Irish people thinking about teaching English in South Korea might find it harder than they originally thought based on the response one Irish woman just received.
The email, believed to have been sent by a recruiter to an unconfirmed applicant by the name of Katie, is a curt response saying her candidacy won't be considered given the "alcoholism nature of your [Irish people] kind."
[Reddit/Finnlizzy]
The image surfaced on the Reddit picture-sharing subsite Imgur last night, and has since been dividing viewers in the comments section.
One poster, identifying as Korean, questioned the authenticity of the email, saying: "Ireland/Irish people have just about never registered in the average Korean's mind and we don't have any stereotypes particular to the Irish."Irish are drunks" is such a "Western Anglophone country" joke. I've only ever heard it from Americans."
An Irish citizen living in South Korea also weighed in, describing the overt discrimination levelled against certain ethnic groups and nationalities in the country.
"Many of the jobs here openly advertise wanting an American/Canadian female regardless of qualifications. It's much harder to get hired if you're black or anything other than white, too. Discrimination is practiced pretty openly here, at least in private sector teaching. Koreans can be very blunt when it comes to appearances and stereotypes, etc."
