If you’re an illegal English teacher and want to know what’s in store when Johnny Law catches up with you, OhMyNews International is running a “prison diary” of an American English teacher cooling his heals as he waits for deportation.
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10 Comments
Marmot, why would you call this a “stupid foreigner trick”?
I don’t feel any symapthy to that author of that ohmynews article because he should have known what he was getting into, but you know and I know, the immigration law in Korea is a heartless disgrace. Immigration rules need a complete overhaul in Korea, not bandaged solutions.
Kimbob — it’s the title of my Category. By definition, foreigners getting themselves into trouble end up in that category, “stupid” or not.
Speaking of Stupid Foreigner Tricks, you remember those nude pics that Korean photographer took in Mongolia? Well, it appears the same guy — I think — sparked what could be called the ?ª½?³¨?Œ? English Spectrum-gate, only substituting stupid Koreans for stupid white guys. You read Korean, so I gather you’ll get a kick out of this:
http://mongolcenter.org/bbs/vi.....l_newsno=7
Shall we call it Korea’s own Hongdae Gate in Mongolia?
I got a kick out of this line:
” ????§€?§Œ ?????´??? ?ª½?³¨?????œ ??œ????€ ?€??·????????€™ ??´?????? ?€??????´?…¸ ??…????€™??? ?€???¨??€??¼??? ??…??¼?€™??? ??´??¸?§€?°€ ??” ?°??????¤??” ?????¤??? ?¶€??¸????¸° ??´??¤??´ ????™???´??¤. ”
I don’t think that image of Koreans is valid ONLY in Mongolia.
Just recently, couple of Koreans got caught human trafficking prostitutes to the US, using the Canadian/US border. You never see any Japanese doing this. And as long as there are Koreans doing these kinds of shitty things, the image of Korea will remain at the bottom of the barrel.
Who pays for the deportation?
Trapped once in a bankrupt hagwon, I considered this route as a potential plan C or D….
but I could never find out who had to foot the bill.
Thanks for putting this up marmot.
For the most part though it just sounds like jail, nothing too interesting. I’m more curious about how he got there and the parts about him being denied representation.
I’d much rather spend 7 years in a pleasant little Korean prison waiting for the federal statute of limitations to expire than to spend 10 years in US federal prison getting ass raped, only to be let free with a horrific stain on my record which prevents any but the most low-level of employment oppourtunities.
I don?€™t know the other side of the story, I mean, the Korean officers?€™ side. However, if the diary were true, I would consider this as a violation of human rights.
Seriously, here in Los Angeles, there are millions of illegal workers. But the government couldn?€™t deport them unless the court ordered them to do so. I knew an immigration lawyer, who recently defended his client who was an illegal Mexican in California. The client was charged with DUI. When the government found out that he was illegal, he was ordered to leave the country. But the government also gave him a right to hire lawyer and let him go through legitimate legal procedure.
I don?€™t defend illegal workers here or in Korea, but I think that they deserve legal services. Incarcerating and deporting people by force (like in Korea) is not a democratic way to handle people.
My sympathy goes more toward other illegal workers who took the jobs that most Koreans didn?€™t want to take. I think that the Korean law enforcement should investigate and arrest Korean employers who don?€™t pay wages to their employees. Koreans like those give us a bad name.
Wow. Seems VERY serious.
june - “Seriously, here in Los Angeles, there are millions of illegal workers. But the government couldn?€™t deport them unless the court ordered them to do so.”
I think that’s part of the kid’s problem. If the USA doesn’t bother with deporting illegal foreigners - why should anyone else? Anyone who’s not a western idiot knows the correct answer, but this kid doesn’t comprehend the notion of punishment.
As much as I think the kid’s an idiot, he does have a (small) point.
By this guy?€™s own admission, he committed the crime for which he is being held, so I don?€™t feel much sympathy regarding his being incarcerated. It?€™s been pointed out (most ably by Nora) that it?€™s not terribly difficult for a qualified person to get a legal job, so you have to wonder why he didn?€™t or couldn?€™t do it after living here for six and a half years.
However, I can say that my own experiences years ago with the Busan DOI have shaped my distrust of the DOI in general. Perhaps there are good people working at that agency, but I cannot bring myself to trust any of them. I would never, for example, provide them with any data that I do not have to. In my own experience, providing the DOI with additional information simply allowed some people there the opportunity to try to use it against my employer and me.
I will not say much about those events, but I will say that at that time I felt powerless and scared ?€“ even though I had never done anything wrong (quite the opposite, in fact). My life has changed so much, but I have never changed my values or beliefs, nor have I forgotten those days, or how I felt.
Think what you want about this guy - that he’s an idiot, or a criminal, or an unfortunate victim - but I just wonder about his treatment at the Busan DOI.