Over at Daves ESL Cafe, the foreign coordinators of Seongnam English Town note that my original post (based on my initial reading of the Segye Ilbo report) was incorrect in two aspects:
We are the foreign coordinators of Seongnam English Town and felt we should write and post our statement about the allegations of sexual harassment. Although the story on Marmot has been updated, the original version was incorrect in two aspects - firstly, the teacher allegedly touched their bra strings through their clothes, as well as their shoulders, neck, upper back. The teacher alleges he was brushing off bugs, the students allege it was sexually motivated.
Secondly, the teacher involved, from the beginning, has vehemently denied the accusations. He never admitted responsibility as the article originally claimed. He has since resigned but maintains his version of the story.
They have also released a statement, which I’ll reprint here:
Statement on Accusations of Sexual Harassment at Seongnam English Town
The accusations made against a Korean-American English instructor at SNET have left all the instructors here feeling uneasy. Accusations of this nature are very serious and have been considered with due attention since the incident was first reported. The Canadian English Instructor who was facilitating the hiking class alongside the accused Instructor was consulted for her input and has maintained since the beginning that she had all the students in sight throughout the hike, and that she did not witness any inappropriate behaviour or language directed towards the students.
Accusations of this nature are extremely difficult to substantiate, and the Instructor in question has maintained his innocence since the beginning. The students have also asserted the truth of their account. It is almost impossible to prove exactly what happened that day, and we have only the word of each party to judge by. The complete truth will likely never be known. That said, due to the discomfort of parents, teachers, students and the community, the Instructor was removed from the situation and has subsequently resigned from SNET.
Without denying that the students had an upsetting experience, I think it is also important to recognize that there can be different intentions behind actions that result in a person feeling discomfort. Different people have very different comfort levels about their personal space and contact with their bodies. It could be the case that the Instructor did not intend to make the students feel uncomfortable, and was viewing them simply as children who needed some encouragement to join in the hike, but some action or words may have had a different effect on the students in question. Our obligation is to investigate this incident to ensure that the rights of all parties are respected. We have also talked with the staff about the nature of sexual harassment and are putting policy into place to ensure that an incident like this never happens again.
May 23rd, 2006
Angela S. Lytle
Jeff A. Myers
Seongnam English Town Coordinators
The school also released a statement (actually, one statement and an apology) clarifying what took place. It points out that contrary to initial press reports, the instructor was not one of the camp’s native speakers. Although an American citizen, he is a native Korean speaker, and as such was listed as one of the camp’s Korean instructors. It provides a timeline of what transpired, and interestingly enough, the day before the story hit the media, the camp got a call from the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers Union asking about the incident. It also printed a letter (in English and Korean) from Sarah Clinton, the native speaking instructor who was present when the male teacher in question allegedly harassed the students. I’ll let you read it on your own.
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Is there a criminal investigation on-going in the matter? Also, I’m a little surprised a classroom camera hasn’t already cleared up the issue for everyone involved — providing or not providing a pattern of behavior by the teacher in question (yes, I understand the supposed events happened outside of a classroom).
From what I have read in the two foreign coordinators public account, it doesn’t appear the teacher in question did anything wrong. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to stay at their jobs with these types of allegations floating about though.
In any event, it’s quite unfortunate that the children, parents, teacher, and the school itself has to go through an ordeal like this, yuck.
I’m SHOCKED, SHOCKED that a Korean daily would rush into print with damning allegations before checking details or seeking comment from the other side of the story.
There are thousands of English teachers(Korean) who want to see the Seongnam English Town go. These Korean English(Konglish) teachers, who have learned their grammer-based English from Japanese-trained Konglish professors, cannot make living as English teachers. And, They are mad.
Any scandal out of that place adds fuel to the fire the Commie-led Korean Teacher’s union has been brewing. You see, the Commies want bureaucracy where they thrive. These Korean English teachers want to teach some voodoo English grammar developed (don’t laugh) by the Japanese. They cannot carry on five minutes of decent English conversation and cannot even watch an English movie without subtitle. Yet, they are proud to call themselves English teachers!
These Commies must go. They are not English teachers. Period. English majors in the college must be taught by native English speakers. All non-native English professors, over 90% in Korea, must be replaced.
Hell Hath No Fury…..
An intersting dilemma; had the alleged offender been 100% Big Nose, I can see the lynch mobs being assembled as I write this. However, this is an interesting case. One can be 1000% sure that had he been 100% Korean and carried a Korean passport this would have never been mentioned anywhere. Hell, I have seen Korean teachers do much worse myself.
More than likely the “victim” has that common condition of “Gyopo-envy-hate,” and wanted to get even for something.
That said, while in Korea my policy, and I never varied from it, was NEVER TOUCH A FEMALE STUDENT, EVER!!!
“That said, while in Korea my policy, and I never varied from it, was NEVER TOUCH A FEMALE STUDENT, EVER!!!”
Sounds like good advice in any country.
Good to see the school handled it pretty much the right way all around….it seems.
I hope the Korean press will run a good chunk of their info on what they did about the matter and why.
It’s not necessary that the teachers be native English speakers. But it *is* necessary that the teachers of English be able to use the language themselves, if there is to be hope the students will be able to use it.
European students of English generally don’t learn from native English speakers. Yet Europeans often have a very high facility with English. It’s not necessary to ape a native English speaker’s accent, but that’s what Koreans think will solve the problem. It won’t — the problem is the study of English as a subject instead of a tool to get something done. It’s a tragedy that Koreans insist on their “pedagogical method” which has so obviously failed.
Do the names Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams ring any bells? How about Sarah Good or Elizabeth Howe? It’s all fun and games till someone gets hung over it. Not that this is anything like the Salem Witch trials, but when the people WANT to believe something the girls can lie till kingdom come and the accused can deny it till he’s blue in the face but it won’t matter.
I have had two accusations that I know about.
One was a nut in Korea. A early 40s something female.
The day after her first day at our school, one of the other females she was rooming with demanded one or the other be removed. She said the woman was “crazy” and she wouldn’t put up with it. She even agreed to move into the guys apartment to get away from her, and the other female teacher there agreed the woman was not right in the head.
I thought crazy was probably strong from what I saw in the coming weeks.
Until……the woman was talking to our superviser (Korean), and then she left after the Korean walked away from her. Then the nut came back in screaming that the Korean had better do something about this, and she wasn’t going to take that kind of harassment, and then she started yelling about how, “YOu know I’m talking to you” and a lot more stuff before she stormed out.
Since there were only two men in the office, I looked at the other guy at his desk and said, “Was she talking to you?” at the same time he said it to me.
The Korean told us the woman had accused me of “sexually harassing” her.
I had not spoken more than 1 sentence to the woman per week the month she was with us until she thankfully did the midnight run a couple of weeks later.
———the other time was in college——
I went out with this girl I shared a couple of classes with one time.
I decided we wouldn’t work out as a couple and it wasn’t worth another date, but we were friends.
It was a small college. About 700 to 1000 students and we were both English majors. So, we ran into each other all the time in the department, library, and cafeteria.
Also, there were two other girls on her hall that I was good friends with. I visited one of them just about every day.
I didn’t find out until about a year to a year and a half later, the fall after this girl had graduated, that she had been telling everybody I was “stalking her”.
That actually made 2 or 3 comments by her and a couple of her friends make sense — a year later.
I was not very happy with my one friend — probably my best friend at the time — for not having told me the girl was saying this to everybody and her sister at the school for over a year until the girl had left (and many of the others she had told this story had graduated too) and I could not defend myself.
And I have no idea why the nut case in Korea or this non-nut case girl in college made up these stories.
But there was absolutely nothing in my conduct to warrant even a hint of such a claim.
Maybe the girl in college was angry I didn’t call her for a second date???/
Whatever the case——–
even though they did not claim I raped them or molested them —–
accusations of “stalking” or “sexual harassment” are taken very seriously.
Like we discussed at the hakwon, in the US, I would probably have been fired outright — or given a show “hearing’ after which I would have been fired — just to avoid a law suit.
With the size of my undergraduate college, I’m suprised I didn’t receive a visit from campus security or a letter to meet the dean of students or the school councilor.
(I had a roommate whose ex-girlfriend accused him of stalking an abusing her as well after they broke up, and he was notified by the school to explain himself. Who knows the truth? Maybe he did it or maybe she lied? All I do know is that I never saw him angry at her much less abuse her, but I did see her get pissy with him when he paid too much attention to another girl who had come to visit us or when he didn’t want to go out to town. But, an abuser or molester or rapist or even serial killer has been known to hide his nature from most all outsiders….)
Another thing that makes me angry about being accused of such things like sexual harassment and stalking by someone completely full of shit is —
I suffered from sexual abuse from about age 5 to 11.
I know what it does to a person —– forever.
I have zero sympathy for an abuser.
In fact, it is a good thing I’m not in control of penal law, because I would use medieval torture on them for a few years before putting them out of their misery.
But……..I also would like to see people who completely make up such stories revieve some sort of treatment amnesty international would write reports about……..
That is why I think the school handled it about the best way they could…….
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