TEA-KOR
Statement for World Teachers' Day, October 5, 2008
Teachers of English abroad in Korea (TEA-KOR) is a support network. Many foreign teacher report abuse at the hands of certain private academies and therefore need support. It formed in 2007 out of the bad experience of the foreign teachers at one academy.
TEA-KOR calls for solidarity among teachers. We stand for high standards of working conditions, recruitment, teaching and labour.
The impressions and experiences of teachers of English who are working or have worked in South Korea vary: some are very good, some very bad. As foreigners, such teachers are generally in a vulnerable position. Some schools, especially the private English "institutes," can be abusive and poorly managed.
To their credit, some recruitment agencies and schools help newcomers as much as they can. Others, however, leave teachers to fend for themselves, and even give misleading information or otherwise take advantage of their situation.
The experience of going to a foreign land to teach should be a learning experience for everyone where everyone enjoys cultural exchange, develops their potential, and builds on existing opportunities. Good teaching should contribute to quality education and the healthy happy development of children.
As foreigners, however, we often face the problems that many migrant workers face: overwork, underpayment, unsatisfactory working conditions, the lack of on the job training, inadequate housing, discriminatory state controls and practices, and anti-foreigner discrimination in general.
Migrants on visas are frequently treated as indentured labour in South Korea because their work visa is bound to a single contract naming one employer and that arrangement gives an employer exceptional powers over their foreign employees. Employees have little recourse by which to challenge bad employers and get justice. In fact, the immigration act prohibits foreigners on visas from labour and political organizing by threat of deportation. Thus, employers can use and abuse with near impunity.
In late 2007, the government of the Republic of Korea began a crackdown against undocumented migrants. The Lee administration has intensified the crackdown, setting high quotas for arrests and deportations and using repressive measures resulting in the violation of peoples rights. Thousands of foreign workers including teachers have been apprehended and detained since April 1, 2008. Meanwhile, it has been repressive against protesters and union leaders in pushing forward unpopular policies including free trade, education, and relations with the US.
TEA-KOR calls for an end to the crackdown against undocumented migrants. Economic failure in the home countries cause people to seek work in a foreign land. Host countries like the Republic of Korea (ROK) take advantage. Companies strive to lower their costs of production farther and farther by using migrant labour and they do, in fact, seek illegal arrangements. Migrant workers are tempted to stay beyond the termination of their contracts because of economic need. Until the end of 2007, South Korean authorities turned a blind eye and profiteers benefited immensely. With the economic downturn deepening, foreigners are an easy scapegoat. Yet, the daily news media reports ongoing corruption in government and big business. Now, hypocritically, the vicious crackdown on undocumented workers is under way and the rights of thousands of migrants are being violated in the name of legality. Illegal workers should be given the option to be processed and legalized and granted amnesty until their cases are sorted out. We aspire to raise the standards on all sides, those of qualifications, recruitment, documentation, teaching, education, administration, settlement, services and cultural exchange.
TEA-KOR also shares the concerns that Korean educators and students are expressing in various ways including mass protest about privatization, tuition fees, and the English language curriculum. While private academies can provide a reliable complement to a child's education, TEA-KOR supports quality public education for all.
TEA-KOR supports education for the well-being of children, self-reliant regulated industry, the rounded social development of a sovereign nation, and international trade for mutual benefit. We call for the correct, fair and respectful regard and legal and social protection and support for teachers.
In solidarity! Fight for the rights of teachers! Raise the quality of work and education for all!
tea_kor@yahoo.com