As Hallyu continues to take the world by storm, including the growing popularity of Korean language learning, we sat down with award-winning Korean author Seo Su-jin to uncover the dark side of the Korean language boom.

Through her debut novel “Korean Teachers,” translated by Elizabeth Buelher and published by Harriett Press, Seo delves into the exploitative and sexist working conditions for university Korean language teachers. Based on the true experiences of herself and her former colleagues, Seo’s novel recounts the struggles of highly educated young women in contemporary South Korea.

We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, or suggestions for other Korean books you’d like us to review or discuss. Tweet us (Beth @_paperfetishist / Naomi @ngnaomi) or leave a message on The Korea Herald’s Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram page. You can also email us at bethhong@heraldcorp.com or ngnaomi@heraldcorp.com. 

📢 COVID-19 precautions were taken to ensure the safety of the production team.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/khbookspodcast 

Intro: ♪ Onion (Prod. by Lukrembo)

Outro: ♪ Wine (Prod. by Lukrembo)

0:00 “Korean Teachers” is about… 👩🏻‍🏫👩🏻‍🏫👩🏻‍🏫👩🏻‍🏫

1:37 What made Su-jin write “Korean Teachers” 🍎

2:42 The dark side of the Korean language boom 🇰🇷

4:35 Student visa misuse & unfair evaluation systems

07:59 Navigating cultural differences 🌏

09:45 Sexism in the workplace

11:13 Attitudes toward sexual harassment and women 

14:23 “You’re married, why do you still work so hard?” ⚭

16:31 Surviving a toxic workplace 

22:05 Have things changed?

24:47 : New books 👀📚