Change is Imminent

By Korea Jim

The Korea Herald stated "According to a Ministry of Justice press release, foreigners who apply for teaching visas will have to submit a criminal background check and a medical check, and must undergo an interview at the closest Korean consulate to their home town. Visa runs to Japan will also be scrapped. Teachers must now receive and renew visas in their home country."

Regardless if you disagree with these policy changes, the visa process in Korea are changing. It should be noted this information comes on the heels of the announcement made by the Minister of Education and Human Resources Development, Kim Shinil, that in 2008 the number of foreign teachers will increase in the public school system and that English education will be made more of a priority, both increasing the number of hours of English class and number of foreign teachers.

One teacher I talked with, who did not wish to have his name disclosed, was not happy about the recent changes. "I have been in the country for over 5 years," he stated. "However, why would I return if it takes my whole vacation time just to renew my contract? I would have to travel to a city that I don’t live in [and] wait for an interview and visa to be processed. The trip would set me back too far. There are many other countries I can teach in, without the hassle of this change." This is a reality many teachers, both new and experienced, will face in the coming year.

Though some teachers are finding the positive side of these changes. One teacher I spoke with, who is married to a Korean woman, believes the new E2 visa requirements will mean "fewer teachers, greater demand [and] more money." Which is very likely as private schools will be forced to offer even more incentive to returning teachers, or even first-year teachers, to go through the hassle of the application process. "This is the change I have been waiting for," he said smiling. However, his F2 visa, which he received upon marrying, precludes him from having to submit to any of the new requirements to obtain employment. He is definitely a minority among foreign teachers.

Korean private schools pay thousands of dollars in recruiting fees to attract ESL and EFL teachers. The extra expense to return a teacher to their home country on a round trip for an interview with a consulate will probably force some smaller schools to shut down. These expenses will also likely affect public schools, which operate under strict budgets. This will hinder public schools in providing for their classes native English instructors, the very instructors the government wants more of in the coming year. It’s not clear whether the government will provide extra financial assistance to public schools to cope with the added burden of this expense, but at the moment they have not discussed the issue.

One outcome of the new changes could be foreigners working illegally on a visitor visa, something that already occurs and though the numbers of teachers doing this has declined recently, they could easily spike again in 2008. Fake marriages to obtain an F2 visa might also transpire. Another scenario could see a drastic drop in teacher recruitment as a result of teachers who simply refuse to work in Korea and submit themselves to a laborious application process.

The Korean government is pushing these new policies to increase the number of qualified, experienced teachers in the country; however, the consequences of these policies may discourage them coming in general. It will most likely increase the people who are willing to take the risk to come and work illegally without proper teaching credentials. Especially if private institutions are willing to increase the pay of illegal ESL instructors in order to avoid the new changes in the visa process.