Dear editor,

It appears that in Jessica Kim's article, ``Korea's English Pandemic,'' published in the Opinion page April 8, she has undercut her own argument in revealing that she is a student majoring at the University of Virginia.

I might have thought Kim's point more cogent if she had been a student of Seoul National University or some other institute of higher learning here in Korea.

Many of the Korean parents that Kim accuses of having a ``crazy obsession'' with English only want to provide their children with the same opportunities that she obviously has had.

Likewise, by Kim's constantly dwelling on the ``white looks'' of people looking for employment not only reeks of racist insinuation, it misses the fact that it is the employer who is responsible for the hiring and not the person seeking work.

That the majority of them are white is a reflection of public attitude here in Korea, but even that has been changing. Many foreign English teachers are certified teachers or with specialties in applied linguistics.

Is Kim aware that Korea has broadened its acceptance policies for what constitutes what she calls ``so-called native speakers'' to include places like India and the Philippines, among others?

Kim's belittling jobseekers by insinuating that they have done poorly on an SAT misses the point that only university educated people may be hired to teach English in Korea.

If this is not always the case, then it is because many English institutes here hire illegally and under the table.

Korea requires all legal foreign teachers with E-2 status to undergo police background checks, drug and HIV testing before employment.

Besides making sure the hired staff is legal and qualified, the onus ought to be on the employers to demonstrate that proper teaching methodology is available in every institute that slaps ``English'' upon its building's facade.

I think Kim would agree that Korean students have a right to a good education by qualified educators.

Yet all complaints aside, the ``English craze'' is just one facet of an education craze in Korea, where in a test-driven education market, every student feels compelled to do all he or she can to excel at benchmarks instead of learning for learning's sake.

Likewise, parents will continue to shuffle their children off to institutes to drive up test scores or language skills in order to get their children into top schools.

Anthony Davis
Ewha Womans University
Seoul
rolfskalder@yahoo.com