ZenKimchi

ZenKimchi

23p

20 comments posted · 0 followers · following 0

15 years ago @ SeoulPodcast - SeoulPodcast #47: ATEK... · 0 replies · +1 points

We downloaded the forms from the embassy site. One had to be translated into Korean. It's really just the same information that you have to write on multiple forms. And make sure you have all the docs/ID that it calls for.

15 years ago @ SeoulPodcast - SeoulPodcast #45: Karl... · 0 replies · +1 points

Thanks Mike.

You know what, I pretty much agree with everything you said. We discussed this a good bit on the upcoming show, even though I feel that more discussion is required. There is a lot of confusion out there, and I admit that I have been a bit confused on this. My feeling is that if this is an issue of protecting the students then background and drug checks should be done by Education and not Immigration. I'm about to enter F-series Land myself, and I had a real headache getting my criminal check here and then getting it through Immigration because of an arrest over something that was never prosecuted (they got the wrong guy). Don't want to take the risk of going through that again and having another Immigration officer determine my fate on a whim.

The heart of that issue is that the whole criminal check requirement is fucked up to the core of the system. It reveals what people have been complaining about the whole time--there is no system in the system. A country is allowed to determine who gets visas to stay there. The country performs this function through a system that is consistent across the board and is not based on the whims of individual Immigration officers who are highly uninformed of their own scant regulations.

I'm by nature a political junkie. It's my sport. So whenever I hear about campaigns like the Equal Checks for All, I don't take it at face value. I immediately look for the subtext and the political points one is making in doing it. I think realistically ATEK knew that the Equal Checks thing wouldn't be made into law. It wasn't made to succeed. The purpose was threefold: a.) show the Korean public that it had the children's best interest at heart rather than solely existing to benefit foreign "unqualified" English teachers, b.) anticipate attacks from critics like the hagwon associations, who already started painting ATEK as an organization set up to protect only foreign English teachers with no concern for the students and parents, and c.) use it as the jumping point to highlight the deep whimsical inconsistencies in the immigration system.

It backfired.

Even though Equal Checks was expected to fail as a policy issue, it was supposed to gain points as a PR issue with the general public. They didn't make the distinction that Equal Checks didn't mean equal benefits between the visa types.

As for ATEK claiming to speak for all foreign English teachers, historically that's how groups like this get started. It's rhetoric.

So far, though, I like what I see with ATEK. They're the closest we've had to an organization to balance the power with the hagwon associations and create something closer to equilibrium in the market. I'd rather teachers help them get off the ground now and then work from the inside to iron out the kinks--not join anti-English Spectrum and the hagwon associations in crushing it. For the past year, yes, they've only been three guys. But, damn, they really have already overcome a lot of odds and gotten the ears of government and international media--a feat that should at least be respected.

Mike, keep listening and participating. We may have Tony on again next month, and I really want to hit him hard with the legitimate concerns you have. I still don't have phone-in capabilities on the show. But I don't want to turn the SeoulPodcast into the ATEK Cheerleading Squad just because of my personal politics. So please, post or send questions. Or if you want to ask him live on the show, I'm sure we could do that.

15 years ago @ SeoulPodcast - SeoulPodcast #45: Karl... · 0 replies · +1 points

Yeah, now you know why I sat at the nerd table. I caught it in post.

15 years ago @ SeoulPodcast - SeoulPodcast #45: Karl... · 0 replies · +1 points

I've seen those but didn't know what they were called.

15 years ago @ SeoulPodcast - SeoulPodcast #44: The ... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'm just too lazy to change it--for now.

15 years ago @ ZenKimchi - VANK's Position o... · 0 replies · +1 points

It repeats the theme we stated in Ep. 45 of the SeoulPodcast regarding the Anti-English Spectrum guys. They're not used to the idea of backing up their claims with facts. Is this rampant in the culture itself?

I hear that foreign professors are frustrated by the piss poor writing abilities of their university students who can't wrap their minds around the concept of backing up their points and footnoting.

15 years ago @ ZenKimchi - VANK's Position o... · 0 replies · +1 points

You don't say, Kushibo? I am gleeful at the thought of VANK setting up a campaign to show why Korea is better than Prussia.

The kimchi line is my favorite.

15 years ago @ ZenKimchi - VANK's Position o... · 0 replies · +1 points

I was going to mention that, Kevin, but it's more like an Adam Sandler repetitive punchline on early '90s Saturday Night Live skits.

15 years ago @ SeoulPodcast - SeoulPodcast #42: Engl... · 0 replies · +1 points

And as much as I try, that's the hardest concept for me to wrap my mind around.

15 years ago @ SeoulPodcast - SeoulPodcast #44: The ... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'm sorry guys. Something must have happened when I was out of town. I'm uploading it again. It was working fine on Friday morning. It should be fixed now.