English Teaching Visa Procedures in Korea Now Require Fingerprinting, Drug Test, HIV Test

I’m sorry, but I think that for people dealing with children (e.g., teachers), a criminal background check is necessary under any situation. As is drug and infectious disease testing.

If they required this for everyone wanting a visa, that might be unreasonable.

However, I feel that it would be irresponsible for people hiring teachers not to do a proper background/drug test.

I understand the that people want to keep their children safe, but you have to be fair. This is not fair.

I would like to stop hearing excuses from subtle foreigners with their schemes to deviate the law. This system is a measure to prevent to what has happening and what these jerks have been doing in Korea. Guess it was time already. Expect it became a haven or refuge for criminals? Never.

Frankly:
1)
ENGLISH TEACHER is correct about the misogyny here in Korea. The men, from boy to married adult, are most rude, mannerless, cocky womanizing jerks. Moreover, these thugs don’t have any criminal record, I am sure, any more than their date-raping counter-parts in America do. These people are truly dangerous.
2)
I think that the government is regulating the wrong end of the industry, here. My first boss in Korea stole almost 4000USD from me in unpaid wages, one day simply locked the doors, and left town with his family. I went to the labor office and have yet to see a dime. The man, a Mr. Song, also took almost 8000USD in unpaid wages from the teacher before me, and stiffed 2 Korean teachers (both female, one of them pregnant at the time!) of 2 months wages, each, and refused to pay a Chinese teacher, also female. I guess he knew the jig was up the moment I confronted him with “Where the F*&# is my money?” after the first month. Word is he opened a new school north of Seoul, no problem. Meanwhile, he did his best to ruin at least 6 other people in a year, and is apparently not worried about it at all.
3)
I think that background checks are a ridiculous mirage of safety approved on the basis of flat out ignorance and purposeful misinformation. Most people with so-called “criminal” backgrounds have been victimized by the American “war on drugs” mostly for possessing what the science tells us all are relatively harmless recreational substances. The fact is that alcohol is the only drug to kill brain cells, and that tobacco is the only smoked drug that causes higher incidence of lung (and other ) cancers. Marijuana, for example, actually slows the growth of cancers in laboratory tests, and marijuana users have the same incidence of cancers as do non-users. The British medical community last year published a list of all drugs in the world in order of their danger. Ecstacy was at the top of the list as the LEAST dangerous drug, followed closely by LSD, and further down marijuana. Alcohol and tobacco were way down the list, known poisons, yet perfectly legal under western law. What does a background check amount to, anyways? A note to anyone with past that they cannot, and will not, ever work again? Why? In my mind, I would rather have a pot-smoker with a “criminal” record teaching my kids than a cigarette smoking alcoholic. But, then again, I am only a Clinical Chemist with a PhD; I guess these issues are best left to bureaucrat misogynists.

These laws have gone into effect and are damaging to both Korean school children and foreign teachers. Simply put, Korean authorities do not negotiate or reason, they demand. There is a strong undercurrent of xenophobia in Korea. Nations often blame outsiders for their problems, and this seems to be the case in this instance. I think regulations need to improve in Korea, but the government went about this process in perhaps the most damaging manner possible. Many industries in the USA and Canada require background checks and drug tests. I have no problem with this. However, requiring teachers to return to their country to obtain the records, obtain a battery of blood tests and interview with the Korean embassy does seem excessive. The criminal background check (CBC) will take 3-4 weeks to obtain from the state level in the USA. A Federal, or FBI background check could take up to 18 weeks! Moreover, receiving medical checks would likely take 3-4 weeks. At this point the potential teacher is looking at 1 to 2 months of waiting for their record. Next, the applicant submits the records to the Korean school and the school submits the records to the embassy. The embassy gives the applicant a number and sets up an interview. this process should take 1 – 2 weeks. Next, the applicant has to go to a Korean embassy or consulate for the interview. If you are an applicant that lives far away from a Korean consulate, you mush pay for the travel and lodging expenses to interview. After the interview, the Korean government decides if it will give the visa or not. Can you imagine going through this process and being denied??? The process is exceedingly slow, and is not cost effective for teachers applying to Korea. I think the system is grossly unfair to sincere teachers wanting to teach in Korea. As a result I think Korea will suffer for some time to come and the illegal teaching industry and seedy hogwons will thrive as a result. The law discourages many honest people from applying. I think many teachers will go elsewhere. Korea used to be attractive because the pay is good and it was relatively easy to get a teaching visa here. Most people want to go to Japan or China because of a richer cultural experience in spite of the lower wages. Now that it is a complete hassle to teach in Korea many teachers will choose another country to teach in. Moreover, once a teacher signs a contract with a Korean school, the school owns that teacher. If you have any grievance with the school, you will have to leave the country and resubmit to this process again. There are many corrupt hogwons in Korea, and leaving a school for your sanity, safety, and personal well being in not uncommon. Teachers are now in a much weaker position and less free in Korea as a result of these laws. I like Korea, so this situation makes me sad. I don’t want to leave, but may be forced to because of the economic hardships involved in obtaining a visa, and the blind luck that an applicant can find an honest hogwon. It is a treacherous proposition. It’s a knee jerk government reaction.

As mentioned earlier, it is easier to point the finger at someone else. When the problems continue who will the Koreans blame? I sincerely hope they rethink and revise these laws. Sad times in Korea until then.

How intrusive are the testings? blood and urine? Or do they do a full out hair, saliva and sweat test. Does anyone actually know?