The number of foreign language trainees is rapidly increasing… The labor situation for 70,000 Korean language teachers is ‘worst’
Korean language school students are writing at the 28th Korean Language Challenge for Foreigners held at the open-air theater of Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on the morning of October 8, 2019. Reporter Baek So-ah thanks@hani.co.kr
“There are many places where it is stated in the contract that ‘there is no right to expect renewal.’ Test proctoring, grading, and student counseling are not included in the instructor fee, but they are all required. “There are many teachers who suffer from anxiety about whether their contracts will not be renewed even if they work like that.” Lee Chang-yong (50), a Korean language teacher with 20 years of experience teaching Korean to foreign students at the Language Education Center of Seoul National University, said. The demand for Korean language education has increased so much that the number of international students (language trainees) has increased more than 13 times in the past 20 years, but in Lee’s view, the working conditions of most Korean language teachers have hardly changed. This is because working conditions and scope are uneven, and ultra-short work hours and low wages are prevalent. If you look at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s research service report ‘Study on measures to improve laws and systems to improve the treatment of Korean language teachers’ obtained by Representative Ryu Ho-jeong’s office on the 20th, the labor reality of Korean language teachers working for low wages and very short periods of time is revealed. In fact, in a survey of 578 Korean language teachers at university-affiliated institutions like Lee, 91.8% had a master’s degree or higher, but 84% earned less than 2 million won per month. This is due to the fact that 67% of them are very short-time workers whose weekly working hours are less than 15 hours. This percentage was the majority at 91% in a survey of 370 elementary, middle, and high school Korean language teachers. Even this was not stable. In the interview survey, one respondent said, “I went to work, but due to school circumstances, instructor fees are not paid when there are no classes.” Due to the Labor Standards Act, which does not require weekly holiday allowances to be paid to ultra-short-time workers, only one of the 35 Korean language teachers at the Family Support Center responded that ‘weekly holiday allowances are provided.’ This is a factor in wages becoming lower. Employment status was also unstable. Among the 578 Korean language teachers at university-affiliated institutions, which are considered to be in a better situation, 82.4% were on a fixed-term contract, and close to half (49.1%) had contracts lasting less than three months. Only 16.8% of cases were ‘renewable if desired’. Most of them are in a state of permanent job insecurity. The number of Korean language teachers is 74,882 as of 2022, who have obtained Korean language teacher qualifications issued by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. They provide education to students in elementary, middle, and high schools, university-affiliated institutions, and adults and students at multicultural family support centers. They also work at King Sejong Institutes, Korean language schools, and private academies in foreign countries. The number of domestic students (including language trainees), which was around 12,000 in 2003, reached 166,892 last year. The demand for Korean language education is increasing due to the Korean Wave and the increase in foreign employment. The report pointed out that the background to the unstable labor of Korean language teachers is “because the legal status of teachers is different, so systematic and unified management is not easy.” The analysis is that due to unclear status, the standard of working conditions itself is ambiguous and this leads to a downward standardization of the treatment of Korean language teachers. Lee Chang-yong said, “According to the Higher Education Act, there are three types of people working at universities: teachers, staff, and teaching assistants, but Korean language teachers do not belong to any of them.” Even among Korean language teachers working at the same elementary, middle, and high schools, those who teach regular classes sign an employment contract and are subject to the Labor Standards Act, but those who work during after-school hours sign a consignment contract. The report pointed out that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which is responsible for issuing Korean language teacher qualifications, needs to create a ‘standard recommendation’ that commonly stipulates minimum working conditions for Korean language teachers. This means that detailed standards for qualifications, hiring conditions and procedures, work regulations, vacations, etc. must be created. In order to clarify the ambiguous legal status of Korean language teachers, the creation of a special law applicable to Korean language teachers was also suggested as an alternative. Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong said, “Due to the unstable status of Korean language teachers, the practice of employers avoiding responsibility under the Labor Relations Act is widespread.” He added, “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will closely review the content proposed in the research report and devise ways to establish the status and improve the treatment of Korean language teachers.” “It has to be done,” he said. Reporter Jang Hyeon-eun mix@hani.co.kr
2023-09-20 12:01:21
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