The Ministry of Justice said Thursday that it will submit a bill to the National Assembly by July to ban dual-citizenship holders here from enjoying the same advantages as foreigners, including admissions to foreign schools.
The move is aimed at cracking down on dual-citizenship holders who take less legal responsibility and enjoy more privileges, the ministry said.
On the other hand, the minister of education just put forth a proposal to make it easier for Koreans to study at schools on US army bases.
11 comments:
This is actually nothing particularly new. Already many of these schools have rules that create a hierarchy of who can get in. Essentially priority based on type of foreignness.
Such "anchor babies" (and I would say probably the majority of them hold foreign citizenship because their parents were legitimately in some other country at the time of their birth or they are the child of kyopos with foreign citizenship) were already at the bottom of the list.
@Kushibo:
Seoul Foreign School has a long waiting list and thus a strict admission policy that requires not only the student but at least one parent to hold foreign citizenship. This is not because SFS doesn't like Koreans. This is because the waiting list historically has been very long, and the admission policy seeks to give priority to children least likely to speak Korean fluently enough to learn in Korean schools, most of which have no special programs for non-native speakers.
SFS also limits the number of students with limited English proficiency and the number and type of special education student. Providing special services like ESOL or SPED require hiring more teachers and assistants, whose salaries are paid for through tuition.
A few of the Korean children enrolled at the international school where I taught in China appeared to have learning disabilities. They did poorly in Korean schools, so their parents enrolled them in our school as an alternative. We did not have the resources to diagnose or provide services to students with special needs other than ESOL. These kids had an awful time trying to learn math, science, social studies, and reading in English.
My direct experience indicates there's more to it than that. Without getting into details, there is the case of a family friend with whom I went to college. She immigrated from Korea to the US as teen and has been a US citizen about half her life. She married a ROK national she met in the US and she resettled here. Their child was born in California; I'm not sure if the child holds ROK citizenship, but I'm certain holds US citizenship.
The child's primary language is English, though could function (awkwardly) in Korean. A certain foreign school told my friend that she was the lowest priority, and therefore unlikely to get in, because the foreign parent was not the breadwinner (and by default, the husband is the breadwinner in their calculation). The only possibility of getting in was if the child demonstrated clear command of English, but after a minute or so with the then-six-year-old was determined to clearly be an inadequate ESL student. That bogus result was predetermined.
I know through this family friend's ajumma cohort that her child's case is not atypical. I can't be any more specific than this in an open forum.
I understand why your friend would wish for her child to receive a high quality education at SFS. However, according to the information you provided, the father is a ROK national, and the family has resettled here. I can see why the child would be a low priority for SFS. If SFS is receiving applications from a large number of cases like your friend's and cannot accomodate those children, it would be better for the school to revise its admissions policies rather than use bogus English proficiency tests to screen out candidates.
Sonagi, it appears that you're cherry-picking information to justify what is at the very least a highly sexist policy that was exacerbated by bogus testing.
I would also like to point out that I was describing my friend's child's to demonstrate that even having "at least one parent [holding] foreign citizenship" is not always enough.
More on the sexist policy, though. Had my friend been a foreign male and the ROK national been a female, their child would have been higher on the priority. The inherent sexism — which may in fact be in violation of Korean law — is in automatic classification of the husband as the breadwinner.
As for whether or not they "resettled," that is arguable. As I said, the friend resettled upon marriage, but as time went on, she was finding herself spending almost half her time in the US, which is one reason her child happened to be born there, with the greater support she gets from her own family in the US. She also spent three or four years living in Hong Kong after their marriage because of her husband's work, which undermines the idea that she has completely resettled in Seoul.
And even if she were more clearly "resettled" in Korea, isn't there an element of settlement to most anybody who is setting up a household in Korea and sending their children to school there? What is the determination of "settled" and "resettled" versus "temporary stay"? Among the people I'm thinking of, none of them plan to have their kids attend Korean university, and many plan to eventually retire in the United States or Canada. They are in Korea only for work-related reasons.
I'm glad you are at least considering the possibility that their testing process is bogus, at least in this child's case (and others, we suspect).
I despise the elitism of some of the foreign schools, especially since it's coupled with the national and municipal governments thinking that these overpriced institutions satisfy the needs of the non-Korean-speaking youth population.
When I eventually have kids, if I am living in Korea, I will start my own school using a home-schooling educational system, drawing in the kids of E2 and E1 visa holders (and F's not making a lot of money).
That is a nice idea, kushibo, but how many E-2 and E-1 visa holders are planning on staying in Korea to raise their kids. I never met any, regardless of whether or not the mother (usually) was Korean. Foreigners married to other foreigners have kids (sometimes) and then leave Korea. Foreigners married to Koreans leave Korea, too. There may be some exceptions, of course, but it seems that Koreans still view foreigners as meal tickets out of Korea and foreign couples never truly want to raise kids there. F visa holders aggravate the hell out of me, so I just won't go there. I am currently teaching little Korean kids in Canada, and most of them were born in Guam or Saipan. Some of them are so young that they actually think they are in America already. Ha. Koreans love to fly the flag, but they sure love to leave to Korea. I did, too.
@Kushibo:
You yourself stated that the family had "resettled" in Seoul without any qualifying statements like the ones cited in your follow-up comment.
I agree with you that distinguishing between male and female foreign passport holders is sexist period. A foreign husband and Korean wife may choose to settle permanently in Korea and thus not be a top priority for a foreign school with limited spaces.
I know from my own teaching experience at an international school in China that the government may put pressure on a school to make room for children whose parents are executives with multinationals. We had to accept a number of Korean children regardless of English proficiency when LG opened a $40 million chemical plant in our city.
You're right, Sonagi. My "cherry-picking" comment may have been harsher than I'd intended, and I (deliberately) didn't give much detail after "resettled."
It was probably not the best word choice, anyway, because it just meant that she set up her household in Seoul after marriage, but then they ended up living in Hong Kong for several years, after which they had lived longer together in the SAR than they had in the ROK. I had not explained that, but her giving birth in California was meant to be a clue to her going back and forth between Seoul and OC.
Ultimately, though, it is sexist to assume that a female US citizen married to a male ROK citizen has settled here permanently when a male US citizen married to a female ROK citizen is likely to leave.
At any rate, my original point was correct: restrictions are not new and there is a hierarchy of foreignness. Other than making that point, sorry if I caused any offense.
Bob wrote:
That is a nice idea, kushibo, but how many E-2 and E-1 visa holders are planning on staying in Korea to raise their kids.
There doesn't have to be many. In fact, I'm trying to set up a model so that only a handful of students in a locale are needed, not hundreds or thousands.
To answer your question, there are some. And there would be more if reasonable options were available. Many of the best, most reliable, and most stable teachers eventually leave for reasons such as this.
I never met any, regardless of whether or not the mother (usually) was Korean. Foreigners married to other foreigners have kids (sometimes) and then leave Korea. Foreigners married to Koreans leave Korea, too.
That's right, because the option is not there. You're talking about a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There may be some exceptions, of course, but it seems that Koreans still view foreigners as meal tickets out of Korea and foreign couples never truly want to raise kids there.
Wow, that's harsh. Among "international" couples I know well, both foreign male and foreign female, I don't know any that would be described as a Korean viewing the foreigner as a meal ticket out of Korea. I'm sure there may be some, but that would never enter my mind as a dominant archetype.
F visa holders aggravate the hell out of me, so I just won't go there.
Hmm... sounds like you are the one with the issues. F visas... Do you have a problem with people marrying Koreans? With people deciding to stay in Korea? With kyopos?
I am currently teaching little Korean kids in Canada, and most of them were born in Guam or Saipan. Some of them are so young that they actually think they are in America already. Ha. Koreans love to fly the flag, but they sure love to leave to Korea. I did, too.
Okay, I fail to see what your point is here? You're bitter? You don't like Korean kids? What is it? Are you trying to provide a solution to something or just pooh-pooh the people who are actually trying to make things better?
No offense taken, Kushibo. We were merely having an exchange with some disgreement. Even if you insulted me or called me names, I wouldn't be offended because our words reflect ourselves.
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