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<div>I quite agree with Werner. His point is well taken. As one of the
detoured or semi-lost who didn't ever finish his PhD (finished a JD
instead) and who has not had a conventional academic career, my life
has nevertheless been shaped and enriched by my 40+ year involvement
with Korea and particularly by my 10+ years as a graduate student at
Harvard. Moreover, I am one of the detoured who has eventually come
back to teach Korean history, at Hanyang U., after retiring from my
interesting, worthwhile, and Korea-connected administrative career
with the Harvard-Yenching Institute.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Yours,</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Ed</div>
<div>Chestnut Hill MA</div>
<div>m: 617-686-8632</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Dear Roald (and dear others on the
list),<br>
just a short note from an old man (who considers himself not only a
scholar but also an educator) reflecting on the term "loss"
as came up<br>
("... and if we happen<i> to lose</i> a few students because they
find out that after working there for a while it is worth giving up
their degree for, or in fact not their cup of tea, then I feel that
that is simply<i> a loss</i> we must accept. ...")<br>
Having taught Korean studies all my life, I have "lost" many
students, and in the beginning I felt sorry, tried to find out what I
had done wrong, not to mention the<br>
pressure from the administration, a.s.o.<br>
But I learned that I was too much fixed on the goal (the degree /
another scholar in my hopefully growing field) and forgot to look at
what's happening as part of a process in which a young human being
grew up. And I actually started to rejoice at the fact that
someone had found his way after a detour in Korean studies. Also,
whatever experience she or he might have had, it will be an
important part of life's experience. Glad to see that someone had
realized there was a world outside of Korean studies, or academics,
for that matter.<br>
Let us look at biographies from the process side...<br>
Just some musing on "not their cup of tea", which made
me think the term "loss" was not so severly meant as read at
first. But there is a tendency amongst us to become a little blind and
living inside our own little world only. And I could not resist to
stress the point.<br>
Best,<br>
Werner<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>
<hr></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br>
From: roald.maliangkay@anu.edu.au<br>
To: koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws<br>
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:03:35 +1000<br>
Subject: Re: [KS] EPIK<br>
<br>
Dear Scott and Ross and others,<br>
<br>
<br>
I support your view that English is very dominant - which is why I
was quite happy to see han'gu˜l being adopted by this small
community in Indonesia recently, in spite of the many reservations I
have - but like Scott I feel that we should not deny students these
opportunities a priori, but simply inform them well of the many
possible pitfalls (too heavy workload, no proper health insurance, no
proper working space, etc.). I have taught at several hagwo˜n in the
past, and sometimes the experience was not a good one, but I would not
have been able to support my studies without it and I would certainly
do it again. I have a number of foreign exchange students who are
interested in opportunities like these, and for a number of them it
may be the only option they have to go to Korea. Going to Korea, for
whatever reason, can be a very important (epic?) experience, one that
our program's many efforts will never be able to emulate, and if we
happen to lose a few students because they find out that after working
there for a while it is worth giving up their degree for, or in fact
not their cup of tea, then I feel that that is simply a loss we must
accept. In our program such incidences have, however, not been an
issue so far, and we do try, of course, to send all students to Korea
to simply study (and explore). Most of them agree with us, it seems to
me, that going to Korea is vital to being able to gain an
understanding of the cultures there and I think it is our
responsibility to discuss with each of them what options they have and
what they should consider.</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br>
<br>
Just my two cents worth... :o)<br>
<br>
<br>
Best wishes,</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br>
<br>
Roald<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
----- Original Message -----<br>
From: "J.Scott Burgeson" <jsburgeson@yahoo.com><br>
Date: Monday, September 21, 2009 12:00 pm<br>
Subject: Re: [KS] EPIK<br>
To: Korean Studies Discussion List
<koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws><br>
<br>
> While I am sympathetic to Ross King's view that English is<br>
> overdominant in Korea, and have addressed the issue in print<br>
> myself in the past (see link below), I find his elitism
rather<br>
> astonishing (or should I say somewhat typical for
certain</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>> members of this List?). Not all of
us live happily and<br>
> obliviously ensconced some rarified ivory tower, and find<br>
> ourselves compelled to support ourselves in any way we can.<br>
><br>
> I personally feel I learned far more about Korea and Korean<br>
> culture and society teaching ESL students at Hanyang and
Oedae<br>
> during my first year here than I would have in a Korean
language<br>
> course back home in the States. My daily in-depth discussions<br>
> with them were a crash course in many of the major issues of
the<br>
> day, and a fascinating window into this society. After that<br>
> experience, I found myself keen to devote more of my time and<br>
> energy to the study of Korean culture, including the Korean<br>
> language. What's wrong if other Westerners choose to follow a<br>
> similar path?<br>
><br>
> As for tithing or garnishing wages from the salaries of
native<br>
> EFL instructors here on the Peninsula, what a ridiculous and<br>
> myopic idea. As a professional critic who has published 5
books<br>
> about Korea but can't even get emails or phone calls returned<br>
> from the Korea Foundation due to their elitist disdain for
non-<br>
> academic critics and other writers, I'm sure they'll do quite<br>
> fine without living off the labor of individuals such as
myself<br>
> and other native ESL instructors here.<br>
><br>
> Indeed, I'm sure they would find such an indignity quite beneath
them.<br>
><br>
> A link to the article mentioned above:<br>
><br>
>
http://www.kingbaeksu.com/bbs/view.php?id=bug&page=1&sn1=<span
></span
>&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&keyword=speak%20en<span
></span>glish&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=456<br>
><br>
> Regards,<br>
> Scott Bug, Insadong<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> --- On Sat, 9/19/09, Ross King <jrpking@interchange.ubc.ca>
wrote:<br>
><br>
> > From: Ross King <jrpking@interchange.ubc.ca><br>
> > Subject: Re: [KS] EPIK<br>
> > To: "Korean Studies Discussion List"<br>
> <koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws>, "Korean Studies
Discussion List"<br>
> <koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws>> Date: Saturday, September
19,<br>
> 2009, 4:15 AM<br>
> > English is a powerful and expensive<br>
> > commodity in Korea, and Korea is in the process of
selling<br>
> > its collective soul to/for English.<br>
> ><br>
> > If I had a nickel for every student in the Korean
language<br>
> > programs I have overseen who has come to me and said
"I'm<br>
> > off to Korea to learn Korean, and plan to support myself<br>
> > teaching English," only to come back 1, 2 or 5 years
later<br>
> > with little or no progress in their Korean, I could
retire.<br>
> > ESL is a seductive mistress for Anglophones (heck, even
for<br>
> > non-Anglophones).<br>
> ><br>
> > As a matter of policy, I decline to write letters of<br>
> > reference for Korean Studies and Korean language
students<br>
> > seeking employment in the ESL industry in Korea, and
also<br>
> > decline to return calls or emails from the many ESL<br>
> > recruiters who routinely contact me asking for victims
for<br>
> > their schools and programs.<br>
> ><br>
> > The ROK should introduce an ESL tithing system -- some
sort<br>
> > of tax on profits made via the ESL trade --with proceeds<br>
> > going to the Korea Foundation or some such organization
that<br>
> > funds the pathetically few and woefully underfunded
programs<br>
> > trying to go the other way down what should be a
two-street,<br>
> > and thereby recoup at least some of the opportunity cost<br>
> > represented by the billions of Korean dollars poured
down<br>
> > the ESL drain.<br>
> ><br>
> > A pipe dream, I know...<br>
> ><br>
> > RK<br>
> ><br>
> > > Date: Wed Sep 16 06:18:18 PDT 2009<br>
> > > From: "David Scofield"
<D.Scofield@sheffield.ac.uk><br>
> > > Subject: [KS] EPIK<br>
> > > To: "Korean Studies Discussion List"<br>
> <koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws>> ><br>
> > > As with any English teaching position in Korea,
EPIK</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>> > is not without its<br>
> > > pitfalls.<br>
> > ><br>
> > > >From the US Embassy, Seoul website:</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>> > ><br>
> > > EPIK<br>
> > > "These fairly new, Korea-wide,
government-sponsored<br>
> > programs place native<br>
> > > English speakers in every school district in Korea
and<br>
> > present a unique<br>
> > > opportunity for the adventurous to live away from<br>
> > popular tourist centers.<br>
> > > While recruiting and training appear to be
performed<br>
> > quite professionally,<br>
> > > teachers living and working experiences vary<br>
> > considerably. Some are welcomed</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>> > > with open arms and treated
extremely well. <br>
> > Others, arriving in areas where the<br>
> > > program has been forced upon reluctant,
under-funded<br>
> > schools, are greeted less<br>
> > > warmly and face significant challenges winning over<br>
> > ambivalent or<br>
> > > antagonistic Korean counterparts.
Housing,<br>
> > benefits, reliability of pay, and<br>
> > > access to ombudsmen are steadily improving, but
still<br>
> > have a long way to go."<br>
> > ><br>
> > > http://seoul.usembassy.gov/t_types.html<br>
> > ><br>
> > > Two major issues in the EPIK program that seem to
get<br>
> > flagged up most frequently<br>
> > > relate to class sizes and contact hours.<br>
> > ><br>
> > > 1) class size - teaching in the Korean public
system<br>
> > often means teaching to a<br>
> > > regular sized Korean class - potentially 30-40+<br>
> > students per "English<br>
> > > conversation" class, many with widely varying
degrees<br>
> > of English competency.<br>
> > ><br>
> > > The program indicates that teaching is conducted
with<br>
> > the aid of a Korean<br>
> > > teacher, but this is not always as straight forward
as<br>
> > it sounds. In many<br>
> > > schools the resident Korean English teacher may not<br>
> > speak English.<br>
> > ><br>
> > > 2) contact hours: instructors are required to teach
22<br>
> > hours; however, it is<br>
> > > important to note that this refers to in class<br>
> > instruction time and does not<br>
> > > include class prep (which can be formidable in
classes<br>
> > with 30+ students).<br>
> > ><br>
> > > As well, the contract should be read extremely<br>
> > carefully as overtime, for<br>
> > > example, may be required and not necessarily<br>
> > voluntary. As well, you can be<br>
> > > asked to work at any location and this may include<br>
> > being 'farmed out' to a<br>
> > > private institute for evening work. The 'market
value'<br>
> > of foreign native<br>
> > > English instructor is far greater than 20,000/hour<br>
> > ($16.40/hour) O/T pay<br>
> > > offered creating an arbitrage opportunity for
school<br>
> > principals to broker the<br>
> > > foreign instructor to local private institutes.
This<br>
> > is not necessarily a<br>
> > > regular occurence, but I did encounter EPIK<br>
> > instructors during my years in<br>
> > > Korea who spoke of this.<br>
> > ><br>
> > > As well, while the work week is set as Monday to<br>
> > Friday, the contract also<br>
> > > states that if the total teaching hours are below
22,<br>
> > you may be required to<br>
> > > work beyond the scope of a normal work week (incl.<br>
> > Saturday/Sunday) -<br>
> > > remuneration for "non-instructional" overtime
is set<br>
> > at the equivalent of<br>
> > > $4.95/hour (excluding tax).<br>
> > ><br>
> > > The contract also stipulates that "training
and<br>
> > orientation" are unpaid, but it<br>
> > > further indicates that training may not be limited
to<br>
> > the initial<br>
> > > orientation...<br>
> > ><br>
> > > There is similar built in ambiguity concerning the<br>
> > housing provided. This, the<br>
> > > contract indicates, will be "as deemed sufficient"
by<br>
> > the employer, with<br>
> > > furnishing limited to "bed, table, closet,
range,<br>
> > fridge, washer, and tv."<br>
> > > Further, "the employee shall not request or demand
any<br>
> > other appliances or<br>
> > > furniture..." The employee is also responsible for
all<br>
> > utility and maintenance<br>
> > > fees and any other applicable taxes incurred during<br>
> > the residency.<br>
> > ><br>
> > > Korea can be a wonderful place to teach, but the<br>
> > English teaching market is not<br>
> > > for the faint of heart. Any prospective<br>
> > teacher/instructor should do as much<br>
> > > background checking on schools/programs as possible<br>
> > before departing, including<br>
> > > reviewing the sometimes jaundiced views of the<br>
> > resident ex-pat blogging<br>
> > > community.</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>> > ><br>
> > ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > --<br>
> > Ross King<br>
> > Professor of Korean and Head,</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>> > Department of Asian
Studies,<br>
> > University of British Columbia,<br>
> ><br>
> > and<br>
> ><br>
> > Dean, Korean Language Village,<br>
> > Concordia Language Villages<br>
> ><br>
> > Mailing address:<br>
> > Ross King, Department of Asian Studies, UBC<br>
> > Asian Centre, 1871 West Mall<br>
> > Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2<br>
> > CANADA<br>
> ><br>
> > vox: 604-822-2835<br>
> > fax: 604-822-8937<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
><br>
><br>
> <br>
><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>
<hr></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Share your memories online with anyone
you want <a
href=
"http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/windows/windowslive/products/photos-share.aspx?tab=1"><span
></span>anyone you want.</a></blockquote>
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