Maybe the parents want a native speaker in school but the powers that be don't, so they're making it tough so the foreigners leave and the higher ups can just say "It wasn't our decision." Otherwise, if they really want them gone they'll just do what cities around me like Anyang then Gunpo did, and just not renew anyone and cut the whole program.
If that's the case, then I apologize.Sometimes it's difficult to differentiate between political and personal opinions, and I might be a bit quick to pull the trigger on these things.Carry on, then!
Yeah no doubt. I suspect the 1980's generation are in the most senior positions too. Nowadays they are the quiet racists whereas they were loud and vocal 10 to 15 years ago. Find an excuse to get foreigners out. Well, good luck to them. It may take time, but it will backfire on them.
I felt something weird from the management like they didn't give one shit even though they had a ton of proof .... I have never felt like that before in Korea (professionally). It seemed like it didn't matter what I said, they were done. So I too am thinking that the program in * City (where I live) will be totally cut next year. They cut all the funding for housing this year and I think next year for sure the *city waygs will be GONE.
Yeah, I'm so sorry, dipped. It was incredibly unprofessional of them, and saying someone is "emotional" is a very overused excuse for dismissing someone's grievances and claims. Guaranteed, if they had experienced even one of the things your coteacher had done to you, they would have turned the school upside down to get her dismissed or transferred. Everything your coteacher had done is considered waaaay disrespectful in Korean culture. The guys who attended the meeting just didn't care because you're not Korean enough for them, lol. I'm pretty sure they have it in their heads that if you don't care enough to learn Korean, then why should they care about your problems? It's ironic how their decision on the matter was very much an emotional one itself.I'd start recording my classes with her, honestly, until I could leave the school. And I submit a scathing complaint while going out the door.As for the coordinator, I'm so sorry that he was also so uninvolved. Unfortunately, there are no real credentials for becoming a coordinator (outside of knowing the language and being in Korea), and most of the coordinators that I have personally met aren't actually qualified for the job. Like, at all, lmao. I actually know of a case where a guy who would have been perfect for the job was passed over because the adjusshi in charge wanted the pretty young thing with zero experience instead. Didn't even look at either of their applications, just made the decision based on their pictures. So most if not all of EPIK/GEPIK coordinators don't have the management or PR skills that this position actually requires, and they're also easily manipulated by the people in charge. The position also doesn't come with the pay that someone with the skills and experience to navigate all of that should have, either, so there's not a large pool to pick from in that regard. And even when someone with that background steps forward, they're usually passed over for someone younger. So when you combine that with the working culture here and with different people on top constantly putting up walls that these guys have no idea how to get around, you can end up with someone who chooses the path of least resistance. Or, worse, someone who buys into the bullshit and blames the foreigners for every issue that they experience, like that racist gyopo who shall remain unnamed but I'm sure some of us know exactly who I'm talking about.I try to sympathize with coordinators because it is a tough job with very little to no support network, but it's stories like this one that can make that really hard sometimes. The ones who seem to have given up like the one you have (or who never really try to begin with) really should step down and let someone else give it a shot. It's frustrating, and your feelings on this are 100% valid.
Korea has really gone downhill.
Coordinators are just a figurehead position. With a mere extra 100k pay, and monthly meetings somewhere. Not sure what you guys can realistically expect a coordinator to do? They are foreigners like us, and that means every single paid Korean teacher outranks them. If a Korean pulls rank, there is absolutely nothing they can do.
I'm so sorry to hear that you had to go through this :( The best way to summarize almost anything about professionalism in this country would be "UNPROFESSIONAL, BIASED, and DISCRIMINATORY," but as foreigners, we basically don't have the right to protect ourselves from any of this. It is absurd that they are calling you "Emotional," when it is them who are EMOTIONAL in their handling of this situation because they are allowing their personal emotions and disappointment of your Korean ability to cloud their judgement and take away objectivity from this situation regardless of how much evidence you have against this woman.
My main co-teacher, who is a contract worker, is so careful and polite and always takes extra caution when writing messages and asking something of other teachers so that she doesn't offend anyone in any way. The way your temporary co-teacher behaved is waaaay out of line! Before leaving Korea you should go to the doctor with the translated 9 pages of your report and ask for a medical note for sick leave due to the mental and emotional trauma that you have experienced due to this lady and ask your other co-teachers to back you up ( or ask for photocopies of their reports in Korean). Take the doctor-approved extra sick leave (doctors can provide notes for extended sick leave and the MOE has to follow it, I believe). Collect your last few paychecks peacefully and severance, and threaten to sue her for the emotional trauma that her bullying has caused youdamages that caused you. Also, if you can, with the help of your co-teacher write to the MOE and complain against the committee for their mistreatment and dismisal of the harrassment that you experienced.