In Response To: Stay away from MunHwa Language School (Rose Lynde)

I was saddened, and frustrated, when I visited my old school last weekend in Gwang Ju, Korea: Mun Hwa School. I was astounded when the director told me about Ms. Rose Lynde who they had hired, brought to Korea and who had left the next day!

My name is Leigh Donevan. I have lived in Korea for 6 years including THREE years at Mun Hwa School! I know the director very well and I am very familiar with the living conditions at the apartments.

I can truthfully state that I never saw any apartments that had "exposed areas around piping" with "rampant cockroaches (inside and out)" and "mice droppings" with "encrusted layered dirt" and "rancid digusting" ovens. Also the description of "garbage all over" with "open ditches" and "overpowering urine smell" outside of the "filthy" apartment is quite an exaggeration.

I have seen, and helped clean, many apartments for the school as new teachers moved in over the years. I never experienced such conditions as described by Ms. Lynde. In fact, the apartments are not only clean but they are also quite big (for Asian standards) and are located in a nice neighborhood. Also, it is my personal, and professional, opinion that Mr. Kang, the director of the school, is one of the best bosses I have ever had both in Canada and in Korea. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the school and only moved on to study in Seoul in a Masters Program.

So... be careful about what you read and believe on the net. Check things out very carefully because you may miss a great opportunity... such as the one Ms. Lynde only took 16 hours or so(mostly at night and after a 15ish hour plane ride) to explore.... pity! It is a great school!

Sincerely, Leigh Donevan

PS. you can contact me at the posted email address if you have further questions.