oday, I would like to talk about this amazing phenomenon that is
taking place in Korea. The South Koreans are spending millions and
billions of
dollars each year in what they call "private education industry". This
includes
tutoring, after-school study groups, foreign language institutes,
all the standardized testing prep schools...it's endless, really.
Most impressive is their unyielding drive to learn English.
This is not new as the trend began even when I was a little boy -
I used to have after-school English lessons with a handful of other kids
in my neighborhood. Thirty years later, it seems like the entire country
is enamored with the need to learn this global language.
The new administration whose term began earlier this year - the MB
Administration
(short for the initial of the current President of Korea - Myung Bahk Lee) -
has really emphasized the importance of learning English for all students
(a la the Singapore model) and has thus taken never-seen-before type
of aggressive initiatives to attract NATIVE SPEAKERS (recent college grads
from the US, Australia, UK, NZ...mostly English speakers) to be
"deplored" throughout every school in Korea (K-12).
This has translated to recent influx of American college grads to pursue
new opportunities in Korea as English teachers. For many, it's not a
full-time gig but
a 15-20 hour/week sort of commitment while learning about and living in
Korea
for 6 to 12 months. Some have made absolute fortunes as bona fide,
professional English instructors at SAT & GRE prep institutes but for
most, it's become a stable source of income/immersion opps., while
exploring career options
in a foreign land and buying time.
As you would agree, life takes its twists and turns in the most
unexpected manner
and probably in the most unexpected place. While I wish this Global
Sport Management Immersion Week class in Korea will provide you with
unforgettable experiences, resourceful networking opportunities, and
hard-to-access insights about the Korean sport industry and culture,
we cannot entirely eliminate the possibility of one of you going back
to that country
as a part-time English teacher in the near future and getting your foot
in the door
in the Asian sport industry at the same time. Nothing is impossible (my old
Nike buddies will cream me for using this Adi tagline :-) and it's that
type of
open, flexible, and fearless mindset that gets people somewhere.
Just as an FYI type of info, I'm sending you these somewhat "safe and
reliable" links
published by the Korean government (God knows there are a lot of rogue
brokers nowadays that
rip off foreign students) organizations for you to take a look at.
When you come back from our trip and you hated the experience, this info
will be
meaningless, but I thought I'd share it with you now just in case.
Enjoy the readings.
http://talk.mest.go.kr/main.jsp?idx=010101
http://www.epik.go.kr/sub-1/link_url.asp?ma_url=sub_1
General info published by the Korean government - some helpful resources
are included
http://www.dynamic-korea.com/index.php
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