South Korea uses sexist approach to 'innocently motivate' men to learn English

Businesses use sex appeal to stand out in competitive market

SOUTH KOREA: South Korean businesses have opted for a rather sexist approach to encourage people to learn English online. They are using 'attractive' female teachers to entice them into learning the language. 

There are 17,000 private academics across the country teaching English, but one business in particular used the power of sex appeal to stand-out in the competitive market.

Citizens of South Korea spent more than £3.5 billion on private education to learn the language in 2013 alone.

 

PHOTO: MAIL ONLINE

'Goddess of English', the Seoul-based education website, specialises in video lessons which are taught exclusively by women who are young, attractive and immaculately groomed.

Individual profiles of the teachers are all featured on the site and are displayed with their nicknames such as 'Business Cinderella' and 'English pronunciation goddess'.

 

PHOTO: MAIL ONLINE

 

Applying for a job with the company could also prove to be difficult as all applicants must provide at least three profile pictures. The chief executive of the company, Yang Jae-hoon, said that there is "no doubt that people will want to see lessons more if the teacher is pretty and attractive."

"It's just a case of preparing our teachers so their appearance comes out well on screen, to innocently increase motivation for education," he said further.

 

PHOTO: MAIL ONLINE

 

Although an increasing number of women are signing up to the website, the CEO said that many of the site's paying members were men in their twenties studying for the state exam as well as older men who need English for business.

The website caused some controversy in the image-dominated society where cosmetic surgery is common and job applicants attach their photographs to their resumes.

Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest newspaper, reported on growing concern that even education is suffering from the country's pervasive 'lookism'.

Another educational website, 'Red English' was launched last year and took the same approach but featured teachers sporting much racier attire. The site closed down within a few months of launching.

A former 'Goddess of English' teacher said the curriculum being taught was poor.

 

PHOTO: MAIL ONLINE

 

"I think that in a society without laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring practices, it's not surprising that a business would try this kind of approach to attract customers," she said.

Normal English academies, known as 'hagwon' in South Korea have been accused of discriminating in employment on the basis of appearance, gender and race.

 

PHOTO: MAIL ONLINE

 

"If you look at posters advertising English courses at any institutions, you can see the most attractive teachers everywhere promoting their courses," the former teacher said.

However, Yang insisted that his company prioritised teaching abilities and never hired applicants solely for their appearance.

"Above all, we judge a teacher the most on her mind and character. Today's star teachers see that it is important to be able to empathise with students. Second is the teacher's English and teaching ability," he said.

This article originally appeared on Mail Online