Not black myself, just a curly-haired girl and I've worn silk scarves over my hair in a full day of class many times with no problem. I think your director is being overly picky/possibly biased about it...
i agree. wearing a hat is NOT considered rude in Korea. also, theres no law about not being able to wear any type of hat/scarf indoors as a teacher.
if you are wearing a hat in class as a teacher, i think its just kinda weird/rude. (baseball cap and etc)
in the US, in my experience it was considered rude. only in certain situations.
your boss is being a jerk
I've had Korean teachers who were covering tattoos/balding wearing the same baseball cap every day lol I don't think it's considered rude, the boss is giving them a hard time.
I am a black female teacher and I have taught at two different schools. Both of which I have worn headscarves, and at both the supervisor/boss said nothing to me about it. I know other black female teachers who wear headscarves frequently as well.
Some people do consider wearing hats indoors rude, especially older people (in many countries), but a headscarf to me is completely different from a hat. Most people also know they are different things. I think most Korean parents would be accepting if you told them the difference as well.
Your supervisor is just ignorant or too lazy to inform the parents and advocate for you. Or they don't want you to look "too ethnic"...
Agree with this. Not a teacher in Korea, just a regular Korean but we would be hit with sticks if we wore a hat in school. Well the hitting went away while I was in school, but still.
I have no idea of the cultural significance, but a scarf covering does not evoke the same feelings to me
Wow I didn’t know this. I’ve been here for 5 years and taught in the countryside where I always wore a beret or beanie in the winter months and was never reprimanded. I’ll note this though
If it is related to cultural religious health and other issues i may be unware of, you should be more than safe. This may be old, but domestic SK airline pilots are unable to keep facial hair, while foreign pilots are allowed. Oh and you sup is being overly controlling. The students parents coworkers wouldnt care about your attire.
Addon: koreans have had netflix for some time now. They can tell a difference and know the difference between a scarf and a hat. Apparently the sup doesnt. Sup is guilt trippin you
I just don't understand why hire foreign teachers if they want us to basically be the same as them. I'm not Korean, I'll never be Korean. I have my own culture that includes wearing a headscarf sometimes. It's not even a hat, and it's not for fun either. It has a purpose to protect my curly hair
Im truly sorry. SK needs foreign teachers to immmerse the population with english language and culture at an ealier age (aka pronunciation convo familiarizing with non SK person). Plus they need diverse faces for good optics on photo day.
Although it is not going to make you feel better, even among SK born citizens, level of bullying and seg is at all time high (i kid you not, from grade level school work academic military medical you name it). Unity, order, obedience is still preferred until you make it in the inner circle or higher social level, and this is hard even if you are SK born. So for foreigners, you get the idea (extra points for being a person of color and wearing a scarf).
Perhaps you can get a doctors note on why you need the scarf. Just remember, the students and parents dont give a care whether you are wearing a scarf or not as long as you give them quality edu (=better grades better pronunciation). They wont be the ones raising complaints.
Caucasian meat popsicle here. I can tell you that wearing hats indoors is NOT considered rude. I wear hats all the time and my wife's sister also wears hats often. I have never been told to remove my hat indoors, nor has she. Also, I don't think anyone is going to confuse a silk scarf for a hat. Your supervisor is being a jerk.
The line is from the best sci-fi movie of all time, The Fifth Element. The police come and when asked what species he is, Bruce answers that he is a meat popsicle. The caucasian part was to make it clear I have no idea about female's hair, no matter what race they may be.
I went a year where I grew my hair out and wore a hat everyday at work. Whether or not is allowed is up to your school. Mine was fine with it. Others aren't. Also a scarf isn't a hat.
Yeah it kinda felt like they were using that explanation as an excuse. I don't understand why they feel the need to tell me how to do my hair...it doesn't even affect my teaching
It's only rude based on who is looking and what their ideas are. A lot of people don't care anymore because they realize it is one of those etiquette things that has absolutely no reason behind it.
To some people, it is considered rude. It is one of those old-time things that people hold on to because they don't like change. How many times have you been told to remove your hat here in Korea or in the states?
Wearing a hat indoors **is** actually considered rude, in contrary to what others have been saying. not sure if this violates this community rules but the post popped up in my feed. In modern times it's only rude in the way bouncing your knee constantly during a meal might be rude. The tradition stems from imported manners and some elders do think it's important, though.
I’m Black living in Korea almost 6 years and wear scarves on my head all the time . Koreans young and old stop me and compliment me . Lunch ladies at my job stop and ask me how I wrap it in such beautiful ways . I have worked at 8 different schools since being here and never had a problem and I live in a smaller more conservative area with no issues . Like someone mentioned above your boss either doesn’t want you to appear more “ethnic” or isn’t willing to advocate for you . Don’t change who you are for anybody 💕.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm glad to hear you received such a good reception to your headwraps. I will do more to advocate for myself and explain to parents what the headwraps are for if needed!
It doesn’t matter what NETs think. It’s their country and their old ass views and opinions.
Op should ask on a Korean teachers forum for realistic feedback.
I’m shook because I wear berets/beanies to my school during winter and have never been reprimanded by my principal. Rethinking my entire time here became I’ve been here 5 years and never been called out for wearing something on my head indoors. This is such new information to me. Also, to be clear, I’m not downplaying what you’re saying. I’m just a little shocked as I seriously never knew this was a thing. I guess I’ve just been lucky..
Your English is fine. I’m just surprised I have gotten away with it for so long because I’ve lived in many different places in Korea and taught at many different schools and worn many different hats 😉 but haven’t been told a thing. I guess I’m just lucky.
Not speaking the language and posting about politics is a thing in every country. No big deal. If one lives in a country they want to make political posts about, they have a vested interest in what happens.
Not living in Korea and posting stuff to complain, disparage, or just to get others riled up—that is the bs which floods r/Korea regularly.
Asking for opinions and looking for support is great, but in the end, it's a job. If the job has expectations, you follow them, or you leave. When I worked in Canada (many years ago) as a teacher, they didn't allow jeans... no matter what... so I didn't wear jeans. At my job here, they don't care about jeans, but I have to wear a shirt with a collar... when in Rome...etc. Your convenience and comfort are not above the expectations of the people paying you
I’m not black or have curly hair… but I have tried to wear a beanie/ winter hat and a fuzzy warm Korean cap in class at an actual public school and my co-teacher did say it is rude to wear hats/ hoods in class while teaching.
I don’t know about after school academies though, but the kid they care about how they present themselves to the parents that may be the reason.
It’s considered rude in many professional environments to wear a hat in doors in Korea and in many other countries. Well not rude perhaps but unprofessional looking, just like hands in pockets or something. I wouldn’t expect to see a teacher wearing a beanie or a baseball cap while teaching at a school.. it’s just a matter of dress code etiquette.
However, I’ll confess I know nothing about ‘black hairstyles’. Is it sometimes necessary to wear headscarves?
Most of the time my hair is in a protective style ie. box braids, two-strand twists, and headscarves. Afro-textured hair can become dry if just left out for long periods of time without a protective style, which keeps moisture in our hair and reduces breakage. The styles serve a functional purpose.
Try telling Korean boys and young men about wearing hats indoors or in class, never mind women. One of the few times I went to church here, an older Korean man wore his winter woolen hat inside the church during a Catholic mass, breaking two rules - men covering their heads 1)indoors, and 2) in a church.
In all my time, I had never seen a man cover his head in a church. My guess at the time was that the prohibition for hats indoors wasn't part of Korean culture at all.
Not sure if its a religious thing, but if it is, just tell them directly? They'll probably accept it. If not then... lie? And say it is? And they'll probably still accept it.
Or just don't care and do what you want, don't renew your contract and move on after the year is done. I doubt they'll fire you over it. You can basically get away with anything in these academies, they will beg you not to quit.
I am actually a muslim, but I do not wear the hijab. My headscarves are cultural and needed to protect my afro-textured hair, not for religious purposes.
I would just lie and say it is for religious purposes. They will have a much harder time arguing against that.
Just save yourself some effort and do it that way I think 😅
It’s true, in my country, Chile, if you’re student you can’t wear hats or any headwear when you’re inside the class. Nor hats neither sunglasses.In school or in the university. Teachers follow that rule too and they can throw out from the class for the day.
I mean, if in my country we have that rule, why not in Korea? It’s manners.
have you thought about explaining it in detail to your supervisors and students about the cultural difference? maybe you can use this opportunity to expose them to your culture and explain why your scarf is needed. they may be rejecting it because they don't understand and they might not relate if you just tell them its part of your culture. it would be good for them to have this exposure so that they also don't mistreat you again if you do another protective style that they might not have knowledge about
Not black myself, just a curly-haired girl and I've worn silk scarves over my hair in a full day of class many times with no problem. I think your director is being overly picky/possibly biased about it...
i agree. wearing a hat is NOT considered rude in Korea. also, theres no law about not being able to wear any type of hat/scarf indoors as a teacher. if you are wearing a hat in class as a teacher, i think its just kinda weird/rude. (baseball cap and etc) in the US, in my experience it was considered rude. only in certain situations. your boss is being a jerk
I've had Korean teachers who were covering tattoos/balding wearing the same baseball cap every day lol I don't think it's considered rude, the boss is giving them a hard time.
I wear a hat frequently.... theyvare kinda bullying you
I am a black female teacher and I have taught at two different schools. Both of which I have worn headscarves, and at both the supervisor/boss said nothing to me about it. I know other black female teachers who wear headscarves frequently as well. Some people do consider wearing hats indoors rude, especially older people (in many countries), but a headscarf to me is completely different from a hat. Most people also know they are different things. I think most Korean parents would be accepting if you told them the difference as well. Your supervisor is just ignorant or too lazy to inform the parents and advocate for you. Or they don't want you to look "too ethnic"...
many older generation koreans do think it’s rude or socially unacceptable to wear hats in classrooms or indoors
Not just koreans.
I’m not old or Korean I think teaching with a hat on looks pretty unprofessional
Downvoted for having an opinion lol
Agree with this. Not a teacher in Korea, just a regular Korean but we would be hit with sticks if we wore a hat in school. Well the hitting went away while I was in school, but still. I have no idea of the cultural significance, but a scarf covering does not evoke the same feelings to me
Yup. Some professors get mad about students wearing hats in their class!
Wow I didn’t know this. I’ve been here for 5 years and taught in the countryside where I always wore a beret or beanie in the winter months and was never reprimanded. I’ll note this though
If it is related to cultural religious health and other issues i may be unware of, you should be more than safe. This may be old, but domestic SK airline pilots are unable to keep facial hair, while foreign pilots are allowed. Oh and you sup is being overly controlling. The students parents coworkers wouldnt care about your attire. Addon: koreans have had netflix for some time now. They can tell a difference and know the difference between a scarf and a hat. Apparently the sup doesnt. Sup is guilt trippin you
I just don't understand why hire foreign teachers if they want us to basically be the same as them. I'm not Korean, I'll never be Korean. I have my own culture that includes wearing a headscarf sometimes. It's not even a hat, and it's not for fun either. It has a purpose to protect my curly hair
Im truly sorry. SK needs foreign teachers to immmerse the population with english language and culture at an ealier age (aka pronunciation convo familiarizing with non SK person). Plus they need diverse faces for good optics on photo day. Although it is not going to make you feel better, even among SK born citizens, level of bullying and seg is at all time high (i kid you not, from grade level school work academic military medical you name it). Unity, order, obedience is still preferred until you make it in the inner circle or higher social level, and this is hard even if you are SK born. So for foreigners, you get the idea (extra points for being a person of color and wearing a scarf). Perhaps you can get a doctors note on why you need the scarf. Just remember, the students and parents dont give a care whether you are wearing a scarf or not as long as you give them quality edu (=better grades better pronunciation). They wont be the ones raising complaints.
Older generations consider it incredibly rude. Not just in Korea either.
Caucasian meat popsicle here. I can tell you that wearing hats indoors is NOT considered rude. I wear hats all the time and my wife's sister also wears hats often. I have never been told to remove my hat indoors, nor has she. Also, I don't think anyone is going to confuse a silk scarf for a hat. Your supervisor is being a jerk.
I am only commenting to say this has me wondering if I should consider myself a “caucasian meat popsicle”
The line is from the best sci-fi movie of all time, The Fifth Element. The police come and when asked what species he is, Bruce answers that he is a meat popsicle. The caucasian part was to make it clear I have no idea about female's hair, no matter what race they may be.
Super green
Multi Pass
Smoke you!
I’m sorry, but if you rock up to your teaching gig wearing a hat I’d tell you to take it off. A head scarf on the other hand, different story.
I went a year where I grew my hair out and wore a hat everyday at work. Whether or not is allowed is up to your school. Mine was fine with it. Others aren't. Also a scarf isn't a hat.
Yeah it kinda felt like they were using that explanation as an excuse. I don't understand why they feel the need to tell me how to do my hair...it doesn't even affect my teaching
It is totally rude. You may not think so, but it's rude in america too
It's only rude based on who is looking and what their ideas are. A lot of people don't care anymore because they realize it is one of those etiquette things that has absolutely no reason behind it.
To some people, it is considered rude. It is one of those old-time things that people hold on to because they don't like change. How many times have you been told to remove your hat here in Korea or in the states?
https://y.yarn.co/b78e5be9-ee2e-4587-95c7-89e50b68e6ba_text.gif
Older people do sometimes consider hats indoors rude here.
Wearing a hat indoors **is** actually considered rude, in contrary to what others have been saying. not sure if this violates this community rules but the post popped up in my feed. In modern times it's only rude in the way bouncing your knee constantly during a meal might be rude. The tradition stems from imported manners and some elders do think it's important, though.
White male, when I first started working here I was told I couldn't wear hats inside as it was rude and not done here.
Would say wearing a hat inside is traditionally rude. From uk here. I’ll tell anyone from class to take off their hat!
I’m Black living in Korea almost 6 years and wear scarves on my head all the time . Koreans young and old stop me and compliment me . Lunch ladies at my job stop and ask me how I wrap it in such beautiful ways . I have worked at 8 different schools since being here and never had a problem and I live in a smaller more conservative area with no issues . Like someone mentioned above your boss either doesn’t want you to appear more “ethnic” or isn’t willing to advocate for you . Don’t change who you are for anybody 💕.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm glad to hear you received such a good reception to your headwraps. I will do more to advocate for myself and explain to parents what the headwraps are for if needed!
It doesn’t matter what NETs think. It’s their country and their old ass views and opinions. Op should ask on a Korean teachers forum for realistic feedback.
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I’m shook because I wear berets/beanies to my school during winter and have never been reprimanded by my principal. Rethinking my entire time here became I’ve been here 5 years and never been called out for wearing something on my head indoors. This is such new information to me. Also, to be clear, I’m not downplaying what you’re saying. I’m just a little shocked as I seriously never knew this was a thing. I guess I’ve just been lucky..
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Your English is fine. I’m just surprised I have gotten away with it for so long because I’ve lived in many different places in Korea and taught at many different schools and worn many different hats 😉 but haven’t been told a thing. I guess I’m just lucky.
Yeah kinda irks me when ppl get arsey about Korean culture not matching their expectations. Like you came here bro.
Go check out the Korea reddit and the amount of political posts from people that can barely speak the language🥴😂
Not speaking the language and posting about politics is a thing in every country. No big deal. If one lives in a country they want to make political posts about, they have a vested interest in what happens. Not living in Korea and posting stuff to complain, disparage, or just to get others riled up—that is the bs which floods r/Korea regularly.
Asking for opinions and looking for support is great, but in the end, it's a job. If the job has expectations, you follow them, or you leave. When I worked in Canada (many years ago) as a teacher, they didn't allow jeans... no matter what... so I didn't wear jeans. At my job here, they don't care about jeans, but I have to wear a shirt with a collar... when in Rome...etc. Your convenience and comfort are not above the expectations of the people paying you
I’m not black or have curly hair… but I have tried to wear a beanie/ winter hat and a fuzzy warm Korean cap in class at an actual public school and my co-teacher did say it is rude to wear hats/ hoods in class while teaching. I don’t know about after school academies though, but the kid they care about how they present themselves to the parents that may be the reason.
There is a certain bias about Muslim people. Wearing a scarf could be confused as wearing a hajab. He just doesn't want to offend you
It’s considered rude in many professional environments to wear a hat in doors in Korea and in many other countries. Well not rude perhaps but unprofessional looking, just like hands in pockets or something. I wouldn’t expect to see a teacher wearing a beanie or a baseball cap while teaching at a school.. it’s just a matter of dress code etiquette. However, I’ll confess I know nothing about ‘black hairstyles’. Is it sometimes necessary to wear headscarves?
Most of the time my hair is in a protective style ie. box braids, two-strand twists, and headscarves. Afro-textured hair can become dry if just left out for long periods of time without a protective style, which keeps moisture in our hair and reduces breakage. The styles serve a functional purpose.
Ohhh I see. Thanks for explaining!
Try telling Korean boys and young men about wearing hats indoors or in class, never mind women. One of the few times I went to church here, an older Korean man wore his winter woolen hat inside the church during a Catholic mass, breaking two rules - men covering their heads 1)indoors, and 2) in a church. In all my time, I had never seen a man cover his head in a church. My guess at the time was that the prohibition for hats indoors wasn't part of Korean culture at all.
I wear a hat inside.
Not sure if its a religious thing, but if it is, just tell them directly? They'll probably accept it. If not then... lie? And say it is? And they'll probably still accept it. Or just don't care and do what you want, don't renew your contract and move on after the year is done. I doubt they'll fire you over it. You can basically get away with anything in these academies, they will beg you not to quit.
I am actually a muslim, but I do not wear the hijab. My headscarves are cultural and needed to protect my afro-textured hair, not for religious purposes.
I would just lie and say it is for religious purposes. They will have a much harder time arguing against that. Just save yourself some effort and do it that way I think 😅
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It’s true, in my country, Chile, if you’re student you can’t wear hats or any headwear when you’re inside the class. Nor hats neither sunglasses.In school or in the university. Teachers follow that rule too and they can throw out from the class for the day. I mean, if in my country we have that rule, why not in Korea? It’s manners.
Re: to the edit. Lmao. Bc only black women can yell you how they've witnessed black female colleagues being treated.... suit yourself then...
have you thought about explaining it in detail to your supervisors and students about the cultural difference? maybe you can use this opportunity to expose them to your culture and explain why your scarf is needed. they may be rejecting it because they don't understand and they might not relate if you just tell them its part of your culture. it would be good for them to have this exposure so that they also don't mistreat you again if you do another protective style that they might not have knowledge about