Playback: The Knock At The Door

The Modern Mann

Matt Hill

Relationships, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.8 • 753 Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Teaching English in Beijing seemed like a great opportunity for Welsh graduate Glen Williams, who had previously spent time studying in China. He could brush up on his Mandarin, work with kids… and earn up to £3k per month, tax free. The hitch? The agency that placed him told him that every three months, he’d need to spend the weekend in Seoul - a ‘visa trip’ that, he soon discovered, was commonplace amongst ex-pat EFL teachers. Then, one day, they changed their tune. “If the Police ask you”, they said, “tell them you sell whiteboards”. In this interview with Olly, Glen reveals what happened next… This episode first aired in August 2021. Now remastered and with an update from Glen, we're replaying this interview after this month's feature with Cheryl Bennett. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Olly Mann, and it's the end of the month, so it's time for our playback edition.
0:04.8	Great interviews from our Modern Man Back Catalogue resurfaced for your listening pleasure.
0:09.8	And following my interview that I did with Cheryl Bennett in our April edition,
0:14.3	we thought it was apt to revisit an interview I did back in 2021 with another school teacher
0:20.4	who ended up at the mercy of events beyond
0:23.1	his control, in this case, all the way to a Chinese prison cell with 14 other people.
0:30.1	It's a story that will remind you to think twice before searching for jobs online,
0:35.0	will underline why you should never cut corners and will maybe prompt you to do
0:40.1	some research about whiteboards just in case the knock at the door that's this month's
0:46.8	modern man playback and it all starts next isn't line Isn't life grande?
0:59.4	And making it better just got easier with Starbucks new protein cold foam.
1:04.2	A little something, something to take your favorite drinks up a notch
1:07.7	with 15 grams of extra protein.
1:10.8	Turn your usual iced caramel latte into a smooth
1:13.9	iced caramel protein latte. Add a delicious swirl on top of your drink, just like that. Protein
1:21.4	never tasted so good with Starbucks new protein cold foam. Subject to availability while stocks last.
1:27.4	Now, how did you find your job?
1:31.3	If it wasn't through a work placement or through contacts, then the chances are these days you've found it
1:36.7	advertised in an online listing. Well, today we're bringing you the story of listener Glenn
1:43.0	Williams. After he graduated from university,
1:46.5	he was one evening browsing a well-known job search website, and there he spotted an advert for an
1:52.7	English teacher in Beijing. Having previously studied in China as part of his degree,
	...

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