Some families are in denial after U.S. and Korean researchers discover in a Seoul suburb the highest rate of autism ever measured in a general population. The disorder is considered shameful there.
By Jung-yoon Choi and Alan Zarembo, Los Angeles Times
June 8, 2011
Reporting from Ilsan, South Korea, and Los Angeles—
Some simply viewed their children as late bloomers. Others refused to discuss or accept the diagnosis.
But many of the affected parents in Ilsan seemed to at least have an inkling when they were told for the first time that their son or daughter had a disorder that in South Korea had long been seen as shameful.
I’m so glad to see this getting attention, I just hope it is in the Korean media as well.
The article makes it sound like there has been no testing, treatment, and policy for identifying and working with autistic children. This is not correct. There are programs and referral practices in schools already. Teacher education programs are also adding classes on special needs learners that should help to identify children in need.
However, getting the news out to the general public is important. Not just that autism exists, but that they and their children can have better lives if identified and treated early. Not that there is a “cure”, but some interventions can help these children participate more fully in their world.
This is one of those issues that is so deep, culturally, it’s unlikely that it will change significantly in the near future. The education system will change before this does.
It’s easy to blame the families, but to do so ignores the social realities in which they operate. As she says in the end, she found her father weeping in the bathroom reading one of her letters. It is not easy for the families, either.
It’s a sad reality that the government can address in many ways. One of the most important is to support these women with child care and anti-discrimination laws with teeth. Another way, is a public service campaign. It’s amazing how effective these are in Korea.
This is incredibly inconvenient for everyone, not to mention that the requirement for “real-name” is a real censorship issue. I’d also suggest that this requirement is a real impediment for growing Korean internet services outside of Korea.
I will be glad, glad, glad when this terrible policy is reversed.
This is a good, surface-level look at the issue. I like that it’s not just foreign professor’s whining about Korean academia. I too often hear these complaints. Not that there aren’t things to complain about, but it’s often overdone.
Many of these faculty have come to Korea because employment terms are better than what they can get in their home countries. As they say in the article, pay here is comparable to that in the States for starting professors and for established, tenured professors, it might even be better in some majors.
Many faculty, particularly in the field of English Education and related areas, don’t even have doctorates, which means that they likely wouldn’t be able to find any full-time work at universities in the States. With this in mind, a contract, or even tenure-track positions in Korea are quite tempting.
That being said, Korean universities have a lot of work to do to make their international faculty feel more welcome and part of the university community. At the minimum, there should be a dedicated “foreigner wrangler”. Someone to help translate, linguistically and culturally, is essential not only to acclimate a foreign professor to his/her surroundings, but to simply make them a better, more productive faculty member.
I’m a firm believer that Korean language classes should be mandatory for foreign faculty. This should be part of their contract and can be (though not necessarily so) provided by the university. Putting faculty together in these classes is a great way to build a sense of community and to build support networks that might not otherwise grow.
Lastly, I have to state that foreign faculty are beneficial to Korean universities and vice-versa. One of the commenters on the article provides a great justification of the friction experienced by faculty and Korean hosts. The process of globalization is a process of friction between different expectations, habits, and beliefs. This friction slowly wears away at the differences, resulting in the acceptance of some differences and the rejection of others. It is this process that is taking place at most Korean universities now and will continue for the foreseeable future.
South Korea will send about 10,000 outstanding teachers and preliminary teachers on overseas training programs by 2015 to help advance their teaching capabilities, the education ministry said Tuesday.
The ambitious plan is also aimed to broaden job opportunities of teacher aspirants amid the declining employment rate of teachers’ college graduates, the ministry said.
Under the five-year program for supporting advancement of talented teachers, the government plans to send teachers to schools in foreign countries such as the United States, Britain and Canada so they can experience foreign educational systems and teach students there for a year.
Teachers will be able to choose from a broadened list of countries that will include China and Japan, as well as countries in Europe, Southeast Asia and Middle East, the ministry said.
Science and math teachers, in particular, will be given a chance to take courses offered by prominent foreign research institutes such as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it said.
For teachers of vocational high schools, specialized industrial studies ― automobiles in Germany, electronics in Japan, dairy farming in Denmark, flower cultivation in the Netherlands and design in Italy ― are planned.
Students and graduates of teachers’ colleges, part-time teachers and assistant teachers will also have a greater chance to work in foreign countries.(Yonhap)
2015년까지 현직·예비교사 1만명 외국 파견
수업 능력이 탁월한 현직 교사와 교대•사범대 출신의 예비교사를 선발해 외국 학교에서 교편을 잡고 연수도 받을 수 있도록 하는 사업이 올해부터 본격 추진된다.
교육과학기술부는 8일 현직교사 사기 진작과 교대•사범대 졸업생 임용난 해소 대책의 일환으로 2015년까지 총 1만여명의 교사에게 외국파견, 해외연수 등의 기회를 주는 내용의 `우수 교원 해외진출 지원 5개년 계획’을 발표했다.
교과부는 글로벌 시대를 맞아 교사들의 영어 실력 등 국제 역량을 강화할 필요가 있고 갈수록 심각해지는 교대•사범대 졸업생의 낮은 취업률 문제를 해소하기 위해 이 방안을 마련했다고 설명했다.
우선 지난해 시범사업으로 실시됐던 교원 해외진출 지원사업의 규모가 크게 확대된다.
교사들을 일정 기간 외국으로 보내 교육 현장을 체험하고 현지 학교에서 직접 수업할 수 있게 돕는 프로그램이다.
현재 3~6개월인 파견기간을 12개월로 늘리고 파견 대상국도 지난해 영국, 캐나다 두 나라에서 장기적으로 중국, 일본, 유럽연합(EU), 몽골, 동남아, 중동 지역 등으로 다변화할 계획이다.
특히 과학, 수학 교사들은 유럽입자물리연구소(CERN), 미 항공우주국(NASA), 국제이론물리센터(ICTP) 등 저명 연구기관의 연수 기회를 주기로 했다.
국가별로 다른 방학기간을 이용해 외국 교사와 교환 연수를 하는 방안도 추진된다.
우선 올해 우리나라와 미국 뉴욕의 수학•과학 교사 30명씩을 선발해 서로 상대국 학교에서 보조 교사로 활동하면서 현지 교수법을 체험하게 할 계획이다.
마이스터고•특성화고 교사들에게는 자동차(독일), 전자(일본), 낙농(덴마크), 화훼(네덜란드), 디자인(이탈리아) 등 산업 분야별로 특화된 `테마연수’가 실시된다.
교•사대 재학•졸업생, 기간제 교사, 학습 보조교사 등 예비 교사들의 해외 진출 기회도 확대될 전망이다.
올해 30명, 내년 50명 등 2015년까지 250명의 예비교사를 선발해 외국에서 교사 활동을 하거나 현지 교사 자격증을 취득할 수 있도록 지원할 예정이다.
미국, 일본, 중국, 동남아 등 해외에서 교생실습(인턴)을 하도록 하는 한편 재외 한국학교, 외국 교육기관으로 실습을 확대한다.
공적개발원조(ODA) 차원에서 개발도상국에 예비 교원을 파견하는 사업도 검토하기로 했다.
이밖에 교•사대에 글로벌 교원 과정을 설치해 입학단계부터 해외 진출을 목표로 하는 예비교사를 육성하고 `TiE'(Teaching in English) 전문 교육과정을 개설하는 방안도 추진된다.
This actually sounds like a great program. I’ll believe it when I see it, though. Sending people abroad as students is quite easy, as workers not so easy.
I really do like the change in focus that this program has over past programs. Past programs focused on sending teachers abroad simple for teacher education programs. It’s ridiculous to do that then when plenty of qualified teacher training programs exist and can be developed here in Korea.
The focus on the new plan is not just on taking classes, but rather earning practical experience abroad, with a focus on learning alternative methods in a hands on experience. I can’t help but notice that one of the goals is to provide more jobs (really just temporary opportunities) to teacher education students and graduates. This would really be great if participation in this program resulted in job placement in Korean schools, which are not hiring even a small faction of education school graduates.
A young relative of mine in the 6th grade (I don’t think I’ve seen her since she was a toddler) contacted me recently to say that she chose to do a report on South Korea for a class project on countries of the world. She asked her teacher to switch from North Korea to South Korea because she had an uncle/cousin living there (good on her that she knew the difference when many Americans don’t seem to at times).
I was excited to help out and give her my impressions of Korea. I even offered to Skype with her class. I was happily surprised when her teacher showed interest in doing so. We set up a time and I was able to Skype with their class (it was originally the whole school, but 2 snow days killed that plan).
Below are the notes I was working off of. Some useful information in there, not much you can’t get from Wikipedia, mixed in with my own observations/opinions. Let me know what you think.
Notes on Korea for a 6th Grade Audience
The first section is generally about me and my impression of Korea. The other sections strive to answer some of the questions to be answered in their country books.
General Information
I’ve been in Korean off and on since December 1997. I came here to make a little money to support my interest in travel. I started off working at a private language institute (school). These are everywhere in Korea. These schools are primarily for children. Full-time Kindergartens employ many foreign workers, but the majority of people work at schools that teach after school programs for children as well as daytime and late-night classes for adults. There are so many of these schools, because English is very important in Korean society. Korea only has a population of around 50 million and it is a small country (about the size of Illinois). Both of these mean that it is very important to do business globally if a company wants to succeed. And, of course, in order to do global business, one must speak English. Even people who will never have to use English must learn it if they want to succeed in a corporation. It is one of the more important aspects of promotion in many companies. In addition to business reasons, anyone interested in science, technology, and advanced graduate study must learn to read English well. Most publications in these fields are in English.
Later, I taught English at a medical school for 3 years. These students were primarily interested in writing and presentation skills. They were required to publish and present their research as requirements for their jobs and education (mostly MS and PhD students).
I’ve been a professor at a university in northern Seoul for nearly 2 years now. I’m in the English Education Department, which means I teach English Education majors (people who want to be English teachers) in classes such as teaching theories/methods and writing.
What kind of things do you do?
Since I’m a boring old man, I pretty much spend all my time either at work or home. We don’t have a lot of time to do anything. However, you can probably learn most about the similarities and differences between Korea and the States in our boring daily lives.
My son goes to pre-school (Kindergarten starting in March) every day at 9am and usually comes home at either 2pm or 4pm depending on our schedules. Kindergarten is private in Korea (not at public schools) and it usually lasts for two years (ages 5 and 6). It is very similar to Kindergarten in America, though not as aligned to the public school curriculum.
When he comes home, if the weather is nice he’ll play in the parking lot….yes, I said parking lot. Seoul is a city of over 15 million. Most people live either in large apartment complexes (technically they are condos, because they are owned by individuals. 20 story buildings, usually in groups of at least 6, but many in clumps of dozens). These are the best places to live because there are more convenient services and many kids in the same age range (regardless of what age you are). There is a small play area behind the apartment, but it’s not really big enough to ride bikes, so most people in are the parking lot. The kids play the same things that you’d expect kids to play at home: riding bikes, rollerblading, hula hoops, jump ropes, tag, soccer, and so forth.
When we have the chance to go out, we sometimes go to parks. There are a number of public parks in Seoul, but they all require us to travel quite a ways. These are the only places where you actually see grass, so I like to go there as much as possible. A number of these are near the Han River (major river that runs through Seoul…think Mississippi River size). They are always crowded, but they are good places to ride bikes, have picnics, and some have other special events. The playgrounds are also really good in some of them. In the summer time, many of these have fountains (the kind that have water shooting out of the ground…not like pool-type fountain) that children like to play in. On hot days, these are great places to go.
Nearby, there are a number of “playrooms” for kids. There are a variety. The ones that my son used to like have play equipment, which is always a favorite with the kids (). These days, his favorite is this place that’s a large room lined with shelves of Lego-type block sets. He can spend hours in that place…and we like it 🙂
Much of our family time is spent at relatives’ homes. We go to my wife’s parents home quite often. They in a Seoul suburb. Of course, even in the suburbs, most people live in large apartment complexes. Even cheap houses can be around $2 million and are really for the very wealthy. At their house my son plays with his cousins or goes to a large, nearby park. Just like at family gatherings in the States, much revolves around food 🙂
We go out to eat (though not as much as we used to). We always try to find new, interesting places. Most are Korean food places, but there are many kinds of Korean food, so we are always looking for something new. Some of my favorites include grilled pork/beef (galbi in Korean), spicy chicken dishes (dalkgalbi and dalkdoritang), and tofu (I eat a ton of tofu). These are often travel adventures as it seems that nothing is ever nearby. In a city this size, really nothing is ever close. What kind of food do you like the best?
Some of my favorites include:
grilled pork/beef (galbi in Korean – or an example of making a lettuce wrap with galbi ),
spicy chicken dishes (dalkgalbi – and
dalkdoritang – ), and
tofu (I eat a ton of tofu – ).
What do you like the most about living in South Korea?
I really like living in Korea. There are always things that I miss about living in the US, but my Korean experience has been very good. There are a number of things I like about South Korea. In no particular order.
Safety – there are no “bad” neighborhoods in Korea. Violent crime is extremely low. Even theft is quite low. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard of people having lost wallets (other other items) and having them returned with the money still in it.
Public Transportation – The public transit system here is better than ANY city in the States and is likely in the top 3 in the world. The cost and coverage of the network is great. Rides (bus or subway) cost 900 Won (about 80 cents). Buses go everywhere and there are nine main subway lines that criss-cross the city. And, it’s all FAST. This is helped by the rest addition (last 10 years) of bus lines in most parts of the city. Buses cruise along even when traffic is at a standstill. This is particularly important for us because we have never owned a car here. No need to.
People – The Korean people are really amazing in many ways. It can be very difficult for foreigners in Korea to adjust and understand Korean culture, but once they do they tend to love it. Koreans are very emotional. You won’t notice this at first, particularly with the older Koreans because they tend not to smile in the same way that Americans do. However, this is obvious when watching protests, TV, politics, and just hanging out with friends. Friendship is not casual in Korea. This terms has a deep meaning in Korean. When you are friends with a Korean, you have a very dedicated, loyal friend.
Korea Background
Korea has a 5000 year history, as Koreans are fond of saying.This history includes dynasties that divided up the country and other, more unified dynasties that even occupied much of eastern China at one point.That history includes much influence (and control) from China as well as many wars and occupations by the Japanese.
Most recently, the Japanese occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945 (the surrender of the Japanese in WWII).There are still many hard feelings in Korea towards the Japanese, though this has softened considerably in the last 15 years.
The exit of the Japanese left a power vacuum that the USSR and the USA filled.This resulted in splitting the country into North and South (which remains so today).In 1950, the North invaded the South.The UN came to the rescue of the South and evidentially China came to the rescue of the North.At the end of the 3 year war, the dividing line between the countries was essentially the same as before the war.The war isn’t really over, though.Fighting ended with an armistice (agreement to stop fighting), but not a peace treaty.These days, the two countries have an uneasy peace with isolated fighting breaking out on occasion.
Unfortunately, many Americans still envision Korea during wartime.This means that many representations in TV and movies show poor farmers in grass and mud huts plowing fields with an ox.This representation was particularly common after a TV comedy called M.A.S.H. became one of the most popular shows ever in American in the early 1980’s (ask your parents about it if you haven’t seen it 😉
The modern reality of Korea couldn’t be more different.
Korea is a country with a population of around 50 million (about the equivalent of New York and California).Seoul, Korea’s largest city, with about 25 million in the metro area has a population density of 44,775.7 people per sq mile (one of the densest cities in the world) vs. 2,838/sq. mi. NY and 183.4/sq. mi. (Des Moines).We’re kind of packed in here 🙂
Government
The Korean government is a constitutional democracy quite similar to that of the USA, with an executive, legislative, and judicial branch.This is not surprising given the role of the USA in Korea after WWII and that the first president of the country (Syngman Rhee) lived and studied (in exile) in the USA for many years.However, it took many years to form a stable, democratic government.Coups and dictators mark Korea’s modern history.A stable democracy has only really been in place for the last 20 years.
Education (P-12)
Koreans are crazy about education.In fact, they refer to their pursuit of education as a mania (seriously).Korea has some of the highest literacy rates in the world (similar to Iowa) and one of the most educated populous.Competition for jobs is extremely high in Korea and just about the ONLY avenue to a good job is admission to a top university.Therefore, the competition for university admission is extremely high.
Children commonly attend private pre-school/kindergartens from around age 3 to 6.These range from daycare-like facilities to English-only school-prep, costing between $200-$2000/month for standard care.
Elementary school has 6 grades (age 7-12).Elementary school is very similar to school in the US in terms of its focus on foundational reading and arithmetic (very little writing) skills.There is also a focus on ethics, civics, and experiential learning.In addition to school attendance, most Koreans with the means to do so enroll their children in private learning academies for everything from math, Korean, and English to Taekwondo and music.It’s not uncommon for students at your age to be in classes into the evening.
Middle school is when the competition heats up.Middle school has 3 grades, you can think of them as grades 7-9 in the American system.It is not uncommon for a Korean middle school student to go to classes before school starts, after school, Saturday classes, and additional classes at private academies for 3, 4, or more hours a day.As I said, this is when the competition heats up.Top students can apply to attend special high schools that will give them an edge in attending the best schools.
High school has 3 grades, these are similar to grades 10-12 in an American high school.If you thought that middle school students studied a lot, you would be shocked by the average high school student’s schedule.It is common for high school students to put in 18 hour days.They must be at classes (before school classes) at around 6-7am.They then have school until around 3pm.They then have after school classes (either at the school or with tutors or at private academies) until they get home around 12am.High school is one of the most stressful times in a Korean’s life.
At the end of high school, Korea students take the KSATs (like the SATs in America).Their score on the KSAT determines which school they will go to.Only the top percentage of students will be able to enter one of the three top universities.This is particularly important since most of the best (highest paying) jobs in Korea are held almost entirely by graduates from these universities.
Physical Features
Korea is a mountainous country.These are mountains smaller than those found in the Rockies, similar to the Appalachian Mountains.It often seems that there is a mountain everywhere you go in Korea and that would be about right.There isn’t much flat land here.
Korea is also peninsula with the East Sea (Sea of Japan) in the east, the West Sea (Yellow Sea) on the west, and the East China Sea in the south.
Given these two facts, it’s not surprising that Koreans favorite pastime is hiking in the mountains and some of their favorite food is fish.
Language
Korean, with Seoul dialect being the standard
Religions
Those who consider themselves religious (which is about 50% of the population according to one report)are primarily Buddhist (50%) and Christian (50%).Christians form a larger percentage in the north of the country (around Seoul) and Buddhists in other parts of the country.The number of people who consider themselves Christians has and continues to grow rapidly.
Climate
Similar to that of Iowa.About the same highs and lows.About the same amount of precipitation overall.A little more snow in the mountain ranges, a little less in Seoul.One major difference in the rainy season.The rainy season is at the end of July to mid-August (give or take) and it rains just about non-stop during that time.
Work of the People
About the same as that of the States.There is more manufacturing work in Korea, but that is going abroad as it has with the USA.Farming is primarily done in small family farms, with little corporate farming.However, the farmers are aging and are not being replaced.This is allowing for more consolidation in the farming market.The service and financial industries are growing fast.
Cultural Events
There are many cultural events.Two of the most popular are Chuseok (Thanksgiving/Memorial Day) and Seollal (Lunar New Year).Each of these days sees much of the population abandoning the city and heading to their hometowns for family events.They both have a significant focus on honoring ancestors (Confucian heritage), which is done by performing traditional rituals, when possible, at the grave site.This is done for 5 generations in the family line, primarily by the first born son in each family. So, if you are 5th in the line of first sons, you will be doing the ceremony for 5 generations (father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-grandfather). Our family includes mother as well. I’m not sure if that is part of the tradition or not.
Chuseok is much like Thanksgiving in America in that is really centers around food and family.Some traditions during this time include songpyeon (a rice cake with a somewhat sweet filling) and folk games.
Seollal is a celebration of the Lunar New Year (you might know it as the Chinese New Year).This is also a time of family and food.Mandu (dumplings) are traditionally eaten and games like Yut (a kind of board game with 4, 2-sided sticks).
Other events include: Christmas, Solar New Year, Childrens’ Day, Parents’ Day, Valentine’s Day (with White and a number of others), Independence Day, etc…
