Korea Herald 20090513

18 COMMUNITY

WEDNESDAY MAY 13, 2009

The media bias against foreign teachers Brian Deutsch In Jeollanam-do

SUNCHEON, South Jeolla Province — We recently read that 12 percent of native speaker English teachers in Ulsan were “expelled” from their jobs. The report said that the teachers were let go because they had “methods ... inappropriate for teaching students in English.” It is certainly the district’s or the school’s prerogative to hire or fire whomever they please, and there are no doubt some that deserve to go. However, the information and the way it was reported reveal two big problems frequently seen in media coverage of teachers. It is consistent with a trend to portray foreign English teachers in an unfairly negative way, and it begs the question why Korean teachers’ methods are, as a whole, not under similar scrutiny. Two of the most glaring problems are in the headline itself: “12 percent of native English teachers dismissed at schools in Ulsan.” The teachers were not “dismissed” or “expelled,” which means they were fired in the middle of their contracts, but were simply not offered another

contract after their current ones had expired. The article looked at the 12 percent of teachers who, for various reasons, were not retained, even though it would have been just as easy to write an article titled “88 percent of native English teachers doing just fine.” Some of the reasons for nonretainment were dubious as well. “Some (teachers) had to visit hospital too often for weight problems and some refused to teach after school,” the article reported. Schools should not be discriminating based on appearance, and because these after-school classes are not mandatory — and often not well-organized — this is not a proper reason for dismissal. Moreover, these evaluations were written by Korean co-teachers who, as many of us know, often do not come to class or to the mandatory teachers’ workshops. Because they do not participate, how can they properly evaluate performance? When judging the performance of native speaker English teachers, one needs to be a little more sophisticated than making generalizations about methodology or culture.

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And as a teacher myself, I am bothered that as a group our methods are constantly questioned while the frequent stories of Korean teachers behaving badly do not warrant judgments on the group as a whole. The point is that media focuses on foreign teacher misdeeds, while not offering a proportional level of scrutiny to Korean teachers’ misdeeds. Some recent news stories involving Korean teachers have provided a convenient contrast. In Gwangju, an English teacher at a girls’ high school is in some trouble for having her students

remove their skirts and kneel before her desk, after performing poorly on an exam. Also in Gwangju, a student hanged himself after his teacher hit him across the feet 110 times for skipping a study hall. A teacher in Incheon received a two-year suspended jail sentence in April for repeatedly beating two elementary school students. These stories are mentioned here because they are recent, not because they are unique. We do read similar stories in newspapers, and we can easily find videos of abusive teachers on

YouTube. Two of the more appalling ones are of a teacher beating his high school students with a bamboo sword, and of an elementary school teacher repeatedly whipping students with a plastic broom. Unlike the Ulsan teachers, who will lose their jobs, these teachers receive comparatively light punishments. The man who used a bamboo sword on his students was given a warning. The teacher who hit his elementary school students with a broom was given a leave of absence during summer vacation. These light punishments show that schools and districts condone this sort of behavior. Though technically illegal in Korea, corporal punishment happens in every school, every day. Teachers have lamented in the newspapers that it has become much harder to control students now that this particular option is off-limits. Most famously, Kim Younghwa, an English teacher in Seoul, wrote a book titled “What’s Happening in Sixth Grade Classrooms in Korea.” It looks at teachers’ authority visa-vis the restrictions on corporal punishment. She told the

Joongang Ilbo in a December, 2008 interview: “With the ban on physical punishment on students, there is no effective way for teachers to punish kids who break the rules and do as they please.” The merits of corporal punishment can be debated at length, and that netizens, parents, and teachers have spoken out against it shows that in Korea there is not a company line on the issue. But teachers often come to class with weapons, or “love sticks,” to keep students in line, and students receive raps on the hands and legs for being late, for scoring low on tests, for talking, and for numerous other offenses large and small. As we have seen from the especially graphic videos of teacher abuse, sometimes teachers hit students not “for their own good,” but because the teachers have lost self-control. It is not surprising, then, that students are resisting this form of punishment, nor is it surprising that students bully each other with regularity. These teachers are not punished, are not “dismissed” or “expelled,” even though their methodology must

be questioned. To put it bluntly, what kind of teacher cannot control a classroom without hitting students? What classroom culture does one create where the prime motivational tools are fear, embarrassment, and pain? There are bad apples in every bunch. There are native speakers whose lack of experience or training make them ineffective teachers, and there are Korean teachers who should have chosen a different line of work. When a foreign teacher screws up, it makes big news and leads to calls for vigorous screenings and stricter regulations, as if all of us are dangerous. If parents and citizens are truly concerned about their schools, and are not simply being xenophobic, they will root out bad Korean teachers with the same vigor with which they seek out bad foreign ones. To contact Brian, e-mail [email protected]. To comment on this column, e-mail [email protected]. For more of Brian’s writings, go to briandeutsch.blogspot.com. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of The Korea Herald. — Ed.

Saving money when you go to the cinema By Yu Myeong-soo, Christopher Dykas

In general, movies in Korea cost around 7,000-8,000 won per ticket, although at some theaters the price can be even higher. Nowadays, with so many people tightening their belts, is seems as though more and more people question whether two hours of enjoyment is really worth 10,000 won, soda included. Correction: two hours of potential enjoyment. In any case, here are some tips on how to watch movies in Seoul for cheap, if not for free. Even for just the price of a cup of coffee you can see some of the newest releases in Seoul. At small theaters in your area and even larger chain megaplexes in Seoul (Megabox, Lotte Cinema, Cinnus, CGV) you can watch early-morning showings throughout the week, and on the weekend, for about 4,000 won. Also, late-night double- or even triple-features are available at some theaters, where you can watch multiple movies through until dawn for around 10,000 won. Another option to note is that many credit cards, debit cards, phone plans and company membership cards can offer discounts on movie tickets as well — some offer one free ticket a month, a discounted partner ticket when you go with a friend, or both. Some are discounts available at the movie theater and some are only available when reservations are made online. It should be noted, however, that some of these movie phone plans, cards, etc. are not available to expatriates because the theater websites themselves do not offer services for them, thus it is very important to thoroughly understand the stipulations of any contracts before signing up. If you can’t

get one of these cards, remember that individual movie theaters offer their own membership cards. At CGV, for example, when you create a point card, 10 percent of your movie ticket price is recorded as points, which can later be used at CGV to buy movie tickets or refreshments. Sometimes you’d like to see a movie, but you don’t need to see the most recent movie, or perhaps you’d like to see a foreign film. There are various locations where you can have access to such screenings and, best of all, they’re usually free. Free movies are shown at many local public libraries. Community and cultural centers around Seoul also offer free movie screenings. The Korea Foundation Cultural Center (located near City Hall) offers free movie screenings on a given topic every month. Screenings are at 7 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and at 3 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information visit http://www.kfcenter.or.kr. Free movie screenings are also offered on the first Friday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Yeoksam Global Village Center and occasionally at the Hannam/Itaewon Center as well. You can connect to these websites via the SGC website. Also, various free cultural activity coupons for movies, plays and art exhibitions are available through the Seoul Metro website. Just by going to http://www.seoulmetro.co.kr/ and looking at the window in the lower left-hand corner you can see what cultural events are available. After registering, spaces are notified a few days later on the Seoul Metro website. Registration is not limited to Korean nationals, however the registration function is only available in Korean. For help registering, call the SGC at 1688-0120. ([email protected])

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Lots to consider when renting an apartment By Ahn Sung-hun

There are several key points that foreign tenants should be aware of when signing a lease with Korean landlords. There are three types of housing rental systems: First, there is key money deposit (or jeonse), second, there is advanced payment of total monthly rent (or galse), and third, you have the monthly payment system (or weolse). Many foreign residents like the jeonse system, which is unique to Korea. It means a tenant is required to pay a large deposit for a rental term of one or two years and the deposit will be fully refunded at the end of the contract without interest. Galse says that the tenant should pay all monthly payments in advance upon signing a one or two-year contract. No refund will be made if the tenant terminates the contract before it expires. Weolse is more familiar to

most foreign residents because tenants pay rent monthly after a deposit, usually one or two months worth of the monthly payments (similar to paying first and month’s rent). In any agreement, the first thing a foreign tenant has to keep in mind is to make a contract for a one-year term instead of a two-year term. According to the Housing Lease Protection Act of Korea, the law is designed to protect the tenant first. In other words, the law allows the tenant to stay up to two years, even though the agreed term of lease is one year — as long as payments are made on time. Therefore it is better for the tenant to demand a oneyear term from the landlord as it is more flexible. The second point has to do with the expiration and renewal of lease agreements. In the event that both the landlord and the tenant agree not to extend the lease six months be-

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Type of Lease

Payment

Refund

Discount

Jeonse

Once

Yes

Yes

Qalse

Once

No

Yes

Welse

Monthly

No

No

fore it expires, the landlord should notify the tenant in writing of the expiration of the contract, and then the tenant shall terminate (or confirm) it one month before the expiration date. If both parties fail to notify each other of an intention to terminate the contract, the lease with the same terms and conditions is automatically renewed and is effective on the expiration date. Third, the foreign tenant could request details in writing of any special agreements supplementary to the contract, which could be arranged with the landlord before signing the contract. For example, taking care of pets, utility charges, responsibilities of alteration and restora-

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tion, maintenance cost, and so on would be agreed upon. Finally, it is essential to know about the early termination penalty: usually the tenant should pay twice the initial down-payment and the landlord should give up the downpayment if both parties want to terminate the contract before the due date for the intermediate payment (jeonse contract). For more detailed precautions and regulations, it is recommended to obtain the professional assistance of certified realtors. It is understandable that some foreign residents have problems finding an area of a city that is appropriate for them. After all, depending on your age and lifestyle, you could

choose a young, hip part of town, or a quiet, convenient part of town. You might even want to live where many foreigners live to take advantage of the wide variety of food. Therefore, it may be helpful to find a qualified and certified realtor that has experience in finding good housing, can meet your budget and could deal professionally with such potential problems. To find a good realtor, ask around. Friends, coworkers, anyone with experience would be a great asset by leading you in the right direction. For more information, please contact me by e-mail ([email protected]) or cell phone (010-9928-5520). I will be happy to answer any of your questions. Ahn Sung-hun is president of Realty Wecan and is a certified real estate Agent. — Ed.

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