Marmot’s Hole had the scoop this morning on today’s Korea Times piece about changing visa requirements for gyopos, or overseas Koreans, to include medical and criminal background screening.  Currently, only E-2 visa applicants receive checks prior to gaining admittance as English instructors.

The article’s main points are:

1.  E-2 visa holders cite a bias in favor of gyopos who hold F-4 visas since they do not have to meet requirements that may otherwise exclude them from entrance to Korea (e.g. criminal record)

2.  Hagwon owners, represented by Choi Chang-jin, director of the Korea Association of Foreign Language Academies, asserted that gyopos “are not always clean from drugs or diseases.”

3.  The immigration authorities, represented by Kim Tae-soo, an immigration officer, directly acknowledged that his agency ”favors” gyopos just as European nations favor their own people.  

This article mentions no discussion of competency or qualification being a requirement to work as an English teacher in Korea.  (*laughter*)   The article also starts out by pointing out the fact that there are no current plans by the government to revise the rules.  So… what was the purpose of this article other than to rile up teachers and line them up on sides against each other?

Discussion starts…now.

–The Seoul Satirist

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