Animosity Against English Teachers in Seoul

Foreign English teachers in South Korea are coming under attack. The group “Citizens of Right Education” was formed to rid South Korea of unqualified foreign English teachers, involved in criminal or scandalous activities. Meanwhile, the Association for Teachers of English in Korea (ATEK) claims that English teachers have been vilified in the news, frequently presented as being involved in sexual crimes and drugs, creating a bad image and reputation for other English teachers. While Citizens of Right Education asserts that it is not racist, ATEK accuses it of distorting the image of foreign teachers and of being xenophobic and overly focused on English teachers. Anti-foreigner sentiments are not new. Still, while South Korea is working on creating laws to combat racial discrimination, the process takes time. With the increasing, and often permanent, presence of foreigners in South Korea, racial diversity is a relatively new phenomenon still to be addressed by a historically homogenous society. – YaleGlobal