u/HagwonSurvivor

I have said it over and over again: being a teacher in Korea is the only job that expects you to do your work flawlessly while being expected to deal with someone who is always thwarting you, abusing you, sexually assaulting you, and insulting you while you are executing your duties and unable to do anything about any of it.

Ever do an office job with a literal monkey on your back when you're trying to fulfill tasks? Hell, I'd take that over teaching in Korea.

This all comes down to shitty discipline from parents, and the idea that their precious baby can do no wrong (even when they clearly do) and suggesting otherwise could affect their future prospects (btw, a big 🖕 to Oh Eun-young, may you fall into disgrace and your name become a curse because of this cultural cancer you fostered and grown rich off of).

Teachers are expected to grin and bear it, take the abuse, don't complain, keep your head down, and if you don't like it, there's always suicide (that might sound harsh, but this is happening more and more). Your school will not help you. The government will not help you. The parents look down on you and despise you (just like the old yangban did to the slave masses back during the Joseon dynasty–a mindset that has never left). The only succor you'll get maybe is through your country's embassy who will hopefully warn future travelers away from taking jobs in this hellish industry.

I may have a bottle of Kelly and a couple shots of 84-proof soju in me now, but this is the most sobering reality you will ever hear from a decade-and-a-half veteran about the true nature of this industry.

During the many years I’ve lived here, I’ve noticed that, whether it’s a colleague or a significant other, if you make even the slightest faux pas, even out of ignorance, that gives Koreans the right to humiliate you and scold you harshly in front of others or in public, something they would never tolerate happening to them (since they want to save face, but they expect you just take it).

They expect you to read their mind at all times, but they have no problem stepping all over your feet because you’re just a dumb foreigner.

Has anyone else experienced this?