Foreign teachers say racism is still a big problem in Korean hagwon

[SHUTTERSTOCK]

Korean officials, especially in the education sector, often talk a good game when it comes to globalization. But foreign English teachers working here say that racism is still rampant in the world of hagwon, or private cram schools.

James Bern, a 24-year-old black man from the United States, is one of many teachers who say they have struggled with racial discrimination at their workplaces. He worked at a hagwon from 2019 to 2021 in Gyeonggi.

According to Bern, xenophobia against all English teachers, regardless of their race, worsened during Covid-19 as they were questioned about where they had been and even forced to do mandatory testing in some places, even when their Korean coworkers did not face the same treatment.

But beyond that, there has always been a layer of "white vs. non-white," where darker-skinned teachers experience a more severe level of discrimination. Bern felt more scrutinized than white teachers.

"I remember when my boss said she didn't want myself and another dark-skinned teacher sharing a class because it would be too uncomfortable," he said.

When Bern decided to address the discriminatory requests made by both his employer and students' parents, his boss did not take appropriate action.

She just told him that she personally did not feel this way; she was only doing what the parents wanted her to do.

Bern decided to leave Korea for many reasons, but racism was part of that, especially when he felt targeted by the Korean government during the pandemic. He did not feel supported by the authorities.

"I think teachers are actually lucky since we speak English and have a relatively respectable position," Bern said. "But regardless, we do experience racism from just going outside from regular people or through government statements and policies. It's not just teachers. Xenophobia itself is a major issue, which became more obvious during Covid-19, and I have no idea how to even begin fixing that."

Sandra, a woman in her late 20s from the United States, worked at two hagwon between 2017 and 2019, both located in Jeonju, North Jeolla. Like Bern, she was also racially discriminated due to her appearance.

"I was told by a recruiter that I would not be able to get a job that I had applied for in Seoul," Sandra said. "They didn't turn me away due to poor English or poor teaching skills."

Sandra felt she was turned down for the position in Seoul because she was black.

It was not only recruiters who treated Sandra differently to white teachers.

At her first hagwon, students would call her braided hair reggae mori. They would touch it and pull back in shock. Other times, when she would have her naturally curly hair out, students would laugh and snicker while she was teaching. She felt like she was not taken seriously.

At her second hagwon, she was also laughed at for her physical appearance, again, due to her hair and skin color. A student once asked her why her skin was the color it was, to which another foreign teacher had to explain it was because her parents were like that.

"I can understand that something like that could be due to a lack of exposure to other cultures and people," Sandra said. "However, if Korea really wants to be a part of a more global stage, I think the people should adjust themselves to the differences of other people. Even something harmless like that can have a direct impact on the person being asked that question and reinforce that they are an outsider."

When Sandra tried to bring this issue up to the immigration office, she reported a lack of effective measures.

A lot of times, she would have to ask other foreign teachers for help when problems arose at the school. There is also a Facebook group where foreign teachers ask each other for legal advice when they feel they are discriminated against, are not being paid, or wish to take time off work. When Korean officials failed to help them, Sandra and other foreign teachers had to rally together to get any kind of support.

"I was often told just to accept it when things like discrimination happened at the hagwon I worked at," she said. "I made many complaints to each hagwon, and nothing was ever done to show that they wanted to protect me as their employee. I was like a second-class citizen. My wants and needs did not matter as long as the children and parents were comfortable."

Sandra's experience made her never want to work with children again. After quitting teaching in 2019, she proceeded to work at an animation studio and left Korea in 2021.

Ling, a 31-year-old woman of Asian descent from the United States, wanted to pursue something different from her marketing job in New York and teaching seemed worthwhile at the time. She worked at her first hagwon from 2018 to 2019 and at her second hagwon from 2019 to 2021, both of which were in Seoul.

"Racism becomes really obvious when you start looking at job boards for hagwon positions, and many of them say 'no Asians' or 'only Caucasians,'" said Ling. "Then there are recruiters who have told me on phone calls that none of the schools they are hiring for want an Asian person because families want someone who looks like a foreigner. Parents think that is what makes a better English teacher, but I'm also a foreigner and equally if not more qualified than some other candidates."

Ling recalled a time when she and two friends were looking for new English teaching jobs. They reached out to the same recruiters, and her friends heard back from them right away, while she did not, even though the three had the same qualifications. The only difference was that her friends were white while she was Asian. Despite being a native English speaker, she resembled Korean people too much for recruiters.

Although one hagwon she taught at was open to hiring Asians, she was requested to use a Western name instead of her Chinese name. Even more bizarre was that they wanted her to use the name of a previous teacher who worked there. She declined the offer but still proceeded to use a fake name.

"There are no anti-discrimination laws in Korea, and hagwon are private institutions that are free to choose who they wish to teach," said Ling. "Morally, I don't think it should be allowed to discriminate based on race or religion anywhere in the world, but legally, there wasn't anything I could do about it."

Ling ended up switching her profession to a full-time model and content creator. She has no desire to go back to teaching at a hagwon.

Calls to enact an anti-discrimination law continue to pour in, but the National Assembly keeps delaying the bill. As of now, there is no legally-backed way for a victim of discrimination to receive support as discrimination in the workplace is not recognized as misconduct. But there are ways to get your voice out there and receive support.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea is an advocate for human rights protection and seeks to provide help or legal advice to victims of racial discrimination committed by any private entity or organization. You can file a complaint directly or through a third person to the commission by filling out a form available on their website and sending it to their email address, hoso@humanrights.go.kr, or dial their complaints hotline 1331 for Seoul and Gyeonggi Province or 02-1331 for other regions in Korea. You can also visit their headquarters in Seoul or regional offices in Busan, Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon and Gangwon.

BY ARUZHAN AIMANSHINA [aimanshinaa@gmail.com]