OK, Dragonized... As with most posts on this forum, people offer both opinion and fact (I am one of them).

With regards to your inquiry, I can offer some opinion, and some experiential information (facts).

I was an ESL teacher in Seoul, South Korea at this time one year ago. I worked for a "reputable" adult training center. I was unhappy at this school from the first day, as deceit and broken promises came into play immediately. I did my job professionally in every way, and even received a bonus one month for exemplary performance and very high student ratings.

Seven months into my contract, I became ill (I'll spare readers the gory details), but my foreign manager (an Aussie) refused to help me seek medical attention. Seeing that I was obviously not well and in pain, my students took me to a hospital. I wound up seeking treatment at four different hospitals. I landed in a "free" hospital for foreigners, where I remained bed-ridden and misdiagnosed (and therefore mistreated) for three weeks. I was isolated from the other patients (as most of them were Chinese laborers who had been abused financially and sometimes physically), and given no access to email or other channels of communication. During the course of the three weeks, my condition got worse and worse.

My parents contacted the U.S. Embassy there in Seoul, who in turn, tracked me down at the "hospital." They offered help with various things like release of medical records, flight home, arrangement for medical team to meet me at the airport, etc., but in the end, they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for me. I paid for my flight home ($2500 for a first class ticket as my leg was wrapped in a cast), and my family transported me directly to the hospital where I was properly diagnosed, but my condition was so advanced such that emergency surgery was attempted but ultimately aborted, and I was declared disabled.

I couldn't understand why the reps at the U.S. Embassy failed to carry out their pledges, but when I met them, I understood why. THEY were Korean, and protected the interests of the lousy and corrupt Korean physicians and their joke of a "hospital" (no physicisn on duty on the weekends, no bathroom on the floor where I was kept, left alone for up to 8 hours at a time, nurses with no medical training). As I said, I was told to remain in bed at all times, but in the three weeks I was there, I was NEVER washed, and my bed linens were never changed.

As the "hospital" staff knew the Embassy reps were coming to investigate, they moved me to a clean, private room woth a private bath (one not patients but for the hospital "leader"). They changed my sheets, washed me, mopped the blood-stained floor, etc., all in a masquerade to challenge what they knew I had reported to the embassy folks. Quite shockingly, the Korean embassy reps BOUGHT the charade.

No ticket home (as they promised) no med team to assist me upon arrival in the U.S -- nothing!

I paid for everything myself, and my students provided transport from the "hospital" to the airport, far away in Incheon.

In short, my Korea experience was the ultimate nightmare and has changed my life forever.

Now for OPINION:

I lived and taught ESL in China for five years (2003-2008). I had numerous frustrations and challenges in China (but of course, nothing on the level of Korea) -- mostly deceitful/unethical and academically-challenged employers, greedy landlords, etc. I also had a brief run-in with Immigration in 2005, due to an employer dropping the ball with my residence permit, which of course, fell completely in my lap to solve. (bye bye, employer!)

In all of this, I never sought help from the U.S. Embassy in China because I felt they would not get involved. We all know that there are hundreds of thousands of FTs throughtout China; most of them experiencing major or minor levels of frustration, disappointment, and deception, even abuse. My feeling is that the U.S. Embassy cannot/will not involve themselves in the majority of these matters because they feel coming to the People's Republic of China for teaching work is risky, and the FTs did so of their own free will. I think (without experience) that if FTs expect help in various matters from the home country consulate they will be sorely disappointment. Unless there is rape or other physical brutality involved, don't expect much, if any, intervention from the home country consulate.

That was my opinion BEFORE I ventured to Korea. As a result of the zero support and intervention from U.S consulate in Korea, my feelings in this regard are now much stronger.

In short, FTs should expect little or nothing from the home country consulate, at least, not Americans.