This is a touchy subject. At the same time though, it’s just reality.
In the Korean ESL job market for private academies, or hagwons, there’s a lot of negative press. And for good reason. You don’t have to look far to hear of the countless horror stories of bright-eyed, hopeful teachers excited to go to Korea being mistreated in many ways. It serves no purpose getting into the details as I’m sure you’ve heard the same stories that I have.
In addition to the working conditions of some of these schools post-hiring, the recruiting process has left multitudes of people stunned and offended.
There are numerous recruiters and private academies who make distinctions based on ethnicity.
This also is not a new concept. It’s a very unfortunate aspect of job acquisition in South Korea, and it won’t be changing any time in the foreseeable future.