Deutsch`s top 2009 expat news

GWANJGU, South Jeolla Province -- A big development in 2009 was English-language bloggers entering mainstream media and attracting the attention of Korean readers. The Korea Herald, for instance, has had contributions from a number of popular English-language bloggers in Korea throughout the year, and in many cases the issues discussed first on blogs, and the stories broken by bloggers, have driven stories in the papers. In the absence of a real "for us, by us" English-language media outlet in Korea, many English teachers and foreign readers turn to blogs to fill in the gaps, to add context, to get a different perspective, or to simply print the truth that some professional "reporters" can`t seem to find.



Through blogs, internet cafes, Twitter, and Facebook, blog posts found their way around the Korean internet more this year. Though of course posts and articles in English are inaccessible to many readers in Korea, dedicated journalists, Korean bloggers, and university English professors are helping spread their content to people who otherwise wouldn`t be able to read what foreigners are actually writing about. On a personal note, I`ve seen the number of visitors to my site double over the past year, thanks in large part to Korean readers who have found me through Naver, through social networking sites, and through mainstream media outlets like Yonhap News and The Korea Herald. I hope that means more Korean readers will have access to the topics I enjoy, such as the role of native speakers in English in Korea, the way English and its speakers are presented here and how that influences learning, and, for a change of pace, which upcoming festival to visit or how great Korean motels are.



The following is a list of the stories I consider most relevant to, and among, my readers, many of whom happen to be English speakers and English teachers. I don`t write "relevant to foreigners" or "among expatriates" because though we might all be called the same word in Korean, we`re a diverse group of people. Stories that could have, but didn`t, make my cut include the release of the "Hebei Two," "anchor babies" taking advantage of local international schools, foreigner-only taxis in Seoul, bad-mouthing foreign guys on a July episode of "Beauties` Chat," the November shooting range fire in Busan, and Lee Cham being named head of the Korea Tourism Organization.



1. Swine flu, the foreigners` disease



From a teachers` perspective, the story of 2009 was swine flu and the ways it was treated as a foreigners` disease. Teachers still grumble about being told their coworkers are safe because they eat kimchi. Measures directed at foreigners and foreign English teachers -- like temperature checks, quarantines, passport confiscations, and insulting questions -- but not at Koreans mean the lasting impression will not be everything Korea did right to fight the threat of the disease -- like introducing soap to bathrooms -- but everything Korea did wrong.



2. Fighting back against discrimination



The first story that comes to mind is Bonojit Hussain`s, but what interests me more is the progress made fighting back against racist journalism, discrimination, and xenophobia against English teachers. In May the so-called "Wagner Report" detailed the bias against teachers in the media, and challenged the misinformation used to justify laws against E-2 visa holders, and in December the actions of the Naver cafe Anti-English Spectrum made the Canadian national broadcaster CBC`s popular "The Current" radio program. After years of xenophobia and bad journalism, teachers are finally able to fight back.



3. SMOE over-hires, then lays off 100 teachers



The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education casually laid off 100 native speaker English teachers in August, days before they were to fly to Korea. Confidence in the security and quality of working in Korean public schools was shaken by this, and by SMOE`s response: rather than apologizing publicly it blamed unreliable foreign teachers for the over-hiring. One of many developments this year that made foreign teachers question their future in this country.



4. The suicide of Roh Moo-hyun



Former President Roh Moo-hyun`s suicide on May 23 affected everyone in Korea. Some were surprised and shocked, others not so much, but his death made the former human rights lawyer a hero to many. Again.



5. Bad journalism and English teachers



It was a good year for bad journalism and for truly nasty articles about native speaker English teachers. An intern at the Chosun Ilbo wrote a five-part series on low-quality teachers that was built on lies and anecdotes, while other journalists and media outlets used unsubstantiated stories, false statistics, and fabricated quotations to portray teachers as dangerous, unlawful, and unqualified. Yonhap News, Pressian, and the Korea Times all had their low points -- remember Jon Huer and Jessica Kim? -- and even The Junior Herald got into the act with a piece on "intoxicated native English teachers."



6. The least-popular beauty in Korea



In August, German panelist Vera Hohleiter on "Beauties` Chat" raised the ire of netizens for a book she wrote looking critically at Korea and the show. More a case of bad journalism than a bad attitude, as Germans who actually read it found the controversy blown out of proportion.



7. A torrent of bad English



Bad English in Korea isn`t news, but 2009 saw a lot of it. The Korea Tourism Organization launched a three-year "Visit Korea Year" campaign, another government agency gave us the atrocious ifriendly.kr website, and somebody at Samsung thought "Magic Hole" was a good name for a phone. But perhaps the word that best captures the year in Korean English is the name of an ill-designed Korean custard-filled cake: Ricetard.



8. English-language radio comes to town



In February an English-language radio station started broadcasting in Busan, and in April one came to Gwangju. The stations are popular among Koreans looking to practice their English, but because few native English speakers are involved, and because few native English speakers in Korea listen to the radio, questions remain about how relevant they are to the foreign community.



9. Stephannie White sues over death of son



Stephannie White, mother of a 14-year-old boy who died under suspicious circumstances in a Gyeongsan sauna in 2008, sued the Korean government, the South Gyeongsan provincial government, the hospital, and the sauna in January. She lost, and her questions remain unanswered. Our question, whether a non-Korean can find justice in Korea, is unanswered, too.



10. Mandatory culture classes for foreign teachers



A politician announced in November that he`d make it mandatory for foreign English teachers to attend classes on Korean culture and education. Teachers who have experienced such programs, though -- and most in public schools have -- realize how dull and impractical they are. Foreign teachers want real opportunities for training, not lessons on kimchi and the Baekje kingdom, and I, at least, want real thought put into effectively using native speaker English teachers in the classroom.



For more of Brian`s writings, go to www.briandeutsch.blogspot.com - Ed.







By Brian Deutsch