“…Korea, as an expanding circle country (Kachru, 1992), places a high value on English pro ciency as a valuable soft skill that brings social and economic bene ts (Author, 2023;Joe & Lee, 2013;Lee & Chan, 2023;Lee & Kim, 2021). Consequently, there is an increasing demand for English education in the country (Jeon, 2009;Jo, 2008;Rabbidge, 2020;Shin, 2007). However, this prominence of English has led to a division between native and non-native teachers (Seo, 2023;Song, 2018).…”