Man, you painted yourself into a corner with this one. “Not all” foreign English teachers in Korea have no degree”? Really Xi? I mean are you sure now? I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and allow that what you meant is that the vast majority of foreign English teachers working legally in Korea MUST BY KOREAN LAW demonstrate proof of their degree and bring their sealed transcripts to immigration. Thus, the vast majority of foreign teachers here DO in fact hold at LEAST one four year university degree, from a REAL university (not even counting TESOL certificates, other training and experience etc.).

And “our days in Asia are numbered”? Well maybe but the last time I checked the job offerings in EFL there were more positions throughout the world than ever. Even so, the job market isn’t restricted to only Asia.

See, first you need to compare the “unqualified” foreign English teachers with Korean English teachers in terms of 1) fluency 2) teaching methodology 3) willingness to impose real world grading testing/standards. As is quite obvious, the vast majority of Korean English teachers here just ain’t up to task and should count themselves lucky to have a cozy pension-guaranteed job “teaching English” in the schools and universities. Or perhaps somebody like yourself (?) so well steeped in our “western culture” and having “attended the top American universities” will come over and show us “worst of western society” foreigners how it’s done? Well, I don’t usually stoop to this level and I can forgive typos (I make them as well) but judging from your fluency all I can say is this: at your students’ peril.

By the way the fact that you came to the US from a top Korean university (or Chinese or whatever) does’t really impress me. I’ve seen the university “standards” here. Why did you leave your home country to study in the US or Canada or England or Australia or Germany or France - which is where most of the English teachers in Korea also studied - if you weren’t simply chasing after our western loser standards?

Uh, ok….thanks? Yes I was in Thailand and I guess the Thai flag shows on this site; yes an Indonesian flag was displayed on this site (although from Thailand), and in Indonesia I even noticed a Thai flag, too. In Singapore and Malaysia I was too busy having fun at the beaches to bother with Internet sites (I do have a real life sometimes). Was my vacation itinerary ok with you or is there some hidden question/comment in your fascination with my whereabouts? If you need some good info on places to stay or eat I’ll gladly oblige; just come out and ask it my man.

Compared to other nations, America comes out pretty much ahead in these areas.

…which reminds one of Churchill’s quip about democracy (”It’s the worst form of government…except for all the others.”

For example, in the wake of the riots in France, U.S. Moslems have mused that the American “melting pot” does not leave them isolated and disenfrancized as in Europe.

Bottom line - nowhere in the world have so many peoples come together so successfully as in the USA.

Yes, Zonath, I agree that a small minority of Americans still suffer from this kind of primative thinking. But with the vast majority of Koreans still mired in this primative mindset, is it any wonder Korea remains so backwards, socially awkward and isolated?

What is it that all Koreans (correcting for a .05 standard deviation) commonly exhibit when confronting foreign nationals? Unease, paranoia, isolationism and a complex of psychological tendencies associated with acute insecurity about racial identity.

I suppose maybe you’re right, but you could just as easily say that about Americans who think immigrants are entering the country illegally to ‘take their jobs’ and worry that the dark-skinned boy from school is getting a little too friendly with their daughter. And don’t even get me started about the idiocy and cultural chauvanism that led to the US Congress objecting to the serving of French fries in the cafeteria. …and this amongst many of the (ostensibly, although I have my doubts) most highly-educated and well-traveled sector of the American public. Of course, America has just about the lowest rate of foreign-language learning in the developed world, so maybe you’re onto something there. Heck, we get our panties in a knot over the idea that maybe we should allow Spanish-speaking people in America to receive their primary education in Spanish (and learn English gradually) rather than sticking the kids in remedial English classes, teaching the rest of the subjects in English, and hoping for the best. Okay, so America is a bad example if you want to talk about an open, non-xenophobic society…

Yes, Zonath, you\’re right that that is part of the systemic side of the problem, and that there are numerous other facets to this labyrinthian issue. You need to go deeper, however, to get to the heart of all these ever-arising facets that continue to contribute to the problem itself. To crack the source of the problem itself, ask what is the cultural attribute behind the phenomenon? What is it that all Koreans (correcting for a .05 standard deviation) commonly exhibit when confronting foreign nationals? Unease, paranoia, isolationism and a complex of psychological tendencies associated with acute insecurity about racial identity.