Teachers fear pedophile backlash

Teachers fear pedophile backlash
Joongang Daily

The news that Canadian English teacher Christopher Paul Neil, whose most recent job was in Gwangju, was the object of an international manhunt as an alleged pedophile shocked English teachers in Korea who worried that the case could cause a backlash.

“Now Koreans will assume that all English teachers are pedophiles,” David Brogan, an Irish English teacher in Jeonju, North Jeolla, said. “Already today, just one day after the pedophile news broke, parents have called the hagwon where I am working to see if everything was okay with my background check.”

Other English teachers also expressed their concerns through a number of outlets, including Dave’s ESL Cafe, a popular Web site frequented by English teachers, including Neil. Some posters on the site accused the media of hyping the story to the detriment of foreigners in Korea.

An English teacher active on the site had recognized Neil’s picture and identified him to Interpol last week.

Kim Jin-hui, a mother of two elementary school students, is angry that the government issued visas to teachers without full background checks. “Isn’t it the job of the employers and the government to verify foreign teachers’ qualifications?” she asked.

Neil was teaching at Kwangju Foreign School, which is usually considered to have stricter hiring procedures than the hagwon cram schools where most English teachers are employed. Neil also taught at a public high school in Gyeonggi for about a year until March this year.

Neil fled Gwangju last week for Thailand, where police and Interpol are searching for him. He is accused of having abused young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia. No evidence of any crimes in Korea has surfaced.

Neil was a chaplain and youth counselor back in Canada, The Associated Press reported. He also pursued studies to become a priest, but did not complete the requirements.

His younger brother, Matthew Neil, urged Christopher to turn himself in.
Joongang Daily



Looks as if the Canadian media is taking note of this news as well. The news of Christopher Paul Neil has brought some attention to the Korea's esl industry. There was an article about Canadians teaching esl in Korea in today's Ottawa Citizen.

Thousands of Canadians teach in S. Korea
Geoff Nixon, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian citizen originally from Maple Ridge, B.C., taught English in South Korea until he stopped showing up for work last Thursday. He is now being hunted by Interpol on charges that he sexually abused children in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Neil is only one of thousands of Canadians who work teaching English in South Korea -- a position that doesn't always require a background check, and can put a person in a classroom within a few weeks of applying for a position online.

Kara Stirling is director of recruiting at Footprints Recruiting, a Vancouver-based company that places English teachers at schools in Asian countries. She said yesterday there are three main qualifications for teaching in South Korea.

"The minimum requirements ... are a bachelor's degree, you are a native English speaker and you are a citizen of a native English-speaking country," she said.

From there, the particulars differ school by school: While all South Korean public schools require a criminal background check -- as well as a clean bill of health -- in order to gain employment as a teacher, many private schools do not have the same standards. Read More...



Caught this on the Marmot's Hole this afternoon.

Rough Night Out, Eh?
And in local news, a 50-year-old civil servant at Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Hall was arrested in Changwon on charges of fleeing the scene after he hit two parked cars while driving drunk.

The best part, though, is that after he was caught, he not only refused to take a Breathalyzer test, but he also allegedly assaulted — twice! — a 32-year-old American English teacher who tried to stop him from drunk driving and turned him in.*

*Translation edited.

Video footage here.(Original Korean news story).
Marmot's Hole



F.Y.I.

I recieved a few interesting questions recently about teaching ESL in Korea and I just wanted to take a few moments and give my two cents.

Q.#1 What's it like to live in a smaller city vs. a bigger city like Seoul?
A. I suppose it all depends on what you're looking for. Some people find a smaller place fits better while others don't.

Big City...
Upsides: There are lots of amenties and "western" things. There are lots of family restaurants (TGI Friday's, Outback) coffee shops like Starbucks. There are lots of nightclubs (if that's your scene), more foreign foods in the supermarkets and generally, a larger foreign community. There is lots of English around; on signs, menus, etc.

Downsides: Seoul is damn big. Sometimes I found it far too big. There's a severe lack of green space and when you do find some, thoudands of others found it before you and are there! Seoul isn't as friendly as smaller places. I tended to find more negative energy towards foreigners in Seoul than in other cities like Busan.

Small City...(I never really lived in one in Korea...Busan is quite big)
Upsides: Since there are fewer foreigners, you may adopt an almost "celebrity" status. Everyone will be interested in you, which means you may have more chances to snag private lessons. You may get a more "authentic" Korean experience. People in small towns tend to be friendlier towards visitors.

Downsides: There won't be as many western food products to buy. The foreign community will be smaller. There will be more of a language barrier (Fewer people will speak English). You may find a smaller Korean city more conservative. Korean people may be more shy around you than in Seoul since they are not used to seeing "non-Koreans." The fact that you are uncommon may cause people to stare at you...a lot!


Q.#2 I'm going to Korea soon and haven't learned any Korean. Is that bad?A. I don't think it is personally. Before I went to Korea, I had no knowledge of the language. I lived in Eastern Canada where there was no Korean commmunity. I had never heard the language or eaten the food.

I think it's important to learn some language when you first arrive. Learning how to read and write Korean isn't difficult and will make your life a lot easier! Learn some basic phrases as well.

An ESL teacher can live relatively easily in Seoul or Busan without much Korean language skill since there is English almost everywhere. Sometimes though, you'll wish you could speak the language. Life may be more difficult if you live in a smaller town though. In smaller areas, you'll find that few people can speak English and most signs are only in Korean. If you are to live in a more rural area, I'd definatley say, "Study Korean!"



Thinking about teaching or doing some other sort of work in Japan? There are plenty of ESL gigs in that country too (mind you, there may be more competition these days with the piles of newly unekployed Nova teachers in the job market).

Here's some great information about visas in Japan from Kevin Cooney. He's a Tokyo based comedian. He's got some great stuff on his site!

For some entertaining vids, check out Kevin's site!