British Council Korea / Apostille Service?

I’m still waiting to hear from The British Council  in Korea regarding a possible ’apostille’ service ……. zzzzzzzzzzz. 

Korea – Worst Country For Foreign Teachers?

I’ve just read an interesting post over at Metropolitician and I have to say that he makes some very valid points. Perhaps Korea is now setting itself up to be the worst country for foreign teachers to work in terms of bureacracy and unreasonable, in addition to incomprehensible, procedures necessary to gain a working visa to teach here.

Metropolitician quotes the JoongAng Daily in an article on the subject which is itself extremely muddled on the issue. I can’t really blame the newspaper entirely for that since we are all very confused and in some cases dazed at the new regulations (or perhaps would be if only we were told with any clarity what they actually are!).

JoongAng quotes an official source in the article that states that foreign teachers only have to submit a self-declaration of their medical condition before arrival and then submit to a full medical when in Korea. That has to be good news – at least we won’t have to undergo two intrusive medical inspections assuming of course that we are prepared to submit to one in order to teach here. I guess that is solely down to the individual but I wouldn’t be critical of those who believe that this is just a step too far. I’m still thinking about this quite seriously.

I emailed the British Embassy yesterday regarding the ‘apostille’ with no response as yet but judging by the JongAng Daily article, it seems that no foreign Embassy is prepared to provide this or any other service associated with these hastily implemented ‘reforms’. And who can blame them? Very little notice given and no consultation at all from the Korean Ministry (see comment by the British Embassy in the article).

I’ll be sending off my criminal record application to the UK on Wed and just await the response. The ‘apostille’ – who knows? The medical-I’ll do it here (maybe).

Or maybe I should start applying for a post in Japan?

E2 Visa Change – A ‘Knee Jerk’ Reaction?

The E2 visa changes set to be implemented in Korea on December 15th have been seen by many (myself included) as a ‘knee jerk’ reaction to the Christopher Paul Neil Pedophile case. However, if we scratch the surface a little, it becomes apparent that these measures are symptomatic of a deeper mistrust of ‘foreigners’ and perhaps even a certain amount of resentment towards the native English teaching community.

I’ve always been aware that Koreans tend to have a less than favourable view of other Asian races (particularly from South East Asia) whom they view as being somehow inferior to the ‘pure’ Hangul race. I’ve witnessed the comments and prejudice surrounding this first hand. On the other hand, Koreans have a kind of ‘love-hate’ relationship with native English teachers in the sense that, to a large extent, Koreans see us as a necessary evil while at the same time being stangely in awe of us. I’m not altogether surprised that a certain amount of resentment has built up over the years in a society where English is paramount and the pressures to master it are enormous from a very early age.

Historically, the backlash of this has predominantly been reserved for US soldiers who have so often provided the opportunity for criticism through their loutish behaviour both on and off the job. It seems that it is now time for the native English teachers to receive their ‘injust deserts’ legitimized by the actions of one rogue teacher.

The Party Pooper wrote an interesting and almost prophetic post back in June looking at some of these issues.

E2 Visa Saga Continues

Having read Dave’s ESL forum from Friday, it seems that recruiters have been notified that:

Teachers coming after January 1st, 2008 will be required to:
1. Get a criminal check
2. Get a medical done at home and in Korea.

Apparently there will be no interview unless there are suspicious circumstances (?). It doesn’t say very much about teachers currently here or whether contracts actually signed before January 1st but arrival after that date will be subject to the new measures. I can also see no reference to the external validation of degree certificates in any form. 

Unless of course you know different?