From Privilege to Precarity : Exploring the Experiences of Foreign English Teachers in South Korea’s Neoliberal Landscape = 특권과 불안정 사이: 한국 신자유주의 하의 외국인 영어 교사 경험

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This thesis investigates the seemingly contradictory position of native English teachers (NETs) from the perspective of ‘precarious privilege,’ a term that captures a state of being simultaneously advantaged and vulnerable. While the recent establishment of the KGLU Native Teachers’ Union marks a major effort toward collective action and solidarity for this overlooked group of migrant workers against their increasingly precarious labor conditions, public discourse sometimes dismisses NETs as privileged expat teachers. This study goes beyond the union itself and, more importantly, the simplistic view of NETs as wholly privileged or wholly exploited to pose the following questions: What are the structural factors constituting this ‘precarious privilege’? Is it a shared subjectivity among NETs? And how do they negotiate their identities within this tension?
Applying a mixed-methods approach, this thesis analyzes the macro-level structures (visa/labor policies), meso-level subjectivity (applying Q-methodology), and the micro-level experiences (applying semi-structured interviews). The findings reveal that South Korea’s immigration system, particularly the E-2 visa, institutionalizes ‘native speakerism,’ contributing to the creation of ‘privileged outsiders’ in South Korea’s dualized labor market. Q-methodology identified three distinct subject positions navigating this reality: ‘The Structurally Precarious’ (recognizing systemic exploitation), ‘The Professionally Stalled’ (focusing on career limitations), and ‘The Linguistically Isolated’ (constrained by cultural barriers). Despite these differences, the contours of a shared subjectivity emerged, characterized by a common recognition of structural disempowerment, an illusion of stability masking long-term insecurity, and awareness of racial and gender hierarchies.
Theoretically, this thesis identifies and expands the ‘precarious privilege’ framework and argues that NETs, as a group of migrant workers, are central to understanding the relationship between South Korea’s neoliberal labor market and globalization. This thesis concludes that the stability of the English education system and its industry is based on this manufactured instability, making its future as precarious as the status of the workers that sustain it.

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 논문은 '불안정한 특권' (precarious privilege) 이라는 개념을 통해 원어민 영어 교사(NETs)의 모순적으로 보이는 위치를 탐구한다. 이 용어는 동시에 유리한 위치에 있으면서도 취약한 상태를 포착한다. 최근 설립된 전국민주일반노동조합 (KGLU) 원어민강사지회는 점점 더 불안정해지는 노동 조건에 맞서 소외된 이주 노동자 집단이 집단 행동과 연대를 위해 기울인 주요 노력을 상징하지만, 공공 담론은 때로 NETs를 특권층 외국인 교사들로 치부한다. 본 연구는 NET를 전적으로 특권층이거나 전적으로 착취받는 집단으로 단순화하는 시각을 넘어 다음과 같은 질문을 제기한다: 이 '불안정한 특권'을 구성하는 구조적 요인은 무엇인가? 이는 NET들 사이에서 공유되는 주체성인가? 그리고 그들은 이러한 긴장 속에서 자신의 정체성을 어떻게 협상하는가?
혼합 방법론 접근을 적용한 본 논문은 거시적 수준 구조(비자/노동 정책), 중간 수준 주체성(Q-methodology 적용), 미시적 수준 경험(반구조화 인터뷰 적용)을 분석한다. 연구 결과, 한국의 이민 제도, 특히 E-2 비자는 '원어민 우월주의'를 제도화하여 한국 이원화된 노동시장 내 '특권적 외부인'을 양산하는 것으로 나타났다. Q-방법론은 이 현실을 헤쳐 나가는 세 가지 주체 위치를 식별했다: ‘구조적 불안정층’(체계적 착취 인식), ‘직업적 정체층’(경력 한계 집중), ‘언어적 고립층’(문화적 장벽 제약). 이러한 차이에도 불구하고 공통된 주체성의 윤곽이 드러났는데, 구조적 무력감에 대한 공유된 인식, 장기적 불안정을 가리는 안정성 환상, 인종 및 성별 계층 구조에 대한 인식이 특징이다.
이론적으로 본 논문은 ‘불안정 특권’ 프레임워크를 식별하고 확장하며, 이주 노동자 집단인 NET(외국인 영어 교사)가 한국의 신자유주의 노동 시장과 세계화 간의 관계를 이해하는 데 핵심적임을 주장한다. 본 논문은 영어 교육 시스템과 그 산업의 안정성이 이러한 인위적 불안정성에 기반하고 있으며, 이를 유지하는 노동자들의 지위만큼이나 그 미래 역시 불안정하다고 결론지었다.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1: Introduction 1
• 1.1. Research Background 1
• 1.2. Research Question and Objectives 3
• Chapter 2: Literature Review 6
• 2.1. English Education and Neoliberalism in South Korea 6
• 2.2. Who are Native English Teachers? 8
• 2.3. Privilege, Precarity, and Precarious Privilege 12
• Chapter 3: Research Methodology 17
• 3.1. Macro-Level Analysis: Structural and Policy Framework 18
• 3.1.1. EPIK Foreign Teacher Nationality Data 18
• 3.1.2. Private Education Expenditures Survey 19
• 3.1.3. Immigration Statistics Yearbook 19
• 3.2. Meso-Level Analysis: Mapping Subjectivities with Q-Methodology 20
• 3.2.1. Participants (the P-set) 21
• 3.2.2. Instruments and Data Sets 24
• 3.2.3. Data Gathering 25
• 3.3. Micro-Level Insights: Lived Experience through Semi-Structured Interviews 28
• 3.3.1. Participant Recruitment and Data Collection 28
• Chapter 4: Understanding the Privilege and Precarity of Native English Teachers in South Korea 30
• 4.1. Introduction 30
• 4.2. Positioning NETs Within South Korea’s Dualized Labor Market 31
• 4.3. Visa Policies and the Institutionalization of Native Speaker Privilege 34
• 4.3.1. How the de facto informs the de jure: The Institutionalization of Native Speaker Legitimacy 37
• 4.3.2. How de jure hardens the de facto: How institutionalized privileges harden social meanings 44
• Chapter 5: Exploring Distinct Precariously Privileged NET Subjectivities 52
• 5.1. Introduction 52
• 5.2. Factor Interpretation: A Shared Subjectivity in Multiple Forms 53
• 5.2.1. Factor 1: The Structurally Precarious 53
• 5.2.2. Factor 2: The Professionally Stalled 62
• 5.2.3. Factor 3: The Linguistically Isolated 70
• 5.3. The Dividing Lines 76
• Chapter 6: Mapping the Contours of NET Precarious Privilege 79
• 6.1. Introduction 79
• 6.2. Shared Subjectivity: Mapping the Contours of Precarious Privilege 80
• 6.3. Living Precarious Privilege: A Closer Look at the Contours 82
• 6.3.1. Contour 1: Structural Disempowerment 84
• 6.3.2. Contour 2: The Illusion of Stability 91
• 6.3.3. Contour 3: Functional, not Fluent 94
• 6.3.4. Contour 4: Gendered and Racial Hierarchies 97
• 6.3.5. The Operative Logic of Precarious Privilege 101
• Chapter 7: Conclusion 103
• 7.1. Summary of findings 103
• 7.2. Discussion 107
• 7.3. Final Remarks 108
• Bibliography 110
• Abstract in Korean 139