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Korean Teachers
Winner of the Hankyoreh Literature Award, Seo Su-jin’s debut novel follows four Korean language lecturers at Seoul’s prestigious H University over the course of an academic year. Readers will spend one season with each of the four protagonists—Seon-yi in the spring, Mi-ju in the summer, Ga-eun in the autumn, and Han-hee in the winter—getting a close glimpse into the challenges and joys of sharing a new language and culture with students from abroad.
As readers delve into the story of each woman and the unique paths they have chosen to become a Korean lecturer, they watch Seon-yi, Mi-ju, Ga-eun, and Han-hee deal with a myriad of social and ethical challenges that accompany their job and their personal lives. From asserting themselves as modern-day career women braving sexism from both students and coworkers, to the shocking revelation that students, too, are treated unfairly as some are deemed to be more ‘desirable’ than others by H University. Some of the teachers had to bow to these pressures, but what fate would befall those who fought against the grain? Each of these women must ultimately find her place as a conduit between her students and an increasingly multicultural Korean society.
Praised as a novel that questions why highly educated women are still facing the formidable hurdle of ‘becoming somebody’ in Korean society, Korean Teachers is gratifyingly piquant as it skillfully peeks into the lives of contemporary women and how they challenge the societal norm where gender discrimination is ever so prevalent.
As readers delve into the story of each woman and the unique paths they have chosen to become a Korean lecturer, they watch Seon-yi, Mi-ju, Ga-eun, and Han-hee deal with a myriad of social and ethical challenges that accompany their job and their personal lives. From asserting themselves as modern-day career women braving sexism from both students and coworkers, to the shocking revelation that students, too, are treated unfairly as some are deemed to be more ‘desirable’ than others by H University. Some of the teachers had to bow to these pressures, but what fate would befall those who fought against the grain? Each of these women must ultimately find her place as a conduit between her students and an increasingly multicultural Korean society.
Praised as a novel that questions why highly educated women are still facing the formidable hurdle of ‘becoming somebody’ in Korean society, Korean Teachers is gratifyingly piquant as it skillfully peeks into the lives of contemporary women and how they challenge the societal norm where gender discrimination is ever so prevalent.
236 pages, Hardcover
First published June 28, 2020
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May 11, 2022
Now Han-hee needed the future tense. She needed a stable future. She needed a fully factual future that depended not on intentions and expectations.
이제 한희에게는 미래시제가 필요했다. 온전한 미래가 필요했다. 의지에도, 추측에도 기대지 않는 하나의 완전한 사실로 존재하는 미래가 필요해졌다.
Korean Teachers is Elizabeth Buehler's translation of the novel "코리안 티처" by 서수진 (Seo Su-jin). Interestingly the Korean title is the English words "Korean teachers" rendered phonetically in Hangeul, rather than the Korean term 한국어 선생님, which speaks to the way the novel plays with how language is taught to and understood by those from another country.
It is published by Harriett Press "a boutique publishing company on a mission to publish high-quality English translations of relevant, inspirational and influential Korean literature. We are constantly searching for distinctive voices and stories that will uplift, challenge and empower readers. We combine exceptional literary standards with artistic designs to enrich the experience of reading books in translation."
The story is based around four Korean female teachers at a language school for foreigners in Korea. It many respects it is fishing in the same territory as Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, using socially realistic, even slightly didactic, fiction to explore social issues and, in particular, employment conditions for women.
However what distinguishes this book - and Lizzie Buehler's brilliant translation, which must have presented many challenges - is how it incorporates aspects of the Korean lessons in to the story.
These include
• the difficulty non-Korean speakers have distinguishing between the normal, aspirated and tensed versions of consonants like ㄱ ㅋ and ㄲ, and the general difficulties of transcribing names from one language to another (in this scene the teacher is trying to write the names of her students in hangeul). As a real example my children's surname is Kim-Fulcher - in English the Kim is pronounced with a 'k' sound but actually an unaspirated 'gim' would be a more accurate rendition of the Korean ㄱ (with ㅋ a separate letter):
The letters g, d, b, and j at the beginning of a word sounded to foreign speakers like k, t, p, and ch. That was why foreigners said kamsahamnida instead of gamsahamnida (thank) you , or pronounced kimchi with a hard k instead of the g that Koreans used.
It was far more difficult to discern tensed consonants so much so that many foreign speakers couldn't do it even years later. They couldn't distinguish between gul (cave) and ggul (honey) nor dam (wall) and ddam (sweat). Of the over 3,000 languages on earth, the only two that distinguished between the tensed ss and untensed s were Korean and an African language; it was highly unusual for a language to differentiate between sada (buy) and ssada (cheap).
When one thought about tensed and untensed consonants, jada (sleep), chada (kick), and jjada (salty) all sounded like the same word to foreigners.
• whether teachers should correct students when they make technical mistakes that in practice are ones Korean speakers also make (i.e. the language has practically evolved)
The weather in China was cold, so I bought a coat.
The next sentence had a mistake as well, using chuwosseo-seo (was cold) instead of chuwoseo (is cold). This time it was a grammar mistake. At H University's language school, students in Level Two learned that they couldn't use past tense—as in chuwosseoseo—when forming sentences with the grammar rule -seo (so/because). There were several exam questions on this grammar rule, so Mi-ju had repeatedly emphasised it in class.
But she couldn't correct the class president's sentence right away. When she read the sentence aloud several times, it began to sound more and more natural to her. She looked up chuwosseoseo on her phone. Many Koreans used the word online.
Recently, the weather has been cold, so I feel like I'm getting a cold.
This sentence used chuwosseoseo. It sounded natural but it could be incorrect. Weren't there countless incorrect expressions that people had become so accustomed to using?
• And most interestingly when the characters draw life lessons from Korean grammar, such as the controversial question of whether there is a genuine future tense in Korean, or whether this is instead used to indicate expectation or intention (see the opening quote to my review), And the bewilderingly long and complex list of different ways of expressing reasons, while in contrast there are only two, relatively uncommon, ways to express results. Here Ga-eun is teaching the - 느라고 grammar rule:
Ga-eun recalled how she'd taught -neurago at K University, where she worked briefly before coming to H University. As soon as she wrote reason on the whiteboard, all her students groaned. They had already learned -a/eoseo, -(eu)nikka, and -gi ddaemune, and now they were learning yet another reason grammar rule?
Back then, Ga-eun had written all the Korean reason grammar rules on the whiteboard to calm her students down.
-aleoseo
-(eu)nikka
-deoni
-(eu)meuro
-gillae
-neurago
-(eu)ni
-(eu)nimankeum
-gi ddaemune
-neun barame
-neun tonge
-(eu)n/neun tase
-a/eo kajigo
-a/eo
There were no fewer than fourteen grammar rules.
"We've learned four so far. We have ten more to learn."
Her students screeched in horror.
“Teacher, why does the Korean language have so many reason grammar rules?" asked an intelligent student, raising her hand.
“Because Koreans like reasons? In this sentence—`because Koreans like reasons'—you can use -aleseo, -(eu)nikka, or -gi ddaemune. But you can't use -neurago. Do you know why?"
To make the class focus on the lesson again, Ga-eun grabbed a marker and began to write the restrictions for -neurago on the whiteboard. Her students shouted and pounded on their desks, so she stopped writing and pounded on the whiteboard as well.
Why did the Korean language have so many reason grammar rules? Ga-eun had thought about that before. She assumed it was because Koreans had always emphasised reasons. Why? Why in the world? Why did that happen? What's the reason? Mere must be a reason, right? There must be a cause.
Fascinating from my perspective as someone who has attended Korean lessons. I would be interested to see how the aspects of the novel I enjoyed most come across to those less familiar with that experience.
Interview with the author: https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/arti...
이제 한희에게는 미래시제가 필요했다. 온전한 미래가 필요했다. 의지에도, 추측에도 기대지 않는 하나의 완전한 사실로 존재하는 미래가 필요해졌다.
Korean Teachers is Elizabeth Buehler's translation of the novel "코리안 티처" by 서수진 (Seo Su-jin). Interestingly the Korean title is the English words "Korean teachers" rendered phonetically in Hangeul, rather than the Korean term 한국어 선생님, which speaks to the way the novel plays with how language is taught to and understood by those from another country.
It is published by Harriett Press "a boutique publishing company on a mission to publish high-quality English translations of relevant, inspirational and influential Korean literature. We are constantly searching for distinctive voices and stories that will uplift, challenge and empower readers. We combine exceptional literary standards with artistic designs to enrich the experience of reading books in translation."
The story is based around four Korean female teachers at a language school for foreigners in Korea. It many respects it is fishing in the same territory as Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, using socially realistic, even slightly didactic, fiction to explore social issues and, in particular, employment conditions for women.
However what distinguishes this book - and Lizzie Buehler's brilliant translation, which must have presented many challenges - is how it incorporates aspects of the Korean lessons in to the story.
These include
• the difficulty non-Korean speakers have distinguishing between the normal, aspirated and tensed versions of consonants like ㄱ ㅋ and ㄲ, and the general difficulties of transcribing names from one language to another (in this scene the teacher is trying to write the names of her students in hangeul). As a real example my children's surname is Kim-Fulcher - in English the Kim is pronounced with a 'k' sound but actually an unaspirated 'gim' would be a more accurate rendition of the Korean ㄱ (with ㅋ a separate letter):
The letters g, d, b, and j at the beginning of a word sounded to foreign speakers like k, t, p, and ch. That was why foreigners said kamsahamnida instead of gamsahamnida (thank) you , or pronounced kimchi with a hard k instead of the g that Koreans used.
It was far more difficult to discern tensed consonants so much so that many foreign speakers couldn't do it even years later. They couldn't distinguish between gul (cave) and ggul (honey) nor dam (wall) and ddam (sweat). Of the over 3,000 languages on earth, the only two that distinguished between the tensed ss and untensed s were Korean and an African language; it was highly unusual for a language to differentiate between sada (buy) and ssada (cheap).
When one thought about tensed and untensed consonants, jada (sleep), chada (kick), and jjada (salty) all sounded like the same word to foreigners.
• whether teachers should correct students when they make technical mistakes that in practice are ones Korean speakers also make (i.e. the language has practically evolved)
The weather in China was cold, so I bought a coat.
The next sentence had a mistake as well, using chuwosseo-seo (was cold) instead of chuwoseo (is cold). This time it was a grammar mistake. At H University's language school, students in Level Two learned that they couldn't use past tense—as in chuwosseoseo—when forming sentences with the grammar rule -seo (so/because). There were several exam questions on this grammar rule, so Mi-ju had repeatedly emphasised it in class.
But she couldn't correct the class president's sentence right away. When she read the sentence aloud several times, it began to sound more and more natural to her. She looked up chuwosseoseo on her phone. Many Koreans used the word online.
Recently, the weather has been cold, so I feel like I'm getting a cold.
This sentence used chuwosseoseo. It sounded natural but it could be incorrect. Weren't there countless incorrect expressions that people had become so accustomed to using?
• And most interestingly when the characters draw life lessons from Korean grammar, such as the controversial question of whether there is a genuine future tense in Korean, or whether this is instead used to indicate expectation or intention (see the opening quote to my review), And the bewilderingly long and complex list of different ways of expressing reasons, while in contrast there are only two, relatively uncommon, ways to express results. Here Ga-eun is teaching the - 느라고 grammar rule:
Ga-eun recalled how she'd taught -neurago at K University, where she worked briefly before coming to H University. As soon as she wrote reason on the whiteboard, all her students groaned. They had already learned -a/eoseo, -(eu)nikka, and -gi ddaemune, and now they were learning yet another reason grammar rule?
Back then, Ga-eun had written all the Korean reason grammar rules on the whiteboard to calm her students down.
-aleoseo
-(eu)nikka
-deoni
-(eu)meuro
-gillae
-neurago
-(eu)ni
-(eu)nimankeum
-gi ddaemune
-neun barame
-neun tonge
-(eu)n/neun tase
-a/eo kajigo
-a/eo
There were no fewer than fourteen grammar rules.
"We've learned four so far. We have ten more to learn."
Her students screeched in horror.
“Teacher, why does the Korean language have so many reason grammar rules?" asked an intelligent student, raising her hand.
“Because Koreans like reasons? In this sentence—`because Koreans like reasons'—you can use -aleseo, -(eu)nikka, or -gi ddaemune. But you can't use -neurago. Do you know why?"
To make the class focus on the lesson again, Ga-eun grabbed a marker and began to write the restrictions for -neurago on the whiteboard. Her students shouted and pounded on their desks, so she stopped writing and pounded on the whiteboard as well.
Why did the Korean language have so many reason grammar rules? Ga-eun had thought about that before. She assumed it was because Koreans had always emphasised reasons. Why? Why in the world? Why did that happen? What's the reason? Mere must be a reason, right? There must be a cause.
Fascinating from my perspective as someone who has attended Korean lessons. I would be interested to see how the aspects of the novel I enjoyed most come across to those less familiar with that experience.
Interview with the author: https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/arti...
March 31, 2022
Winner of the Hankyoreh Literature Award, Korean Teachers follows 4 Korean language lecturers at Seoul’s prestigious H University over the course of an academic year.
Following one season with each of the four protagonists—Seon-yi in the spring, Mi-ju in the summer, Ga-eun in the autumn, and Han-hee in the winter, we get a close glimpse into the joys and challenges of sharing a new language and culture with students from abroad.
It's eye-opening to read about the academic world of South Korea. From k-dramas to Korean lit, I had never come across a story that highlighted the underlying issues of the Korean education system. Following 4 characters, we see how they had to deal with social and ethical challenges that accompany their job and personal lives. Teacher evaluation that is solely based on students, university authorities that cut costs by constantly hiring part-time lecturers, sexism from both students and co-workers, and the subtle signs of workplace bullying.
The 4 stories are interconnected and it's painful to see their behaviour. Seon-yi, Mi-ju, Ga-eun and Han-hee are victims of their own, but they couldn't stop comparing and inflicting shame on others. As they fight for survival, their mental health is at stake, self-deprecation and toxic rivalry are formed.
The book also questions the grammar and structure of the Korean language. As I struggle to learn the basics of Korean, it's somehow comforting to see the locals facing the same challenges too. As an educator, what's truly the 'correct' grammar? The verbal, the written or the common?
With such a short story, Korean Teachers is a feat. It covers a huge range of social matters among language school lecturers, international students, ex-pats and being a Korean women. Truly all that glitters is not gold, I appreciate the author for telling a different side of the story in this present Korean wave.
Rating: 4.25 ⭐
Following one season with each of the four protagonists—Seon-yi in the spring, Mi-ju in the summer, Ga-eun in the autumn, and Han-hee in the winter, we get a close glimpse into the joys and challenges of sharing a new language and culture with students from abroad.
It's eye-opening to read about the academic world of South Korea. From k-dramas to Korean lit, I had never come across a story that highlighted the underlying issues of the Korean education system. Following 4 characters, we see how they had to deal with social and ethical challenges that accompany their job and personal lives. Teacher evaluation that is solely based on students, university authorities that cut costs by constantly hiring part-time lecturers, sexism from both students and co-workers, and the subtle signs of workplace bullying.
The 4 stories are interconnected and it's painful to see their behaviour. Seon-yi, Mi-ju, Ga-eun and Han-hee are victims of their own, but they couldn't stop comparing and inflicting shame on others. As they fight for survival, their mental health is at stake, self-deprecation and toxic rivalry are formed.
The book also questions the grammar and structure of the Korean language. As I struggle to learn the basics of Korean, it's somehow comforting to see the locals facing the same challenges too. As an educator, what's truly the 'correct' grammar? The verbal, the written or the common?
With such a short story, Korean Teachers is a feat. It covers a huge range of social matters among language school lecturers, international students, ex-pats and being a Korean women. Truly all that glitters is not gold, I appreciate the author for telling a different side of the story in this present Korean wave.
Rating: 4.25 ⭐
August 28, 2025
Watch my review on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAhxe...
@KBSKorea24
“For #KoreaBookClub 📚 this week, @barrywelsh brings us one of most highly anticipated Korean literary translations of the year: “Korean Teachers (#코리안티처)” by Seo Su-jin (#서수진). Translated by Lizzie Buehler, the Hankyoreh Literature Prize🏅winning #novel follows the trials and tribulations of four Korean language teachers 👩🏻🏫, as they try to balance their lives, jobs, and hopes for the future with the frequently challenging work environment. It also offers a commentary on the pressures of modern Korean society, where there are no easy answers.
#KBSWORLDRadio #KBS월드라디오 #Korea24 #코리아24 #bookstagram #북스타그램 #책스타그램 #KoreanLiterature #한국문학 #KoreanTeachers #Seosujin #서수진작가 #한겨레문학상 #한겨레문학상수상작 #장편소설 #harriettpress @harriettpress.”
19:10-20:00 KST, Mon-Fri on KBS WORLD Radio.
Download the KBS Kong / KBS WORLD Radio Mobile apps or subscribe to the Korea 24 podcast for your daily updates!
http://world.kbs.co.kr/service/progra...
@KBSKorea24
“For #KoreaBookClub 📚 this week, @barrywelsh brings us one of most highly anticipated Korean literary translations of the year: “Korean Teachers (#코리안티처)” by Seo Su-jin (#서수진). Translated by Lizzie Buehler, the Hankyoreh Literature Prize🏅winning #novel follows the trials and tribulations of four Korean language teachers 👩🏻🏫, as they try to balance their lives, jobs, and hopes for the future with the frequently challenging work environment. It also offers a commentary on the pressures of modern Korean society, where there are no easy answers.
#KBSWORLDRadio #KBS월드라디오 #Korea24 #코리아24 #bookstagram #북스타그램 #책스타그램 #KoreanLiterature #한국문학 #KoreanTeachers #Seosujin #서수진작가 #한겨레문학상 #한겨레문학상수상작 #장편소설 #harriettpress @harriettpress.”
19:10-20:00 KST, Mon-Fri on KBS WORLD Radio.
Download the KBS Kong / KBS WORLD Radio Mobile apps or subscribe to the Korea 24 podcast for your daily updates!
http://world.kbs.co.kr/service/progra...
April 5, 2022
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
___
“I wanted to write about surviving. About striving to survive, about fighting not to fall off the edge of the cliff, and about holding on. [...] Through this novel, I wanted to portray the other side of the Korean Wave, to show how class issues between races and linguistic challenges transcend national borders.” - Seo Su-jin
___
In Korean Teachers, we meet Seo-jin, whose aspiration and desire to become a Korean teacher for the sake of financial stability propels her not to confront the authority about her mistreatment for fear of losing the job; Mi-ju, a defiant and uncompromising teacher, whose unpleasant experiences dealing with society give rise to her indifference towards others, and adamancy to adhere to her teaching principles. Yet, she struggles to choose between her effective, result-oriented pedagogy and bowing down to the capitalist school director; Ga-eun, the popular teacher among students, whose favourable student evaluations and awards received drive her to contemplate the reason behind her popularity: Perhaps it is because she is lenient and compromising teacher who fulfills students’ demands that they favour her; Han-hee, a lecturer-in-charge who is on maternity leave and constantly feels on edge due to her uncertain career fate.
The author explores the intersectionality between female corporeality, gender discrimination in the workplace, and capitalism; and presents a hauntingly convincing critique of education institutions as money-making machines. The ever-growing K-wave has undeniably contributed to both cultural propagation and economic development in South Korea. It is a worldwide phenomenon that is illustrated and discussed in numerous Korean literary works. Nevertheless, unlike them, Korean Teachers serves as a razor-sharp scalpel, shedding light on how the powerful make use of the rise of the aforesaid phenomenon and exploit others for money and material gain. All this happens in the sacred institution of academia.
Thousands of international students enrol in Korean language courses. They are the customers whose demands the teachers are obligated to fulfill for fear of receiving unfavourable student evaluations and getting dismissed. Thus, unintentional hostility and jealousy between these teachers while fighting for a staff quota place. They are well aware that they are as replaceable as any consumable, disposable good in the capitalistic environment. Unavoidably, such an unhealthy competition brings about the manifestations of a deep sense of helplessness and banal anxiety in both physical and mental health.
Perhaps what makes Korean Teachers an eye-opening read is the author’s incorporation of Korean grammar as a mirror of reality and an impressionistic meditation on certainty and uncertainty; hope and despair; and above all, complacency and complicity. The linguistic barriers observed between the teachers and the students serve as a literary tool contributing to the unforeseen conflicts and suggest the futility of language in cross-cultural communication. I couldn’t recommend this genuinely brilliant book more, which is indeed becoming part of the canonical and deserves a wide readership.
___
“I wanted to write about surviving. About striving to survive, about fighting not to fall off the edge of the cliff, and about holding on. [...] Through this novel, I wanted to portray the other side of the Korean Wave, to show how class issues between races and linguistic challenges transcend national borders.” - Seo Su-jin
___
In Korean Teachers, we meet Seo-jin, whose aspiration and desire to become a Korean teacher for the sake of financial stability propels her not to confront the authority about her mistreatment for fear of losing the job; Mi-ju, a defiant and uncompromising teacher, whose unpleasant experiences dealing with society give rise to her indifference towards others, and adamancy to adhere to her teaching principles. Yet, she struggles to choose between her effective, result-oriented pedagogy and bowing down to the capitalist school director; Ga-eun, the popular teacher among students, whose favourable student evaluations and awards received drive her to contemplate the reason behind her popularity: Perhaps it is because she is lenient and compromising teacher who fulfills students’ demands that they favour her; Han-hee, a lecturer-in-charge who is on maternity leave and constantly feels on edge due to her uncertain career fate.
The author explores the intersectionality between female corporeality, gender discrimination in the workplace, and capitalism; and presents a hauntingly convincing critique of education institutions as money-making machines. The ever-growing K-wave has undeniably contributed to both cultural propagation and economic development in South Korea. It is a worldwide phenomenon that is illustrated and discussed in numerous Korean literary works. Nevertheless, unlike them, Korean Teachers serves as a razor-sharp scalpel, shedding light on how the powerful make use of the rise of the aforesaid phenomenon and exploit others for money and material gain. All this happens in the sacred institution of academia.
Thousands of international students enrol in Korean language courses. They are the customers whose demands the teachers are obligated to fulfill for fear of receiving unfavourable student evaluations and getting dismissed. Thus, unintentional hostility and jealousy between these teachers while fighting for a staff quota place. They are well aware that they are as replaceable as any consumable, disposable good in the capitalistic environment. Unavoidably, such an unhealthy competition brings about the manifestations of a deep sense of helplessness and banal anxiety in both physical and mental health.
Perhaps what makes Korean Teachers an eye-opening read is the author’s incorporation of Korean grammar as a mirror of reality and an impressionistic meditation on certainty and uncertainty; hope and despair; and above all, complacency and complicity. The linguistic barriers observed between the teachers and the students serve as a literary tool contributing to the unforeseen conflicts and suggest the futility of language in cross-cultural communication. I couldn’t recommend this genuinely brilliant book more, which is indeed becoming part of the canonical and deserves a wide readership.
July 31, 2024
Kore'de uluslararası öğrenciler için üniversitelerin dil okullarına alınan ögretim görevlilerinin başından geçen olaylar anlatılıyor. Zor mülakatlar sonucu alınan korece öğretmenlerinin gördüğü muameleler özellikle kadınlara yapılanlar enteresandı. Yabancı öğrenciler, ülkelere göre kategorilenip ona göre sınıfsallaştırılmış. Ülkemizdeki üniversitelerin dil okullarında bu tarz şeyler oluyor mu bilemedim. Okulun kazancı için öğretmenler her şekilde kullanılıp sonra öğrencilerin saçma değerlendirmeleri sonucu herhangi bir tüketim malı gibi kenara atılabiliyor hatta ve hatta işlerinden oluyorlar.
Kitap ödül almış kendi ülkesinde ama kadın karakterlere uygulanan zorbalıklar dışında pekte bir artısı yoktu bence. Bana kattığı pek birşey olmadı. Kitabı beğenmediğimden çeviriyi de pek beğendiğim söylenemez. Cümlelerde epey sıkıntı vardı. Ben dümdüz okuyamıyorum arkadaşlar o yüzden bu tarz şeyler okumamı etkiliyor. Takmıyorsanız pek sorun etmeyebilirsiniz ama tavsiye edeceğim bir kitap değil.
Kitap ödül almış kendi ülkesinde ama kadın karakterlere uygulanan zorbalıklar dışında pekte bir artısı yoktu bence. Bana kattığı pek birşey olmadı. Kitabı beğenmediğimden çeviriyi de pek beğendiğim söylenemez. Cümlelerde epey sıkıntı vardı. Ben dümdüz okuyamıyorum arkadaşlar o yüzden bu tarz şeyler okumamı etkiliyor. Takmıyorsanız pek sorun etmeyebilirsiniz ama tavsiye edeceğim bir kitap değil.
April 18, 2022
Korean Teachers by Seo Su-Jin (translated by Elizabeth Buehler) is an episodic book examining the precariousness of labour in a society unrelenting and rigid in its perception and treatment of women. It doesn’t matter that our protagonists are educated and overcame many challenges in their lives. In the face of cold hearted capitalism and deeply entrenched gender discrimination, women are often left tip-toeing fearfully at work and in life, just to survive.
Told through 4 contract (paid hourly) female Korean teachers, this book examines hurdles that women go through in their attempt to stay gainfully employed. With the global hallyu wave, it was the perfect backdrop to dive into the insidious nature of capitalism. These teachers are disposable labour exploited by language schools, silently meeting demands of Korean languages pursuers. Coupled with migrant labour and exploitation of student passes as means to become undocumented workers, this book packed a punch in unravelling complex problems behind money making endeavours from a language which gained global prominence.
I love the choice of a language school as the backdrop. In Asian culture, education is noble and teachers are highly respected. To see these female teachers reduced to mere labour at the mercy of their students’ (customers’) evaluations is a chilling look at the mercilessness of labour. It made me empathise with Mi-ju, who suffered poor evaluations despite her best intentions and stern teaching.
Korean readers will love portions discussing intricacies of Korean grammar. In the lack of rules to express the future, it feels as if Koreans seek out their life and thoughts in the past and present. This is where the treatment of each story is consistent. These women face an uncertain future left to the imagination of readers.
Told through 4 contract (paid hourly) female Korean teachers, this book examines hurdles that women go through in their attempt to stay gainfully employed. With the global hallyu wave, it was the perfect backdrop to dive into the insidious nature of capitalism. These teachers are disposable labour exploited by language schools, silently meeting demands of Korean languages pursuers. Coupled with migrant labour and exploitation of student passes as means to become undocumented workers, this book packed a punch in unravelling complex problems behind money making endeavours from a language which gained global prominence.
I love the choice of a language school as the backdrop. In Asian culture, education is noble and teachers are highly respected. To see these female teachers reduced to mere labour at the mercy of their students’ (customers’) evaluations is a chilling look at the mercilessness of labour. It made me empathise with Mi-ju, who suffered poor evaluations despite her best intentions and stern teaching.
Korean readers will love portions discussing intricacies of Korean grammar. In the lack of rules to express the future, it feels as if Koreans seek out their life and thoughts in the past and present. This is where the treatment of each story is consistent. These women face an uncertain future left to the imagination of readers.
May 10, 2024
Fundamentally a study of class and precarity amidst a set of Korean language teachers for international students, Seo's novel interlocks a set of different women (all with distinct characteristics) as they struggle to instruct, to curry favor, and establish better futures for themselves. In the midst of all this, Seo is unrelenting in recording how contemporary Korean politics preys on these women and the students themselves, and the book gains its power from the coalescing force of inevitability. Tightly and compactly translated by Lizzie Buehler, with a focus on the granular nature of language and reality.
March 18, 2022
Thank you Harriett Press for the review copy! Link to my detailed review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbOh6vPP2uX/
June 3, 2024
Tavsiye üzerine aldığım bir kitaptı ama çok etkilendiğimi söyleyemeyeceğim. Kore kültürünün farklılıklarının farkına varıyorsunuz.
November 26, 2024
eh, this was an okay read, not bad, not good. 3.2? interesting context and setting, execution was a bit stagnant, but i think that was the style the author was going for- steady
May 6, 2023
Kielen ja kulttuurin monitulkintaisuus, naisen asema ja kilpailuyhteiskunta ovat keskiössä tässä romaanissa, jossa seurataan neljää korean kielen opettajaa sekä heidän kohtaloitaan. Kulttuuriset väärinkäsitykset, kielen liukuvat merkitykset (onko korean kielessä futuuria tai miten puhuttu ja kirjoitettu kieli eroavat toisistaan?) sekä naisten halu pärjätä työelämässä ja tehdä omia valintojaan johtavat romaanissa usein ongelmiin korealaisen yhteiskunnan rattaissa. Realistisen toteava tyyli sekä muitakin yhtäläisyyksiä Cho Nam-joon "Kim Ji-young, born 1982" -teoksen kanssa, mutta naisen aseman lisäksi huomio kiinnittyy myös maahanmuuttajien kohteluun sekä muihin eettisiin kysymyksiin.
June 10, 2024
Each of the four sections was centered on a different woman, and I enjoyed that this didn't over explain what the characters whose perspectives we were no longer in were doing, but we saw enough to know that their lives were ongoing and made me wonder, in a good way, how they were coping with their challenges. This structure points to the fullness of each person's life despite the fact that those on the outside rarely know or even notice the forces others are contesting.
A smallish part of the book, but I was moved by the use of grammatical situations/contexts/forms as metaphors for some of the various situations and quandries the characters are in.
A smallish part of the book, but I was moved by the use of grammatical situations/contexts/forms as metaphors for some of the various situations and quandries the characters are in.
May 29, 2025
It is a fairly interesting book to read but with many characters coming to focus, it can be frustrating to keep up with the narration into one timeline since some scenes did not explain some elements or have a plot hole uncovered.
I found this book somewhat interesting from the corporate side of an educational institution where corporate affairs would find themselves in a situation between profit or credibility.
I found this book somewhat interesting from the corporate side of an educational institution where corporate affairs would find themselves in a situation between profit or credibility.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2021
이 작품은 자세하게 21세기 한국 사회 문제를 보여 준다. 명문대 어학당 여강사들 통해서 인종차별, 직장 학대, 정신병, 경제적 불확실성을 다 드러낸다. 동시에 읽는 것도 재미있었고 4 주인공들이 다양한 신분을 가지고 있었고 잘 발달되어 있었다.
May 15, 2022
The characters in the book fell a little flat for me. Not complaining when I read the author’s notes and understood the purpose of her penning down this book. Was a short and easy read (:
December 3, 2022
어학 땅에 있는 시간 강사들에 대한 간단한 소설이다. 전혀 모르던 세상에 이야기라 흥미 있었다. 한편으로 현실에 대한 습슬 안도 있었다. 쉽게 읽을 수 있었다.
November 21, 2023
A social critique of the Korean Language education scene in universities. Laced with themes of feminism and justice.
April 30, 2025
So-so; don’t really feel much for any of the four main characters.
July 20, 2024
Was a great read, a real good insight into the other side of the Korean education system which we would never see.
Nice book.
Nice book.
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