tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post6286619816103798237..comments2024-02-23T23:53:54.842+09:00Comments on Gusts Of Popular Feeling: Predators and Sex Objects: Media portrayals of foreign male and female teachersmatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296009437690229938noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-15302620358840328922010-12-25T20:37:29.626+09:002010-12-25T20:37:29.626+09:00Great article!
Would love to see how this ties in...Great article!<br /><br />Would love to see how this ties into how Western media portrays Asian men and women.<br /><br />For example, the women are often only paired with non-Asian men while the Asian men are often wimpy and asexual.<br /><br />I guess this is what the majority character likes to portray against the "other."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-3965904504530143952009-05-02T16:29:00.000+09:002009-05-02T16:29:00.000+09:00Matt - this is excellent research.
The view of t...Matt - this is excellent research. <br /><br />The view of the "foreign English teacher" has shifted in the Korean public consciousness from being a respected and distant figure (the Confucian default) to an exotic, sexualized (and approachable - thus the danger) "entertainer/consort" of sorts. <br /><br />I see the law trying to keep pace with this shift in the E-2 visa policy, especially the HIV test.<br /><br />Have you seen the Lady Kyunghyang (women's mag) article on dating foreigners? There was a poll taken by XY in Love and the Lady K where they asked Koreans (men & women) how they tried to hook up with foreigners for sexual encounters. <br /><br />The number one answer (120+) was trying to meet English teachers through language hogwans. Respondents were about 6 times more likely to attempt a hook-up at a hogwan than at a Hongdae nightclub (20). (Clubs where E-6 type workers would be found weren’t even mentioned.)<br /><br />The law sees sexualized foreigners as a dangerous public health risk. <br /><br />Korea's "Prevention of AIDS Act" (No. 7451, March 31, 2005) requires ‘risky long-term stay foreigners’ to receive HIV tests before visas will be issued. Foreign English teachers are not defined as one of these risky types of foreigners under this Act. (The E-2 visa ad hoc policy memo fills the gap though, I would argue). <br /><br />So who are the risky ones? A separate ordinance of the AIDS Prevention Act defines them as follows: “Those who enter the country with the goal of<br />sojourning for 91 days or more . . . to engage in performance entertainment/show business, sports and other entertainment-related businesses or activities in order to make a profit . . ."<br /><br />(The new E-2 visa, an E-6 visa for men?)<br /><br />Again, I'd argue that in the current Korean consciousness the foreign English teacher falls squarely in the "other entertainment-related business" category. Thus, the E-2 visa HIV test is less of an aberration than it seems. It really has very little to do with the goal of protecting children as it claims. I'd suggest that, just like the de jure E-6 visa foreign "merry-maker" already covered under this Act, the E-2 visa English teacher has been identified as a de facto foreign "merry-maker" that the law needs to protect the public against.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-35878341476600977552009-05-02T15:59:00.000+09:002009-05-02T15:59:00.000+09:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-84224378913247207582009-03-23T22:16:00.000+09:002009-03-23T22:16:00.000+09:00as long as english teachers are teaching trash sla...as long as english teachers are teaching trash slang like this in Japan <BR/>http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/vermilion-pleasure-nights-naughty-one-point-english-lessons/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-52683865381116018772009-03-16T20:13:00.000+09:002009-03-16T20:13:00.000+09:00It's not that foreigners are viewed as the only on...It's not that foreigners are viewed as the only ones committing sexual misdeeds, (as the panty-stealing, AIDS-spreading taxi driver shows us), it's that Koreans can't stand having their citizens sexually abused - unless it's by other Korean citizens. I suppose it's because only a Korean can sexually abuse another Korean with "JEONG"! <BR/>Who is worse, a guy who molests some young girls and puts their pics online or a family member, (or three), who REPEATEDLY molest their mentally disabled, (defenceless), granddaughter/niece? OR the judge who releases the poor girl back into their custody to be molested again? <BR/>The relative ho-hum attitude of Koreans in the second case when compared to the moral outrage that has lead to new visa laws, cameras being installed in hagwons and other places where foreigners teach, lessons on what to do if a foreign teacher touches you incorrectly, the beginning, (and likely not the end), of false accusations against foreign teachers and a palpable re-invigoration of anti-foreigner sentiment has exactly nothing to do with sex or the power dynamics associated with rape or sexual molestation. It's about racism/ignorance. And there is little urgency shown in changing the mass brain stamping procedure that passes for education in this country that is the source of both the sexual attitudes and the portrayals of foreign male and female teachers.Dave MacCannellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05956205814897536146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-76941463454485856912009-03-14T16:49:00.000+09:002009-03-14T16:49:00.000+09:00The funniest part of "Please Teach me English" is ...The funniest part of "Please Teach me English" is when Young-ju/Lee Na-young goes to the countryside to visit her grandparents, along with her Korean classmates and some of Cathy's expat friends. When she introduces everyone to her grandparents, she says, "These are my classmates, and the foreigners just came along." Translation: These undifferentiated "foreigners" are just here to provide some exotic background scenery, so who cares where they're from, what their jobs are, etc.?<BR/><BR/>Also not very believable that Cathy would be able to speak in and understand complex Korean sentences, but not know the difference between panmal and chondaemal. And when she finally is taught the polite verb ending, she pronounces it "you" for the rest of the movie, instead of "yo," just so that the filmmakers could make that stupid "I love you" pun/scene you reference in your post.<BR/><BR/>Hey, it's nice to be plot devices, rather than real characters or people! Thank you so much!King Baeksuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15106210206814275410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-76333972228661155232009-03-14T15:26:00.000+09:002009-03-14T15:26:00.000+09:00Thanks for the stastics (although I'm pretty sure ...Thanks for the stastics (although I'm pretty sure a large number of the female migrant workers and many illegal, and therefore unrecorded, immigrants are also working in the sex industry). The research you put into your posts is very helpful. I just wanted to make sure that we English teachers remember that we are not the only (or even halfway to a majority of) the foreigners living and working in Korea. :-)<BR/><BR/>In fact, the injustices we suffer at the hands of the Korean media and institutions are quite negligible compared to other immigrants here. Not that we should excuse any of it, but certainly our awareness of (and sympathy for) the plights of all immigrants in Korea can help us move in the right direction regarding social changes here.<BR/><BR/>Thanks again!Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03708273691893291730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-56472705580295559672009-03-14T04:35:00.000+09:002009-03-14T04:35:00.000+09:00Diana:I wasn't ignoring migrant workers; this post...Diana:<BR/>I wasn't ignoring migrant workers; this post was about perceptions of western foreign teachers (even if Djamilya isn't quite a foreign teacher, she is perceived as a western (or Russian-esque) female). As for "MOST foreign women living in Korea are prostitutes or mail-order brides from China and Southeast Asia," I wondered if this was true. <A HREF="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_lxap4y0S1as/SbqsTwS4oNI/AAAAAAAAERU/2gdkWdgb-As/s1600-h/2008+07+foreign+residents+in+korea.jpg" REL="nofollow">The numbers</A> (from <A HREF="http://www.icgmd.info/sessions/session_1_4/pps_kim_misun.pps" REL="nofollow">here</A>)don't support this. The total number of foreign women (as of July 2008) in Korea is 408,000. Of this number, 136,000 are laborers (E9 visas), 89,000 are marriage migrants, 26,000 are students, 52,000 are naturalized citizens (still considered foreigners - lovely), and 75,000 are 'other.' I take other to include both women on E2 and E6 visas (E6 being the 'entertainer visa, who seem to be mostly from the Philippines), among others. Prostitutes would mostly fall under E6 visas (or so I believe) and <A HREF="http://www.humanrights.go.kr/english/activities/view_01.jsp?seqid=716&board_id=Press%20Releases" REL="nofollow">this article</A> says about 2,500 to 3,000 women come on this visa every year (I don't know how long it lasts for). If you were to guess, say, 25,000 women were on that visa, and added that to 89,000 marriage migrants, you'd still have only 115,000 out of 408,000 foreign women being either marriage migrants or prostitutes - which is certainly not 'most' (even if it is a lot).<BR/><BR/>nb:<BR/>I didn't have a chance to look at your blog til now. I didn't spend a week researching and writing this to have it used as a forum for promoting stories of two dollar bjs or suggestions that all Koreans should follow <A HREF="http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/03/boys-over-flowers-actress-jang-ja-yeon.html?showComment=1236586260000#c6027806286701644710" REL="nofollow">Jang Ja-yeon's path</A>. <A HREF="http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/08/22/bravo-foxtrot-son-of-english-spectrum/" REL="nofollow">This story</A> might be worth looking at, as it's essentially what the last two commenters were referring to.matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10296009437690229938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-63925892461862061752009-03-14T00:34:00.000+09:002009-03-14T00:34:00.000+09:00I agree with scott. I'm not identifying myself be...I agree with scott. I'm not identifying myself because I don't want NB or his buddies trolling on my site, but frankly, take a look at NB's site, Matt, and decide whether you even want him pimping his blog on your site. Just allowing him to promote himself on your comment board damages your credibility when it looks to me like the guy is basically setting out to have the next foreign teacher scandal named after himself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-85620385889993042832009-03-13T19:23:00.000+09:002009-03-13T19:23:00.000+09:00nb, what do you hope to accomplish with your blog,...nb, what do you hope to accomplish with your blog, apart from looking like a jackass and making life difficult for the rest of us here?King Baeksuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15106210206814275410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-2437887603641662262009-03-13T18:47:00.000+09:002009-03-13T18:47:00.000+09:00Foreigner Joy:You're welcome. Thanks for asking th...Foreigner Joy:<BR/>You're welcome. Thanks for asking that question in the first place!<BR/><BR/>Brian:<BR/>I found Sexy Mong using Emule - it's often good for tracking shows down. Oh, and I'll email you close-ups of the actors - I took screenshots of them with you in mind.<BR/><BR/>nb: <BR/>What's interesting is if you switched your story around and it was a male teacher having a relationship with a student, it'd get a rather different response.<BR/><BR/>Jroc:<BR/>I don't know if there have been any articles by the Korean media looking at the effect of such portrayals on English teachers. I suspect there have been migrant workers, but have doubts about westerners. Note how much effort it took by Winter's fans to get the local media to report on her story. Anyways, that's something to look into.<BR/><BR/>I'll reply to Diana in a bit.matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10296009437690229938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-5455526590386149992009-03-13T14:06:00.000+09:002009-03-13T14:06:00.000+09:00The Korean man who can pull a good looking western...The Korean man who can pull a good looking western woman in Korea is the envy of the town. I knew a rather sexy young american woman fresh out of college who was working at a university that I worked at. I taught the intermediate class and she taught the beginner class. One day, her name came up in class.<BR/>"I don't like her," a Korean guy stated.<BR/>"Why not," I said.<BR/>"She is a slut."<BR/>"Why do you say that?"<BR/>"She went out with her class on the first night of classes and slept with one of the students."<BR/>"Really? How do you know?"<BR/>"He told me. First she licked him then he licked her, then they had sex (like this) and then like (that).<BR/>The worst part about the whole thing was that every student knew about it. And he was still dating her. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. But he told everything to the other students and he was admired for it. I write a lot about sex on my blog, but I don't share details of my exploits (in a not anonymous way) like I am talking to the bros after I fingerbanged a cheerleader when I was a sofomore (sp).nbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11887296267150523352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-33250801461891929902009-03-13T11:46:00.000+09:002009-03-13T11:46:00.000+09:00Thank you for this post.Overall, you highlight som...Thank you for this post.<BR/><BR/>Overall, you highlight some of the main problems of oversexualization of foreign women in the Korean media well. However, your comments are a bit one-sided if you consider that MOST foreign women living in Korea are prostitutes or mail-order brides from China and Southeast Asia (just like your foreigner bias about men ignored the majority of male immigrants who are laborers from South/Southeast Asia and China). Unfortunately these groups are mostly just ignored by mainstream Korean media because their presence in the country is considered an embarassment.<BR/><BR/>Also, Winter's story of being denied admittance to a hospital is not just disturbing because they were treating her like a prostitute, but because a medical institution would think treating a prostitute like that is somehow acceptable. In case anyone is unclear on this, it is NOT acceptable to demand extra money or favors from prostitutes in exchange for proper medical treatment.Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03708273691893291730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-80605910745877480282009-03-13T10:45:00.000+09:002009-03-13T10:45:00.000+09:00The media portraying foreigner women/men is very o...The media portraying foreigner women/men is very one sided, but the fact that authorities can turn their eye to such incidents involving the sexual assault of foreign women is absolutely disturbing. <BR/><BR/>The actors/actresses who agree to portray these characters are just reinforcing these ridiculous stereotypes. Its all really sad.<BR/><BR/>Have there been any articles published in Korean media about how these portrayals are making things worse?Jrochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10399889392127854769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-50787188781196141352009-03-13T10:02:00.001+09:002009-03-13T10:02:00.001+09:00Very nice work, as usual! You could expand this i...Very nice work, as usual! <BR/><BR/>You could expand this into several volumes, such as newspapers reporting on the sexual exploits of foreigners, while their photo galleries are filled with bikini models.<BR/><BR/>I'm also curious where you found the episode of Sexy Mong?Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07149708954524602455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-24860385133538663122009-03-13T10:02:00.000+09:002009-03-13T10:02:00.000+09:00I want to add that I realize now that other blogge...I want to add that I realize now that other bloggers have talked about the portrayal of foreign female teachers here. This certainly helps spread awareness amongst our community.JIWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14828166111322700393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-14368801423365608762009-03-13T09:37:00.000+09:002009-03-13T09:37:00.000+09:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.nbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11887296267150523352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-61027301727902751952009-03-13T09:35:00.000+09:002009-03-13T09:35:00.000+09:00Thank you for taking the time to answer my inquiry...Thank you for taking the time to answer my inquiry. Your examination is right on target with what my thoughts were as to how foreign women are portrayed in the media here. <BR/><BR/>I guess I could say that the male and female portrayals are giving us real-life foreigners no justice. But when I see some female foreigners on TV programs who use thier sex appeal purposely I do get upset. <BR/><BR/>The show "Talk With Beauties" is so hard to watch. They pool all these foreign women to one side and doll them up for the cameras. <BR/><BR/>Sigh<BR/><BR/>Although annoying the image of an exotic foreign woman is not surprising. Considering how the west tends to exoticize Asian women. <BR/><BR/>Anyways thank you again!JIWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14828166111322700393noreply@blogger.com