“Korea Can be Fun Depending on What you Look Like”: Investigating Marginalization among Expatriate Female English Teachers in East Asia

Epps, Valencia; Moodie, Ian

doi:10.30466/ijltr.2025.56729.3218

“Korea Can be Fun Depending on What you Look Like”: Investigating Marginalization among Expatriate Female English Teachers in East Asia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Valencia Epps ¹

Ian Moodie ²

¹ Carnegie Mellon University, US

² Mokpo National University, South Korea

10.30466/ijltr.2025.56729.3218

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how the intersecting dimensions of gender, race, and physical appearance exacerbate marginalization among expatriate female English teachers in East Asia. Drawing on in-depth interviews with seven women across Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Mongolia, it employs an intersectional framework to explore how overlapping identity constructs shape their professional and everyday experiences in their host countries. Findings reveal systemic exclusion tied to gendered workplace norms, racial discrimination, and aesthetic expectations related to body size, dress, and hair texture. These overlapping inequalities influenced participants’ classroom authority, emotional wellbeing, and occupational commitment. The study contributes to language teaching research by centering the voices of women in transnational contexts and illuminating how patriarchal institutional cultures, White normativity, and local beauty standards operate in conjunction with native-speakerism to produce compounded inequities. It calls for greater attention to equity in hiring, teacher support systems, and inclusive policy and training in ELT workspaces. Ultimately, the study underscores the importance of intersectionality in understanding and addressing discriminatory power dynamics in global ELT.

Keywords

intersectionality

Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs)

gender

race

appearance

language teacher identity