“Neither Colorblind, Neutral, nor Meritocratic”: A Critical Examination of South Korea’s E-2 Visa Policy Through the Lens of the Excluded

<p>South Korea’s E-2 visa policy restricts English teaching positions to citizens from seven predominantly white inner circle countries, institutionalizing racial and linguistic hierarchies through immigration law (Jenks, 2017). This dissertation addresses how the policy functions as a gatekeeping mechanism that privileges Western educators while excluding qualified teachers from outer and expanding circle countries, postcolonial contexts where English serves as an official or widely used language (Kachru, 1985). Drawing from 15 years as a Black American English teacher in South Korea, I used critical race theory, raciolinguistics (Rosa & Flores, 2017), and postcolonial theory (Pennycook, 1998) to investigate how nationality operates as a racial proxy that prestructures professional legitimacy before qualifications are considered.</p> <p>Through in-depth interviews with 13 qualified English educators from outer and expanding circle countries residing in South Korea, counter-narratives that challenge dominant assumptions about linguistic legitimacy are centered. Findings reveal three interlocking dimensions of exclusion: nationality-based eligibility codified through visa policy, reinforced through institutional hiring, and sustained through market preferences that treat whiteness and Western origin as proxies for linguistic authenticity. Participants named these structures with precision, identifying discrimination and proposing competence-based alternatives. A further contradiction emerged: Korean universities recruit, train, and credential teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) educators from outer and expanding circle contexts while national policy simultaneously renders those credentials insufficient for formal employment.</p> <p>Findings contribute to scholarship on native-speakerism and racialized labor in the global English teaching market by centering those most directly affected. Implications point toward replacing nationality-based eligibility with proficiency- and qualification-based frameworks and recognizing excluded educators’ analyses as scholarly knowledge.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD Education for Social Justice

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation: USD Users Only

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Learning and Teaching

Year dc:date.available

2026

Author dc:creator

• Osse, Euclide

• South Korea
• E-2 Visa Policy
• Critical Race Theory (CRT)
• Raciolinguistics
• Postcolonial Theory
• Linguistic Racism
• Counterstorytelling
• English Language Teaching (ELT)
• Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education
• International and Comparative Education
• Language and Literacy Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/1120

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.sandiego.edu:dissertations-2131