It is important to recognize that English teaching in Korea is not a "one-size-fits-all" experience. Expat teachers in Korea—and across East Asia—are a diverse group, representing a wide range of cultural, racial, and personal backgrounds. This diversity shapes how individuals experience and navigate their teaching environments. 

Expat English teachers shared feelings of exclusion within their school communities. P4 described Korean coworkers as polite but distant, saying they responded negatively to proposing friendships beyond work. P3 often felt “like a guest at every school” and was sometimes explicitly excluded from after-school gatherings. However, experiences varied—P6 felt warmly included, developing deep friendships, which shows how social inclusion differs depending on the school environment. 

Expat English teachers expressed a range of conflicts and frustrations with their co-teachers, often rooted in poor communication and unequal power dynamics. P2 shared that she faced overt gender and racial bias from male colleagues, noting that asserting herself as an equal often led to friction. P1 described similar frustrations, noting that a co-teacher frequently failed to communicate important information to him and lacked effective classroom management skills, leading him to change workplaces. P3 reflected on feeling more like a “babysitter” than a teacher, as some co-teachers expected her role to be limited to planning games rather than conducting meaningful instruction.