"Anti-English Spectrum" brings more bad news to the Chosun Ilbo.

I'm just putting this out there for the benefit of those who can translate it, but on the front page of the Chosun Ilbo website are stories of native speaker English teachers behaving badly. Beneath the headline of "Foreign teachers' dirty hands" is the lead story, news that broke Tuesday on a messageboard that two teachers---one Canadian, one American---at a Seoul hagwon were accused of fondling and sexually harassing a female elementary school student at a previous hagwon. It goes on to discuss the problem of sexual predator foreign teachers, speaking in general about anecdotal evidence of NSET debauchery, but without giving specific evidence or further information about the student or teachers in question. The belief that there are native speaker English teachers in schools today who were dismissed from previous hagwon for sexual misconduct is one we see repeated from time to time, most recently three weeks ago, when the aide for a lawmaker said:

``E-2 visa holders, once caught for taking drugs or sexually harassing children, were often found to be rehired at another school or hagwon,'' said Yeo Jun-sung, an aide for Rep. Choi. ``The proposed bills are to remove these loopholes from the current immigration law.''

Another story atop the page is one we read earlier in the month via Korea Beat, about troublesome native speaker English teachers. One must of course consider the source---an online cafe of hate-mongering netizens called the "Anti-English Spectrum"---though as Matt of Gusts of Popular Feeling has demonstrated, the group apparently has some sway, even contributing language to legislation. Hell, that it finds an audience in major newspapers like the Chosun Ilbo and the Korea Times is evidence enough of its influence.

Take a look around google, around this site, and around the other blogs like Korea Beat and Gusts of Popular Feeling for more of what this group is about. I'll just leave you with a couple of excerpts. A quotation from the internet cafe's manager Lee Eun-ung, in the Korea Times:

``Sometimes we stay up at night tracking and watching foreign nationals. We have even found some foreign teachers that take drugs then teach students at hagwons the following day,'' Lee said. ``We will continue to help police deport these foreign teachers.''

And from an interview with the leader, translated by Korea Beat:

I prepare some policy reports or pursue an illegal foreign lecturer, braving fire and water and working until past midnight. And after my office job I don’t sleep, I feel tired all over. Some of our members collapse from the exhaustion. There are some funny times, like when we report a foreign lecturer to the police for doing drugs at his workplace but the people there actually didn’t realize he was doing drugs. And some of our members have quit their jobs because of the time they spent on the movement.

. . .

We are determined to do this as a sacrifice. Through our sacrifice we can prevent our children being taught English by unqualified lecturers and achieve the deportation of foreigners who commit crimes, and our willing sacrifice is our principled stand. We work harder than anyone knows and feel a keen sense of duty.

* Update: Here's a translation of today's Chosun Ilbo story by Korea Beat.

* Update 2: The Marmot's Hole tells us that the same author put out another hit piece today. Is there nothing that can be done about this crap?

* Update 3: A third piece from this author in as many days.