The Yanggu position fell through because, in typical Korean fashion (for at least some institutions, but not all), the director at the school didn’t really care about qualifications–to him, it’s all about age. He told my friend Barry that he was looking for a young person for the position. Ok, no problem, but what about qualifications? Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how many years experience you have, what kind of degree you’ve earned, how you are rated by your former employer, or how professional or committed you are. No, to him and others around Korea, none of whom I would dignify as professionals, it’s only about your youthfulness and other PHYSICAL attributes, qualifications be damned. If you’re over 40, if you’re not white, if you’re fat, or if you’re not good-looking enough, you are probably screwed. You could have a degree in Dance or Mathematics from an accredited university, but as long as you are blue-eyed and blonde-haired and thin with movie-star looks you would qualify to teach at his institution. What a shame. And this is in one of the most rural areas in all of Korea, like he’s gonna find ANYONE to work there, especially anyone that might be interested in something other than watching cows grow fat. To say that I’m p-o’ed is to say the least; I really wanted to work in Gangwando. Well, it’s his loss, not mine. Thanks anyway to my friend Barry who tried to get me a position there. Thanks, Barry, but it’s not worth it, at least not for jerks like your boss (and others like him). (Sorry, I’m really becoming more and more incensed about the age ceiling in Korea and elsewhere. It just doesn’t make any sense.)
Also, I got a phone call from a Buddhist university in Gyeongju a few nights ago. Unfortunately, the search committee called me at midnight, Meknes time. I had no forewarning of the call. My phone started ringing; it’s usually a wrong number from someone in Meknes. It kept ringing, so I staggered out of bed and answered it. The fellow on the other end of the line asked me if I was ready for my interview. What???!!! No one had notified me of an interview. What are you talking about? Anyway, I groggily muddled my way through it and I think I did ok. The folks at the other end of the line were sympathetic (even though they did not notify me that they would be interviewing me) and told me that I did well considering the time and that nobody had contacted me. They said they would be sending me their decision sometime this week. I would love nothing more than to work at a Buddhist university; however, they don’t furnish housing, they don’t offer severance pay, and they don’t offer airfare reimbursement, among other things. The fact that they phoned me at midnight also tells me that there is a certain amount of disorganization. I’ll most certainly turn them down if they offer me a contract. Again, though, I’d love to immerse myself in a Buddhist environment.
