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[johngalt]

"I am not saying that the OP is one of the unprofessional English assistant professors/tutors that abound in Korea. What I am saying is that, sadly, most of them are unprofessional, thus being treated by Korean universities as disposable items."

But you seem to be hinting that I am. As I mentioned before, I was not and am not in EFL.

You are also moving off topic and skirting the issue of contracts. If someone takes a job and does not fulfill their end of the bargain I am against that too. But if you are a professional who accepts a job based on a certain contract and the contract is changed as soon as you arrive so the conditions are unattractive that should not be excused either because a few people from a similar cultural background but an unrelated field are "unprofessional."

It's not surprsing, though, if some non-Koreans are non-professional as professionals go where conditions are good and professionalism is rewarded. If you treat employees well and like professionals a surprising thing happens -- high quality people will want to work for you. If you do not reward professionalism or treat professionals unprofessionally the professionals leave.

By the way, I did learn Korean when I was there and made every attempt to integrate, as much as that was possible. I also published academic books and articles. Still, the contract problem happened on several occasions. It happens to both professionals and non-professionals teaching in Korea. Lack of professionalism is not the cause.

[johngalt]

For another perspective on working conditions at Korean universities for non-Korean faculty the following article is quite informative:

http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/09/19/just-treat-us-like-equals-foreign-professors/

[johngalt]

One other thing. You cannot with fairness and accuracy talk about "unprofessional English assistant professors/tutors that abound in Korea" and "that, sadly, most of them are unprofessional, thus being treated by Korean universities as disposable items."

When I was in Korea I did meet some non-Korean assistant professors of English. Most were professional. It's unfair to lump them together with "tutors" and say "most of them are unprofessional." Note that I never said that about Korean faculty. They are not any more professional than non-Koreans.

Also, most foreign teachers at Korean universities are English instructors, not assistant professors. The latter almost always have PhDs. English instructors can get by with a BA or MA and these individuals are the ones you are likely referring to. However, Korean universities often give them the English title "Visiting Professor" to make the position sound better than it is. In Korean, though, the job title is "instructor." Anyway, your categories do not quite reflect reality.




 

[neil9]

Why everything must turn political? OP told us about his experience which is valuable to all of us.

But I am surprised (from other sources) that Korean Universities treat foreign professors so poorly. You should go to China instead.

[dfquinn355]

Why everything must turn political? OP told us about his experience which is valuable to all of us.

'Zactly!

Too many melting pot/mixed salad countries have little clue as to the doings of homogenous ones.

It often makes all the difference in their cultural approach with foreigners.

[johngalt]

I found some interesting statistics on tenure and foreign faculty in Korea. According to the Ministry of Education's statistics for 2001, out of 10,929 full-time faculty at national universities only 19 tenure track professors were non-Korean. It is unclear how many of these individuals were ethnically Korean, but the three tenure track foreign professors at Seoul National University (out of 1,474) were of Korean descent and the seven tenure track foreigners at Yonsei University (out of 1,344) were ethnic Koreans as well.

The above statistics are a bit dated, but another article I found states that "A 2007 ministry survey found that South Korea's 23 public universities employed just 22 full-time foreign professors" (http://www.viet-studies.info/Korea_Higher_Ed.pdf). So six years later following more efforts at "globalization" in Korea there were just three new foreign professors with tenure. Likely these individuals were also of Korean ethnicity.

The above being the case, the most one could hope for in going to Korea would be a contract position. Tenure is not possible save generally for those of Korean descent and there are not even many of these individuals.

Also, if you are a PhD in linguistics, TESOL or English literature, as the one gentleman with the business PhD suggests, you will be lumped together in Koreans' minds as a "tutor" or "unprofessional" English teacher and contract problems will be even more likely than if you have, say, a business or economics PhD.

If you have no other options, Korea might be a risk that is worth taking, however unpredictable the outcome may be. Even if your contract is not honored as you expect, one or two years of experience cannot hurt your CV. However, if you can secure a contract position elsewhere I recommend you not take the position in Korea. If you insist on going, do get everything in writing and, even if it is in writing, be prepared for changes anyway and to walk if the changes are unacceptable to you or to grin and bear it if you cannot leave.

[hardtobelieve]

This "warning" really smacks of ethnocentricism. There is NOTHING in this post that I have NOT heard of happening here in the U.S. to non-tenure track faculty. I have seen and heard of non-tenure track faculty hired to work full time just to have classes cancelled and told that their load (and pay) would be adjusted accordingly. Non-tenure track faculty have NEVER gotten moving expenses, had to share offices with others (even grad students). Non-tt faculty whose "titles" have been changed from Visiting Assistant Professors to lecturers, to instructors without ANY notice whatsoever. They've signed contracts that stated, "pending bugetary approval" to have the contract cancelled TWO WEEKS before the beginning of the semester. I've SEEN and HEARD of this happening ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, from big R1s to CCs. I wonder what the reaction would be if a Korean national took a non-tt job at a U.S. university, came and found that they didn't have an office, that their class sizes were nearly doubled due to circumstances and that they would NOT be paid anything extra and encountered an administration that told them to take it or leave it. I'm certain that after a few years (and a few places) a Korean instructor may say the exact same thing about our "system."

[spork]

[. . .]
Some of them do have a TESOL certificate and an interest in a career in academia, more often they come to Korea to teach because it is better than the options back home.

[. . . ]

You forgot the "and to get laid in a place where they have more options than back home."

I ate dog in Vietnam.  It was overcooked.  Do the Koreans do a better job of it?

[prytania3]

I have a hard time trusting the warnings of someone who has monikered huself after an Ayn Rand character. Just my particular prejudice.

[spork]

I haven't read any Rand.  Did the character of John Galt have a foreign girlfriend?  Or want one?

[prytania3]

I haven't read any Rand.  Did the character of John Galt have a foreign girlfriend?  Or want one?

No, his girlfriend became a lesbian.

[oldfullprof]

I ate dog in ...

Korea.  It wasn't at all tender either.  "Yobo, I no tell you what this is...  This holiday food."  It took me years to figure it out.  Tasted pretty good at the time, especially wahed down with beer.  

Manure that they're not ethnocentric.  Like JG, I was there.  If they weren't this way originally, they were after the Japanese kicked them around for 50 years, setting a bad example.  The arrogance seems mainly a characteristic of the professional classes.  Common people are pretty nice.  

[spork]

I haven't read any Rand.  Did the character of John Galt have a foreign girlfriend?  Or want one?

No, his girlfriend became a lesbian.

Ok, this thread just became interesting.

[zharkov]

I haven't read any Rand.  Did the character of John Galt have a foreign girlfriend?  Or want one?

No, his girlfriend became a lesbian.

And how did the lovely couple originally meet?  He raped her.

[johngalt]

"I'm certain that after a few years (and a few places) a Korean instructor may say the exact same thing about our "system.""

Not sure how your theory explains the thousands of Korean academics in the US at any given time, hundreds in TT jobs, and the hundreds of thousands of Koreans studying  in US universities and schools. If their treatment was equal to what non-Koreans experience at their universities you would see very few Koreans staying on and going to US universities to work or study. Conversely, if the treatment of non-Koreans were better in Korea you would see more non-Korean faculty going there, staying there, learning the language, etc. Instead you see just a few foreign academics going to Korea for short periods, becoming disillusioned, and then leaving with very bad impressions and not recommending the place to others. Just look at the stats, read the available anecdotal evidence, ask someone who has been there, and then draw your own conclusions. You can ignore my personal experiences and dismiss them as ethnocentric, if you wish.

Anyway, it's all water under the bridge for me. I have a proper job now and am quite happy with how things have turned out.