tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post5392260156492598962..comments2024-02-23T23:53:54.842+09:00Comments on Gusts Of Popular Feeling: The achievements of Anti-English Spectrummatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296009437690229938noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-59330200330715239892009-11-28T14:18:37.507+09:002009-11-28T14:18:37.507+09:00I was also a member of the AES. I was interested i...I was also a member of the AES. I was interested in the antagonistic relationship between the foreign teachers and the AES.<br />As a mom of a boy I agree with that any criminals or disqualified teachers musn't teach kids.<br />But I got an impression that some members are too biased. <br />Some main members were offensive to the objection. <br />Some comments were below par.<br />The leader suggested debating culture on that site but it couldn't be possible. <br />some opponents'comments were deleted.<br />Some opponents were forced to disconnect themselves.<br />The menu of looking for good foreign teachers seems in name only with some salty comments <br />and it seems disharmonious there. <br />They don't wanna debate or share the ideas.<br />They are locked in their thoughts.<br />There is lack of understanding between the two.Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877130571210618365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-22812817377349982802009-11-28T03:28:55.079+09:002009-11-28T03:28:55.079+09:00I got interested in AES after reading some of arti...I got interested in AES after reading some of articles about AES with lots of denoucments of foreign teachers against it, in fact, it was not comfortable wth those articles, maybe many would feel same as me<br /><br />This week, there was another big news about illegal drug crimes committed by foreign teachers in Korea, not sure you all heard this: " a number of drug crimes by foreign teachers who have given English lessons in Korea including full-time college lecturers, have been uncovered by the prosecution. The news has triggered criticism over loopholes in the verification and management system of native-speaking instructors." <br /><br />I'd like to rather recommend foreign teacher's groups some voluntary campaigns with AES to oust illegal problem foreign teachers than you just gush your rage against AES' activites. That would work more to better the image of foreign teachers here in Korea. <br />hatred would buy only another bigger hatred in this land.<br /><br />If there is no more illegal misbehaviors by foreign teachers in Korea, AES will also disappear. I visited AES naver cafe and found AES announcement that it mainly works to help prevent illegal crimes by foreign teachers and is also against any form of racist acts. The cafe staff said cearly in the post-up notices it does not allow any racism contents in its cafe website and will delte any provoking racism contents once detected. Seems quite misunderstanding with what you know about AES.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-39036586868014886772009-09-29T13:43:36.454+09:002009-09-29T13:43:36.454+09:00These guys are arrogant racists and ill-informed -...These guys are arrogant racists and ill-informed --plain and simple. To suggest that there is a problem with foreigners degrading women in a country where prostitution outranks agriculture in GNP is ludicrous.Bobby McGillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12596157892769705094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-27070803520610930182009-09-22T12:56:11.954+09:002009-09-22T12:56:11.954+09:00Well.... you can always use the Korean method to s...Well.... you can always use the Korean method to solving this problem.<br /><br />Pay off a gang to "fix" this guy's problem and "convince" him to take down his site ^^<br /><br />Seriously... its how the Chaebul take care of these kinds of problems.palladinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17991559032581262637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-15958430397689041332009-09-21T14:55:33.670+09:002009-09-21T14:55:33.670+09:00While I have no doubt Lee is embiggening his achie...While I have no doubt Lee is embiggening his achievements, I'm curious.<br />Did anyone not actually see <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lxap4y0S1as/SotBiZGXO5I/AAAAAAAAFFE/nSZDQweGJ9o/s1600-h/n-10251.jpg" rel="nofollow">this</a>? Don't people think that being invited to the policy meeting that led to the new E-2 visa regulations is quite an accomplishment? Along with an award from the police? On top of being interviewed in, oh, Sports Chosun, Chosun Ilbo, Chosun.com, Weekly Chosun, Donga Ilbo, Weekly Kyunghyang, Seoul Shinmun, Joongang Ilbo, Daejeon Ilbo and BreakNews (and the KT and KH and LA Times), as well as being publicly credited for the Pandora's Box TV show and publicly taking credit for segments of 그것이 알고싶다 (which, in its irresponsible manner, brought the concept of 'foreign English teacher = child molester' into people's homes a year before Karr came to light). As for a lot of media contacts Lee claims, a number of them, while not featuring interviews with him, certainly have the feel of the articles he contributed to (such as intimate details of peoples sex lives).<br /><br />There are actually less posts at AES about distributing fliers on the streets (that's <em>so</em> 2005) than<br />there are with references to the National Assembly and Ministry of Justice. They began submitting petitions to the Ministry of Justice asking for criminal record checks, health checks, and HIV checks in August and September 2006, and were invited to the E-2 visa policy meeting in 2007. Oh, and all of the public discourse (ie - in the media - about English teachers and AIDS is a result of AES's work - as are the HIV checks. Expect a post on that soon, though it's laid out quite clearly <a href="http://2009hunma358.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />As for the 2007 YTN Hongdae broadcasts, from what I can tell from what I've seen on their site, AES was planning to do filming in Hongdae in late 2006, but it was around that time that a USFK member raped a grandmother near Hongdae, so - if I had to guess - YTN changed it into more of a diatribe against GIs than English teachers. As for claiming victory, if Lee is padding his resume, he's just following the example of YTN - see the English translation in the post.<br /><br />One of the things I find interesting to remember is that when the English Spectrum scandal broke in 2005, Oranckay - who had lived in Korea for almost 20 years at that point - <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20050118093806/oranckay.net/blog/%22" rel="nofollow">said</a>, "Whoop dee damn doo, this too will pass." But it didn't. Four and a half years later, I can look back over the last four months and find 10 articles or news clips featuring Lee. Before that the media reported on the occasional drug bust, and while you could argue it might be natural to look more closely at qualifications and drug use after the ES incident (though even the actions of the media and immigration (requiring transcripts) were responses to the clamour on the internet caused by the people who formed AES), the propensity for the media over the past few years to delve into the private lives of foreign teachers has been a result of AES feeding a lot of this information to the media. Much of this information has come from ex-girlfriends, which is ironic, considering AES considers such 'white groupies' to be, at best, misguided, and at worst, treasonous whores. In final summation, the shift in public discourse regarding foreign English teachers from 'people we ignore who get arrested for drugs sometimes' to 'unqualified, morally corrupt, permanently stoned, disease-carrying threats to Korean feminine virtue and childhood innocence' is in good part due to the propaganda efforts of Anti-English Spectrum, as well, of course, to the acquiescence of a media and government which is too often willing to believe the worst about foreigners - something the people behind the anti-US and anti-LMB protests in 2002 and 2008 understood and exploited very well.matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10296009437690229938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-6122227592151707212009-09-21T12:06:17.267+09:002009-09-21T12:06:17.267+09:00i would say, if ever there was a good time to make...i would say, if ever there was a good time to make a case against a group like that, it would be now, with the first effects of the new anti-racism legislation being seen. it seems like a perfect opportunity to finally raise this as an issue. it seems to me that the biggest problem isn't that discrimination / xenophobia / racism are particularly serious problems here, or at least not a lot worse than other places, but instead that most koreans don't recognize them as problems at all, in others and even in themselves.andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419810829676839127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-4631992615835179512009-09-21T10:38:33.289+09:002009-09-21T10:38:33.289+09:00Erik, I think you're right that that demonstra...Erik, I think you're right that that demonstrates their xenophobic intent. <br /><br />At the same time, though, I think it is also evidence of puffing up their résumé. Commander Bell's actions were how many years after AES got started? Hardly clear cause-and-effect, especially since USFK has other reasons for putting areas off limits, including wide availability of illegal drugs, which is a problem among Koreans in Hongdae as well.kushibohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10306033998028548550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-84730003437998002772009-09-21T10:32:06.186+09:002009-09-21T10:32:06.186+09:00I think the groups xenophobia is best demonstrated...I think the groups xenophobia is best demonstrated by the accomplishment from February 2007: "After our cafe’s broadcast went out on the atrocious behaviors of foreigners at Hongdae clubs, Commander Bell’s U.S. forces in Korea were completely prohibited from entering Hongdae clubs."<br /><br />These guys don't care if their targets are English teachers, factory workers, business executives or soldiers. All they want is to make sure that non-Korean men don't touch Korean women.Erikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03782545291020072036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-51884606006224253992009-09-20T22:16:50.524+09:002009-09-20T22:16:50.524+09:00A fortiori: You need to get a list of the publicly...A fortiori: You need to get a list of the publicly reported crimes that Korean teachers and Korean men do every day and, as Luther did, go and nail it to some great public door and say "Here we stand. Foreign teachers do not rape and murder little girls. These worst crimes are all your own bloody work!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-38671909829404510722009-09-20T22:00:21.078+09:002009-09-20T22:00:21.078+09:00You need some good photographs of this pathetic Pi...You need some good photographs of this pathetic Pink Panther so anyone can recognize the sad man watching from his hidy hole. Stick his mug on mugs, T-shirts, dartboards, clownsuits. And ask him about the Korean Taekwondo teacher put away recently for raping a couple of his 10 year old students. Foreign teachers are just not in the same league as these Korean guys. What about the drunken Korean who shot dead a young student recently? He had bumped the boy with his car and was afraid of losing his licence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-85759792650071038342009-09-20T20:02:33.442+09:002009-09-20T20:02:33.442+09:00I think if Lee Eun-ung only knew that Kushibo is t...I think if Lee Eun-ung only knew that Kushibo is the real-life love-child of Max Fischer and Tracy Flick, he would stop all his silliness before it's too late.King Baeksuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15106210206814275410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-675672544993249232009-09-20T17:56:50.430+09:002009-09-20T17:56:50.430+09:00the more i read about english teachers in korea th...the more i read about english teachers in korea the more i'm thinking: what on earth (transl.: what the fuck)am i doing here??? in other countries people are actually serious about ENGLISH?? god help me please for i knew not what i did when i came hereAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-1881854855215107452009-09-20T04:20:56.786+09:002009-09-20T04:20:56.786+09:00Abandon discriminatory HIV policy
"This grou...<a href="http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/06/23/200906230080.asp" rel="nofollow">Abandon discriminatory HIV policy</a><br /><br />"This group presented itself as a collection of 'concerned citizens' working tirelessly for the good of society. <b>In reality, the group has little concern for or connection with Korean society.</b> Instead, it represents a grotesque combination of xenophobia, racism and misogyny that is as likely to attack Korean women as it is foreign men who teach English."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-63294883962309873282009-09-20T03:02:21.531+09:002009-09-20T03:02:21.531+09:00Melissa wrote:
I think they might have a lot of su...Melissa wrote:<br /><b>I think they might have a lot of support within the general population but at the end of the day NOT enough to affect poicy in a big way.</b> <br /><br />I think at the end of the day they might be a bit like the Minutemen in California (and in other border states with Mexico). <br /><br />They may share, for example, a commonly held view with the general public, but if a lot of public knew what they were doing specifically, their support would erode because it would be going too far. <br /><br />I think a lot of South Koreans are concerned about people coming in with fake degrees, pedophiles in the school system, people taking drugs, people earning money not because of teaching skills or training but just because they can speak English, etc. Heck, more than a few English teachers themselves share some or all of these concerns. <br /><br />But a lot of South Korean nationals would be taken aback by the tactics used by Mr Lee of AES. Spying, stalking, tracking, etc., are not things most South Koreans are fond of, especially since they are so reminiscent about recent past regimes.<br /><br />I think where the K-blogs (collectively) have gone wrong with this issue is that they focus so much on Korean media articles about English teachers while providing very little focus about the articles about native Korean teachers. The Korean press has been hammering Korean teachers as an inept, corrupt, abusive, lecherous lot for at least the past decade. Basically for their failure to live up to their rarefied status as teachers. And NSETs, essentially, have walked into that. <br /><br />Drug use is something that most Koreans are extremely uneasy about. Stories about meth use (among Koreans) are common, and the stories about celebrities and NSETs smoking pot are part of that as well.<br /><br />So Mr Lee shares their concerns and exploits them. Many people will see through his schemes and start to recognize that his campaign is xenophobic and creepy, and it goes beyond their own desire just to have good teachers with clean values, that he is driven by a hatred of foreign people and they are not ("the Koreans hate us" meme is a toxic exercise in self-destruction that does not reflect most Koreans' thinking at all).<br /><br />Okay, I'm done.kushibohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10306033998028548550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-90982569307384511042009-09-20T02:44:54.321+09:002009-09-20T02:44:54.321+09:00Melissa wrote:
But, it's weird, I always feel ...Melissa wrote:<br /><b>But, it's weird, I always feel that everybody knows everybody and I'm just sitting in a little hut somewhere trying to decode all the stuff that goes on the comments sections. Lol. ^^</b> <br /><br />Colonel Fernandez is a man who supposedly has been providing fake degrees for people to use to get work, about whom there was considerable outrage. You can read more about that <a href="http://kushibo.blogspot.com/2009/07/one-teacher-is-not-all-teachers.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. There has been some speculation that his blog is fake and that he is not in South Korea at all (see comments section of above link). I am not yet entirely convinced of that claim but <a href="http://kushibo.blogspot.com/2009/07/one-teacher-is-not-all-teachers.html?showComment=1247259625491#c6682149949226312586" rel="nofollow">Colonel Fernandez's agreement</a> to meet me this summer when I was in Seoul so that matter could be put to rest went nowhere.<br /><br /><b>And, next, what's wrong with being the "man behind Psychedelic Kimchi"? Am I the only real person who likes that blog? Did I miss something?</b> <br /><br />Oh, I didn't mean to imply there was anything wrong with William George. By specifically mentioning his blog, I was suggesting that the owner of such a well-known blog might also be a long-timer who. And, to use his own words, perhaps he could join us in trying to do something "that doesn't involve sitting around an Itaewon bar and complaining about the job." <br /><br />WORD VERIFICATION: biblen<br /><br />Because Bibles A through M sucked!kushibohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10306033998028548550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-42595069469639944612009-09-19T19:38:56.141+09:002009-09-19T19:38:56.141+09:00I'm so confused about some of these comments! ...I'm so confused about some of these comments! I mean, this topic is something I'm really interested in personally (and academically): I've been in Korea for 10 or 11 years and I've been blogging for almost half of that time. But, it's weird, I always feel that everybody knows everybody and I'm just sitting in a little hut somewhere trying to decode all the stuff that goes on the comments sections. Lol. ^^<br /><br />So enlighten me, please. Who is <br />Colonel Fernandez and why can't he spell? Is it a joke? And, next, what's wrong with being the "man behind Psychedelic Kimchi"? Am I the only real person who likes that blog? Did I miss something?<br /><br />At any rate, I agree with Kushibo who said they (the AES) "... may have some influence, though my contention is that they may not be as influential as the K-blogs generally have made them out to be". I think they might have a lot of support within the general population but at the end of the day NOT enough to affect poicy in a big way. Korea has no plans to make English <i>less</i> important, and for all the talk about "English in English" and getting Korean teachers to do what foreigners do now, the truth is that Korean teachers aren't ready - or willing or paid enough - to take over those jobs. <br /><br />That's just my 2 cents. Cheers~Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-10105712655035614242009-09-19T14:15:55.978+09:002009-09-19T14:15:55.978+09:00HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thank you Anti English Spec...HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thank you Anti English Spectrum. Thank you. You've made it all possible. Those are my degrees. That is my friend that made the video, and that event in Hongdae, lets just say I threw in the wet tshirt contest. FULL CIRCLE. Now, just to give you a taste, just so you know that we are legit. We've been making videos for a while, and were actors in Korea, heres a clip that we made on the streets of Seoul in an earlier post "Cultural Interaction". Does that guy look familiar?Colonel Fernandezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14409456398883199235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-9814200376879123972009-09-19T13:40:49.799+09:002009-09-19T13:40:49.799+09:00Well, looks like this have come full circle. My wo...Well, looks like this have come full circle. My work here is done, and I can wrap it up and continue what Im doing back in Canada.<br />Thanks boys for all the help in getting everyone all worked up. All the comments, and thoughts on whether or not my site was a real site. Well it is, and its not set up by that jerk off that runs anti english spectrum. Cant wait to soak in all this material, then expose all the Koreans working illegally in Canada.Colonel Fernandezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14409456398883199235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-82000811198751875272009-09-19T12:53:23.693+09:002009-09-19T12:53:23.693+09:00Anonymous, you make a valid point about libel laws...Anonymous, you make a valid point about libel laws, and it's something I have considered while making my proposal. This is one of the things I plan to address when I contact the KNHRC. One would hope there would be some "whistleblower" protection, but the accuser should make sure that what they're saying is provable. <br /><br />And that's one reason why I referred to making a concise and <i>dispassionate</i> list of grievances. On the blogs there are a lot of things said about this Mr Lee — about his sexuality or sanity or what have you — that would absolutely not belong in some list. The list of grievances has to be factual and provable. <br /><br />At any rate, although I'm in Hawaii, I also am a property-owning resident of Seoul with a ROK visa and a ROK job, so I'm as vulnerable as anyone else blogging from Korea.<br /><br />I might be in an easier position to influence the creation of such a site run wholly and independently by someone else. <br /><br />For now I'd like to get working on that list of grievances that would constitute illegal behavior and/or hate crimes.kushibohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10306033998028548550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-26067049253689727782009-09-19T12:48:56.068+09:002009-09-19T12:48:56.068+09:00Anon again.
Before you start piling on and saying...Anon again.<br /><br />Before you start piling on and saying, "You first", I live in Seoul and have to deal with local libel laws. That is why I suggest the Americans do this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-16762888477179135642009-09-19T12:40:43.490+09:002009-09-19T12:40:43.490+09:00Kushibo, you're in Hawaii. Start an anti Anti...Kushibo, you're in Hawaii. Start an anti Anti-English Spectrum website using his words and showing how it's a hate group. Show how that fellow stalks people. Publicise the AES site as a hate group. Flood the Korean news sites with links to your site.<br /><br />If you were here in Seoul, he could shut you down for libel. He can't get you for libel under US laws. (Remember the Korean who wanted to sue Jay Leno?)<br /><br />(This goes for anyone living in the US, really. I just remember that Kushibo lives there. Make up anti-AES sites and publicise the hell out of them. Just make sure that the information you use comes from his site, so he can't sue.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-23872602721017449352009-09-19T11:45:55.302+09:002009-09-19T11:45:55.302+09:00I read most of articles linked in Korean. I see it...I read most of articles linked in Korean. I see it's a warning about spoiled desire of human beings. Who can we blame on at this point of time that a great number of people go to the devil?Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877130571210618365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-3064910009235997672009-09-19T09:36:36.640+09:002009-09-19T09:36:36.640+09:00ROK Hound wrote:
I don't know, in any case, it...ROK Hound wrote:<br /><b>I don't know, in any case, it all has to come around to whitey sticking his wick in Korean "virgin" punnany, and how he doesn't like it.</b> <br /><br />Dealing with this separately, and I apologize in advance for seeming to pick on you about this, ROK Hound, but I've never liked the idea of using "whitey" as a stand-in for the archetypal foreigner in Korea, or even as the archetypal Anglophone in Korea. <br /><br />With as many kyopo as there are in South Korea, I'm not even sure if Whites make up the majority of English-speaking foreign nationals, but even if they do, White are not that particularly representative of the group, and they certainly don't receive worse treatment than Blacks as a whole or even Hispanics. Kyopo receive a special brand of crap that Whites would not have to go through. Other English-speaking Asians receive some of that as well.<br /><br />Sorry, it's just a pet peeve of mine.<br /><br />WORD VERIFICATION: red ammokushibohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10306033998028548550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-34654602849896806652009-09-19T09:36:12.092+09:002009-09-19T09:36:12.092+09:00This comment has been removed by the author.kushibohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10306033998028548550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-37442440456435180822009-09-19T09:32:51.297+09:002009-09-19T09:32:51.297+09:00Yes, ROK Hound, where to begin is a big question. ...Yes, ROK Hound, where to begin is a big question. Well, with all the discussion of the AES guy on the K-blogs, I think it already has begun. In fact, I think that step has nearly been saturated. <br /><br />I really do think that the KNHRC commission is a good place to go for the next step. They are set up to deal with such things, sort of, they are apparently sympathetic to such issues, especially when they come from foreign nationals and naturalized citizens, and they get the press's attention. <br /><br />Whether the stalking is illegal must be determined, particularly if he is stalking people initially based on no evidence except that they are White or other foreign residents. That would seem to be a more likely violation of law (but I don't know for sure), possibly constituting a hate crime. <br /><br />After I get done with a certain big project due this weekend, I may contact someone at the KNHRC just to see if they can point in the right direction or offer advice. If someone knows of any particular person good to talk with over there, I'd appreciate the suggestion. <br /><br />Frankly, I don't like the idea of staking this guy out. Playing dirty with people who play dirty is not a good way to go, especially if you're trying to make a case in the public eye. If <i>he</i> is acting egregiously in his invasions of others' privacy, why would it be okay to invade his? That's a double standard that I don't think should be applied. <br /><br />I think it is a distinct possibly, as you suggest, that he may be making shit up. I mean, he says English teachers went to him for help, which is laughable (though not impossible), so what else is he exaggerating or distorting? <br /><br />I think his picture of the business card instead of one of those "shaking hands and smiling at the camera" poses is a telling sign. He has talked with some of these people, but maybe they think he's a nuisance to. If someone called my office 200 times to tell me something, I might start finding it annoying rather than useful.<br /><br />And like you say, if he's exaggerating or distorting, his goal is either self-aggrandizement so that his group seems more important, and/or he is trying to whip up anti-foreign sentiment. The latter, it would seem, makes for a nice hate crime.kushibohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10306033998028548550noreply@blogger.com