. Regardless of ability, if a teacher gets an "X" put on him or her, it`s difficult to escape unscathed. Academy directors know that, so they avoid the situation by trying to hire white Westerners.

An example is a private school in Dobong-gu, Seoul that two weeks ago put up an ad on a popular job site for foreign teachers. The ad read, "American or Canadian, if possible American, black is okay, but not 100 percent black." The school was forced to remove the explicit rejection of "100 percent blacks" in an updated job advertisement recently.

In the case of the questioner, I have a feeling that directors and recruiters don`t believe that someone who looks Indian could be a native speaker. Remember, perception dictates treatment. It`s a bad deal and an even worse introduction to Korea, but if you are set on coming to the peninsula and don`t want to wade through the discriminatory hiring waters, then there are ways to do it.

Apply directly: Recruiters typically try to funnel teachers into positions that need to be filled, regardless of stated preferences. Trust me, I`ve been a recruiter. That`s what we were encouraged to do. They want easy cash, which means easy cases. An African-American or, in this case, a Brit of Indian decent requires a lot of work for the recruiter and, as we know, placement is not guaranteed. Save yourself the trouble, cut them out of the loop and apply to schools directly. Most universities, international schools, public schools, and adult language institutes have websites where you can apply on your own.

Play the game: If you want to use a recruiter, then you might have to play their game. For the most part, academies and recruiters evaluate you solely on the photo you provide to them. They look at your skin color, facial hair and expression, weight, hairstyle and even your surroundings. From those superficialities they create a story for you.

Don`t assume the worst: Just because schools, recruiters or some mothers have unfounded concerns about hiring anyone who doesn`t fit into their narrow definition of what a native speaker should be, that doesn`t mean you should give up. Remember, it`s not only about race. It`s about being different. Men with long hair, big beards or visible tattoos get left out all the time. The reason white people are tolerated more is because of exposure. The more diverse we make our expat community and Korean society, the more contact Koreans will get and as time goes by, this issue might be a thing of the past. I know the system needs a lot of work, but exposure and tolerance are the only things that can fix some of these stereotypes. Until then, be smart, have a good game plan and avoid the avoidable. You`ll regret not trying.





View Ask the Expat`s blog at asktheexpat.blogspot.com. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of The Korea Herald - Ed.