Thirty Countries by Age Thirty: Expat English Teachers in South Korea

Why are so many college grads taking off to teach English abroad? In South Korea, I interviewed thirteen men and thirteen women from the U.S., Canada, Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, and South Africa to find out. Our In-depth conversations describe the reasons why these young people wanted to leave home and their experiences getting teaching jobs, ducking racial and gender prejudice, and coping with demanding bosses and students' parents. I taught at a Seoul university myself when I got to know them, and shared their convivial--sometimes overly convivial--social life and their explorations of Korean culture. The spread of English as a global language made it possible for all of us to be in South Korea, where the English language has escaped the control of countries where it is the native tongue.