No Irish Need Apply: Racism in South Korea

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Ever wanted to be a teacher in South Korea? Well, as an Irish person you might be out of luck.

This image, posted on photo sharing site Imgur last night, claims to show the response received by one Irish girl's job application to be a teacher in the Asian country.

In the brief email, the recruiter explains to Katie: "I am sorry to inform you that my client does not hire Irish people due to the alcoholism nature of your kind. Best of luck in future."

The image is quickly going viral and has sparked debate on social media site Reddit, with many Irish people chiming in with opinions on the refusal to hire an Irish person.

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But another Irishman living in Korea said that this kind of discrimination was widespread: "That's pretty outrageous, even by Korean standards.

"Many of the jobs here openly advertise wanting an American/Canadian female regardless of qualifications.

"Koreans can be very blunt when it comes to appearances and stereotypes etc."

He also revealed that the variety of Irish accents can be detrimental to teachers coming from Ireland and said: "There's also definitely a pecking order when it comes to which English speaking country you come from as a teacher.

"America/Canada is top and Ireland/South Africa/Scotland are probably tied for the bottom. The huge variety of Irish accents is pretty baffling to not only Koreans but anyone from outside of Ireland.

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