The Worst Thing About Korea

Well, I've decided how to answer the question, "What's the worst thing about Korea?"  It isn't the food (that's great), or the language (hard to learn, but beautiful), the impatient drivers, the inefficient traffic lights, or even the cigarette smoke and soju.  It's not even the brothels in Songtan and Itaewon, which are really due to American influence.  It's nothing obvious at all; in fact, it's something I didn't learn about until I'd been here over two months.

The worst thing about Korea is the widespread prejudice of Koreans against any kind of mental infirmity.  Apparently, there is great shame and stigma associated with any kind of mental illness.  Some children with severe retardation are placed in a special home, and their families don't talk about them.  Families whose children show signs of more mild problems, like Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), will not even consider diagnosis or treatment, because they don't want the stigma associated with such a condition.  They hate losing face.  That's unfortunate, because several of my students could probably do much better if they were able to control their impulsive behavior and concentrate.  However, it affects me even more directly than that, because I have ADD myself, as most of my readers probably know.

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 15 years old.  My mother first suspected it when I was 5.  I saw many mental health specialists, counselors, psychologists, etc., for the next 10 years.  I outsmarted all of them, until my mother sent me to one who was smart enough to evaluate my gifted intellect, and see past it to diagnose the ADD.  They put me on generic Ritalin, which allowed me to focus on schoolwork and learn to control my impulsive behavior.  I recently switched to Adderall, which works even better for me.  I've been having it sent to Korea in the mail by my parents.

By now, most Americans recognize ADD, although there are many misconceptions about it.  Some feel that it is a fraud.  Others feel that it is widely overdiagnosed, which I doubt.  Others feel that it is a disorder of childhood only, which children will grow out of.  Others feel that it's only a problem in school.  All of these attitudes are unhealthy in that they tend to keep people from getting the help they need.  Koreans have a similarly unhealthy attitude.

Most Koreans treat ADD (or any other mental health condition) as a fatal flaw, instead of a treatable health condition or a surmountable handicap.  This is why my E-2 visa is being denied.  That's why I'm losing my job, leaving over one hundred precious students that I love dearly, and flying back to the U.S. within a week.  If I had known about this unhealthy, prejudicial attitude, I would not have listed ADD on the Health Questionnaire section of my visa application.  Then, maybe, I'd be able to stay here.

Now, I'm not going to recommend to anyone that they break the law, American, Korean, or that of any other country.  I'm also not going to advise anyone to be dishonest in any way.  However, I would suggest that anyone applying for any kind of visa in Korea needs to be aware of this attitude.  Remember, Koreans apparently feel that mental illness is very serious.  Therefore, they only need to know about any kind of mental illness that is truly as serious as they think it is.  So, if you have some kind of mental health diagnosis, but you have it under control and are perfectly capable of teaching in Korea, then obviously your condition is not what the question is asking about.  Think of it as translating the question culturally.  I wish someone had clued me in on this before I filled out the application.  At this point, the most I can do is warn others.

Prayer Requests
Obviously, I need a lot of prayer.  I don't know what to mention first.  Please pray that I can get packed in time, disposing of all my things properly.  Please pray for my students, that they will understand why I am leaving.  Please pray that they get a good math teacher to replace me, one who will teach in English (because a few of the students don't understand Korean).

Please pray for my re-entry and re-adjustment to the U.S.  Pray that I can close my Korean bank account and convert my won to dollars at a favorable rate.  Pray for a safe flight and hassle-free re-entry at U.S. Customs.  Please pray that I can find somewhere to work where my skills will be valued, and I can earn some money to pay my bills.

Most of all, please pray that I would come to learn why God put me through this difficult and painful exercise.  Currently, I've learned that I can teach, but I still have a lot to learn about teaching, and I could use some formal training.  If that's all that God wanted me to learn from this, I wonder that I had to come all the way to Korea to learn it, only to be torn away from people that I came to love dearly in a very short time.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.  Unless God works a major miracle, I'll be back in California within a week.  The silver lining to this very dark cloud is that I'll be able to see family, and old friends, much sooner than expected.  That includes most of my readers.  God bless you.  It looks like I'll be seeing you soon.