[한국에살며] Discriminatory treatment for equal work | Segye Ilbo

Children are disappearing. This year, there are 145 schools nationwide that do not have a single new student, and 140 schools that enroll alone. As the number of students has gradually decreased for 17 years due to the low birth rate, the total number of students in kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools has reached an all-time low. Instead, the number of multicultural students continued to increase, with the number of multicultural students attending elementary and middle schools reaching 168,645, a 5.4% increase from last year. In Seoul alone, there are two schools where the Chinese student population exceeds 50% and two schools where the proportion exceeds 80%. In the case of Seoul Daedong Elementary School located in Yeongdeungpo-gu, all 72 new students in 2018 were Chinese multicultural students.

When multicultural students arrive, some schools and teachers reject them, saying that the workload increases and it becomes difficult to provide guidance, but the reality is that without these students, teachers’ jobs are at risk as schools close or the number of classes decreases. There are teachers who actively support these multicultural students in adjusting to school. These are multicultural language instructors.

Multicultural language instructors from 13 countries are college graduates, highly educated, married immigrants who can freely speak two languages, including Korean and their native language. Multicultural language instructors under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education are assigned to schools with many multicultural students and play a variety of roles. We carry out a variety of tasks that no one can replace, including multicultural understanding education, global citizenship education, bilingual education, Korean language education, native language education, counseling, interpretation and translation, and cultural diversity camps during vacation periods.

Multicultural students experience difficulties in school due to poor Korean skills, cultural differences, and identity confusion. They confide in their multicultural teachers about the difficulties they are unable to share with their parents or homeroom teachers and receive counseling. Multicultural language instructors serve as a psychological source of support and a safety base for multicultural students. It also gives a message of hope, saying, ‘If I work hard, I can become a teacher too.’

However, it turns out that the ironic reality is that multicultural language instructors who preach anti-discrimination are being discriminated against. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education clearly states in its annual multicultural language instructor support plan that this is a temporary project. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education receives applications for multicultural language instructors from schools and organizations every December, and receives applications for multicultural language instructors in January, matches schools and instructors, and makes final assignments. The contract is for one year, and severance pay is settled in February. It appears to be a trick to avoid converting to an indefinite contract without acknowledging the continuity of the multicultural language instructor business.

Salary and other allowances are low compared to those in the same instructor position. As of 2022, the basic salary for type 1 English instructors is 2,308,000 won, but multicultural language instructors cannot escape type 2 even if they do the same work, and receive the minimum wage with a base salary of 1,868,000 won. People should not be dismissed as cheap labor or subject to human rights discrimination simply because they come from a foreign country.

The work of multicultural language instructors is determined at the discretion of the school principal, so many schools that lack understanding of multicultural education require second language classes rather than multicultural education work. Some schools do not have a dime in their budget for multicultural education activities, so in most cases, they spend their own money on producing educational materials or teaching aids. It’s like heading into the ground.

For this reason, 163 people were trained from 2009 to 2012, but only 66 people are currently working due to one-year contracts, minimum wage and employment instability. For the bright future of Korea, which is entering a multicultural society, multicultural language instructors must be treated the same as other instructors to enhance work continuity and professionalism.

Bae Jeong-soon Bilingual Instructor

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