Comments on: Letter from a Filipina Teacher

By: hearttaker

hearttaker — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:42:19 +0000

The racial discrimination in Korea in still present. I’m a Filipina married to a Korean. I’m an English teacher by profession. I’ve been teaching for 5 years already. I was a high school teacher in public before. I resigned and started to settle in Korea. I didn’t expect that racial discrimination in Korea would be as serious as this. I was introduced by my boss as a Singaporean and not as a Filipina. What the heck right? But do I have a choice? It’s not that easy to be accepted as a teacher here legally especially if the big question is OUR NATIONALITY. What’s wrong being a FILIPINO? They are not even aware that the voices over their robot English teachers are FILIPINOS. Recently I taught speech to 20 Korean students in our academy. Fortunately they won in NATIONAL COMPETITION in Seoul…but i wasn’t that happy-why? I couldn’t raise our flag , and I couldn’t rejoice that much as a Filipina. It feels betraying my own country, and I couldn’t stand lying everyday whenever they ask things about me.This is a sad truth in Korea.

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By: RN

RN — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:52:04 +0000

especially not ( specially)….

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By: RN

RN — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:49:59 +0000

Hi. Im a Registered Nurse in the Philippines. I was a Call Center Agent for one year assisting North American Clients. I am an English Instructor for High School here in South Korea for one year now. I understand the predicaments of other filipino regarding korean culture. When I first came here, I had a culture shocked. It took me three months to adjust with the society and understand their norms. I can say the reason we filipinos perceived koreans as racist because their form of governmnet is Socialist. Meaning to say they have high regard with social class or social standing. In my one year of stay here, I learned how to socialize with them , engaged in different activities and immerse with them. So far, I am enjoying my stay here, i met a lot people and friends and most specially my students who are very eager to learn and very passionate with their studies…………………………..

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By: gh

gh — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 06:41:13 +0000

TO: Delaney Elacion
Dasmarinas, Cavite
The Philippines
delmaze_02@yahoo.com

Hope you double check your letter first before you posted it in KOREA TIMES. There are grammatical mistakes and words used inappropriately. If ever our government changes their mind and persuade again for our English teachers to teach in S. Korea and you are very much interested…you should train more.

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By: gh

gh — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 03:17:51 +0000

Julienne and other dreamers:

Stop dreaming… our ambassador and Phils.government already realized that there is no need for our Filipino teachers to teach in S.Korea. A lot of Filipinos are earning when Koreans are pouring down here in our country instead of only few teachers going there to earn and yet be separated to their family. They also have to face lots of difficulties: winter, clothings, lotions, foods, high standard of living, renting, language barriers to superiors etc ..so even though you, as a teacher there is earning P80,000. ( 2,000,000 won)monthly, still more than half of your salary will just spent there.

So, you have to understand our government if they will no longer asked the Korean government to re-consider Filipinos to teach there.

Stop dreaming, it will not going to happen unless …

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By: gh

gh — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:06:56 +0000

Jhendlind:

“Look who’s talking”?!!!
You are not protecting the Koreans…you are there because you don’t like your manufactured weapons to be tested in your own land. huh! As what you did to Vietnam and Gulf … when there is war you could sell your weapons to other country, in that way your economy will boom again… Stop your bush…whatever!!!

I’d just been to different parts of S. Korea and what you are saying as their country is unsanitary? I think your brain is the one needed sanitation.

Go home…

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By: julienne flores

julienne flores — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:21:22 +0000

hi! I also had a wish and dream to go and teach to Korea because its one of my favorite place.For me, it’s a dreamland. Korea and Singapore. As a 16-yr old education student from De La Salle University, I encounter so many Korean classmates. Their parents spend money for the reason that they may be able to practice and learn more English words. Also,they said Filipinos are better in speaking English from a very single word to a beautiful sentence. With that, I could say PRE. Lee should give chance to our Filipino teachers to prove that we are competitive enough to help their youth to become more linguistic in speaking English. Also,let us pray that God will touch the heart of the presidents of all country specially Pres Arroyo. That they may see the needs and passion of each individuals. God bless.

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By: julia

julia — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:59:44 +0000

I had been teaching English language to Koreans for almost fours years now. Yes, I absolutely agree, that Koreans don’t necessarily need those native speakers in which one of my student told me, have many issues about drugs use in Korea. Yes, they may speak English very well but, as a teacher, we are not paid only to teach the language but to be a good influence to our students.
Imagine yourself as a Korean parent who spent big amount of money for your child to be able to speak in English. Yes, they may be able to speak very good English from those native speakers but when you see your kid, they learn not only English from their teacher but with added bonus like smoking, drug use, and those very slang, profane words from their native teachers.

Good Luck!!!!

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By: Jhedlind

Jhedlind — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:31:33 +0000

I am an American. I’ve lived in Korea for the last four years, not teaching english but protecting the Koreans. The United States flag flies on Korean soil because the Koreans don’t have the will to defend their own country. Korea is not a wonderful country. Korea in unsanitary, corrupt, and ungrateful to the United States and the brave servicemen and women who defend Korea. The United States spends hundreds of millions of dollars defending this country every year and the thanks we get is a mob of people outside the gates of our bases trying to extort Americans. They also spend a significant amount of time stealing our intellectual property. From fake Coach bags to unlicensed Mickey Mouse dolls, Korea as a whole plunders several hundred million dollars more from United States corporations every year. They also have unilateral trade policies. They are constantly banging the table for free trade in the U.S. but extracting at least 18% from imports.

A flood of of low quality import cars arrives into the port of Portland, Oregon (my home state) every year. These second rate automobiles go to the poor who cannot afford anything better. However, if the United States extracted 18% tariff from the Koreans they wouldn’t be able to sell even one.

Korea is not even second rate in education, medicine, or Science. There is absolutely no innovation in the county. There is no leadership in the country. Even the former president had to jump from a bridge to purge himself of the corruption charges he was about to be jailed on. The story is readily available from any korean news archive.

The most reliable thing in Korea is the availability of cheap bars and prostitutes. It is accepted in Korean culture that any woman who wants or needs money will sell herself. In support of this I offer up the recent arrest of five housewives in Seoul who were sleeping around for extra spending money.

Considering these facts, filipinos and filipinas of talent ought to invest their time and effort into building their own country. The Philippines; like Africa, is abundant in Natural Resources and opportunity. The only thing the Philippines is missing is the proper leadership. Lack of education and a high birth-rate; mostly from the impoverished, are holdng the Philippines back. Fillipinos are the answer to turning it around.

The only positive thing I get from Korea is the familiarity from being here. It’s the same familiarity I get from walkin into a McDonald’s. Nothing More.

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By: Jhedlind

Jhedlind — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:02:53 +0000

I am an American. I’ve lived in Korea for the last for years, not teaching english but protecting the Koreans

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