In famously boozy South Korea, 'Irish alcoholism' excuse for job rejection

Katie Mulrennan comes from a country that has produced some of the world's finest authors, poets and raconteurs.

But it was her compatriots' supposed prodigious drinking and not their love of the English language that determined the outcome of her application for a teaching job in Seoul.

Mulrennan, 26, from County Kerry in Ireland, had applied for a teaching job in the South Korean capital, where she has lived for two years. She seemed the perfect candidate for the job, which was advertised by a recruitment agency on Craigslist in September, having spent more than three years teaching English in Barcelona, Oxford, Abu Dhabi and then Seoul.

But weeks after filing her application, she was stunned to discover why she was not even considered for an interview. A reply from the recruiter read: "Hello Katie, I am sorry to inform you that my client does not hire Irish people due to the alcoholism [sic] nature of your kind." The sender, who was not named, ended the message by wishing her "the best of luck in the future".

Mulrennan told BBC News: "It was disappointing because these employers did not even get to see me. They never spoke to me and didn't get a chance to hear what I sounded like."

She does not know the name of the recruiter, as its name did not appear on Craigslist, but has reported the job posting to the classified-ads website.

Mulrennan initially thought the response was a joke.