1) The reason why you cannot retain any native English speakers is because of your treatment of them and corrosive reputation abroad as xenophobic, chauvinistic pigs-indeed we are ambassadors abroad and quite frankly many folks have returned with horror stories of mistreatment including illegal withholding of pay, relentless racism (in the case of African Americans, fluent English speakers and some even with Masters degrees) and in the case of females sexism (which in some cases I have read has included sexual assault which your police force/hagwon system has utterly failed them.) THESE are the stories they are bringing back to their respective countries even as we speak-is this the image you want to project, where the tourist board’s slogan of “sparkling” gets sneered at?!!!

2) You currently rely on a system that is unrealistic: most students in other nations (even Africa, where learning a European language in addition to one’s native tongue is very common with FAR less resources than Korea does) DO NOT make memorization there modus operandi but encourage people to speak entirely in the language and USE DECENT, UP TO DATE TEXTBOOKS.

3) If you truly want to attract the higher end teachers with the wonderful qualifications, I must be blunt-DREAM ON. A Yale graduate would be taking an enormous cut in pay, as would McMaster, as would Trinity, as would Oxford. They will leave just as soon as they figure out they are treated like cattle by their superiors and the parents and may not have a guarantee of being payed on time (if at all) nor is a system in place for them to teach adequately in. They will lecture you on it, you will dismiss them as ignorant foreigners, and wake up one horrible day finding nobody is stupid enough to put up with your bull anymore-ALL THE TEACHERS ARE GONE OR BOYCOTTING.

Think I am exagerrating? Fine. Think I am a racist witch? Wonderful. But know this: I have attended school in New York City. I have met up with your best and brightest (it is a top tier art school, one of only a handful that teaches 3D computer graphics) and I can solidly say that the current methods you employ in the classroom are wholly inept: the many Korean students at the School of Visual Arts could simply not understand a word of what was being said to them in the first year and a half and most of the time they were carrying around pocket translators and going home crying because nobody could understand them (my department head mentioned to me that they consistently barely pass the American standard version of a language test and often must retake it.) They were never told that Americans speak at a louder volume and so when they raised their hands they were often not heard-apparently teaching solely perfect pronunciation and grammar didn’t save them from this huge loss of face.

In four years they made zero attempts to get to know the locals and as a result missed out on a great deal: such a “stick to your own kind” attitude won’t work if you need help on homework and the teachers/locals dislike you for treating them like they were infected with plague or an ends to a means or their servants. (It was worse in the grand scheme of things when you consider they were living in a cultural mecca and the only places they ever went for a good time was…Koreatown.) This is not the fault of your teachers, but rather your system: you don’t encourage any real cultural learning and don’t take into account that the standard you currently hold with stuffing a child like a Peking duck may actually humiliate you abroad.

The Korean students I mentioned, furthermore, may have gotten high grades and honor roll mentions, but they will not be getting a job at Pixar anytime soon owing to the fact that they have very poor social and language skills,let alone creative ideas (a classmate of mine themed her thesis around…a boy studying.) This could have also opened the door for other Koreans and improved THEIR reputations abroad. Whether you like it or not this will become more and more the case: Foreigners honestly may some day soon say F#$% You when you beg them to teach in Korea as more contact with the outside world grows and need for connections in foreign markets grows.

So Korea, enjoy your current status while you can: it is killing you slowly and making you a laughingstock abroad.(Or better yet, do what you always do and say I have no right to say such things and b–ch and moan about how all foreigners should be burned at the stake for being more than a passing novelty on the streets of Seoul meant to entertain you….protest with loud angry signs further confirming your xenophobia …and never acknowledge a problem until it is too late…)

Wow, just when I thought that it couldn’t get any less mature, cmm proves me wrong.

One day, however, he left school for good and I heard the shocking news: Not once had he ever gotten laid in Korea, and apparently it bothered him. He was not gay, he simply hadn’t cracked the code of the mysterious Korean female mind.

I have no general conclusion to draw from this story, except to say that sometimes gross generalizations say more about those who make them than they do about their intended target.

stacked, the tired generalization that a lot of the whiteys getting laid right and left here are nerds and social rejects back home might make you feel better about something or another, but 1) if it’s true, it goes back to what roboseyo said about what your opinion must be of the Korean girls who are screwing these guys (read up) and 2) it’s just plain wrong. Most of the guys whom I know here in Korea can and did get laid plenty back home without any problems.

Seriously, the “you didn’t reply to me so I win” thing is really the bottom rung of internet immaturity.

And yeah, my policy is usually non-engagement: a fire without oxygen starves and all.

Like you, I’m also quite excited to see what happens when the group of young people matriculating right now, learning English early, traveling overseas, and actually starting to engage with other cultures and other ideas, starts maturing into the new generation of leaders. The next twenty years in Korea are going to be really interesting to watch, and the way things are going now, I might well be here to see it from close up.

I have a friend whose Kyopo friend goes on comment boards like these when he’s bored, assumes a fake ID, and says junk he doesn’t believe just to get everybody up in arms, for pure shits and giggles. I keep that guy in mind whenever I start digging around in the comments on the K-web.

I think from now on I’m going to refer to the “yankee go home” shouting ajosshis by Jongno 3ga as Pawis, and for the rest, focus on what I love about this place instead of feeding the negative energy cycle.

take care, eh?

and if Pawi reads this, I’m going to hold this ignominious retreat over your head whenever we meet again on these comment boards.

it HAS been a ride. I see why certain other commenters go toe to toe with each other about fortnightly around here. Keeps the juices flowing!

But I wanted to note for those who think Pawi’s frog-in-the-well mentality reflects a majority view, that my university students this semester have quite often (and eloquently) pointed out their belief that westerners come here for the money/work (as well as maybe for experience of living abroad). This is less laughable than one might think since the job market and pay are indeed better for many here than would be at home, even given the (oft-muttered-about) negative aspects of living and working here. And a fair number of these students of mine claimed to know foreigners who, living here for some time, had come to care for the place or the people here, and stay much longer than they imagined, despite the sucky parts. (Like meeting people like Pawi in person.) Not one said it was just for easy sex. I’m sure many of the women in the room would have said something if someone had, so I doubt it was just my presence that kept this unsaid.

So don’t let a ninny like Pawi fool you: there’s a whole ‘nother generation of folks who don’t think like that, on their way, to swell the ranks of the older ones who already don’t. Critical mass is on the way, though yes, it’ll take time to really, truly ascend.

When it does, everyone but the officious frogs in the wells shall be better for it. (Or perhaps even they shall benefit, despite themselves.)

I suggest he set up a fake profile as a nubile coed and then regale those he snares with absurd non sequiturs.

If that doesn’t make them want to leave Korea, then at least it will distract them from their preferred prey for a while, and thereby make this a better place for all.

Only a square would make such an empirically false statement.