New Orleans, here I come!

After months of chewing over my options, I've decided to give up the idea of getting my job back and leave Korea. That's not to say I'm giving up on being a pain in the arse for the Ulsan Education Office though; there are a few things in the works on that front and they can carry on even after I leave the country. I'm very fortunate to have met someone who knows the issues inside out and is happy to keep pushing them.

So, I'm leaving Korea on 3 September for New Orleans. I'm looking for a place to sublet for a month (or 2, depending on the rent and what's available). Basically, I'm giving myself a bit of downtime to chill out, explore the city and live like a local. And if I can pick up some part-time work while I'm there, so much the better. I'll head back to New Zealand in either October or November and may visit some friends & family along the way. I'll start looking for other teaching jobs in the new year.

It feels good to finally make a decision.

My decision to leave Korea was based on a few things. As much as I like it here, it's left me feeling pretty discouraged about human nature on some fronts. The people I've met here have been kind, generous and welcoming. My school has been great to work for. My students are awesome and I'll miss them. But when I hear about or experience things like an 11 year old committing suicide or institutionalised discrimination by government agencies, it eventually beats you down and leaves you feeling pretty jaded.

I've also been feeling the futility of teaching within the Korean education system. The other day, we were giving the kids a quiz on prepositions. I was reading the sentence and the kids had to circle the correct picture. My co-teacher was doing something else for half the test and the kids were doing OK and working things out. Then my co-teacher finishes what she's doing and starts paying attention to the quiz. It took me all of 2 seconds to realised she was giving them the answers in Korean so they stopped trying. We were also working on days of the week and I was giving the kids a pre-test to see how much they knew. They were working it out fine until my co-teacher says "They don't know" and then tells them the answers {sigh}.

I've worked hard for the last year to encourage my kids to think and work things out for themselves. I've seen the joy and sense of achievement they have when they get it right and the determination to try again when they don't. It's hard work and takes a lot of patience but it's rewarding for me and them. I think Korean teachers do the kids and their native co-teachers a huge disservice by taking away any incentive for them to make an effort. And to give them the idea that if you don't get it perfect the 1st time you obviously don't know it must be so demoralising for them. It cheats them out of the joy of learning.

But that's how things are done here. Independent thought, critical thinking and individualism are simply not encouraged. The kids will listen and repeat until the cows come home but they have no idea what they're saying and little incentive to find out. And after a while, I think it's natural that you start thinking "What's the point?"

This is not to say that I wouldn't come back to Korea. But I think I'd only do it if I could work in Seoul and if they sorted out the HIV/AIDS & drug tests. If the Korean government continues to actively discriminate against foreigners, there are other places I'd rather go.

Could I recommend Korea? Well, if you don't mind the feelings of hopelessness that come with teaching in the public system and being treated like an indentured servant by the education offices, I'd say come along but don't invest too much emotionally. But otherwise, I can't, in all good conscience, recommend it as a worthwhile and rewarding thing to do.