In South Korea, teachers have been going on strikes and massive demonstrations in the streets of Seoul since the beginning of September. They denounce the harassment carried out by the students’ parents. The Korean Parliament will propose radical solutions.
In South Korea, the pressure is becoming unbearable for teachers. They face increasingly aggressive parents, who file lawsuits in all directions and who complain on social networks. On Thursday, September 21, the Korean Parliament must also study a set of measures to try to better protect these teachers.
An ultra-competitive system
The problem has existed for years, but a series of suicides since the start of 2023 finally pushed teachers to take to the streets and call on the authorities. They were particularly upset by the suicide last July of a young 23-year-old teacher in a primary school in southern Seoul. She ended her life in her class after classes, even though she had been complaining to her management for months about the aggressiveness of the students’ parents, one father in particular. But the school did not dare to do anything as is often the case: schools do not want to have problems with parents so as not to damage their reputation.
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In a Korean system which is very competitive, where you absolutely have to perform. Parents invest a huge amount of money in their children’s education. You have to pay for the best school, the best evening classes, the best private lessons on weekends and they therefore no longer tolerate their offspring being reprimanded or given a bad grade. So they complain about the teachers. Sometimes they come to blows or harass them at home, on the phone at night. Many families even file complaints for “emotional abuse” of their child.
Put barriers to direct pressure
Against this state of affairs, the government says it will offer better psychological support to teachers. For example, they will be able to take tests to assess their stress level. This involves better identifying possible cases of depression and providing those who want it with free consultations with professionals. The Ministry of Education will also start running buses between schools, where teachers can more easily meet with psychologists and talk about issues of bullying by parents.
To counter harassing parents, the government says it will change the law to protect teachers. The country actually wants to create a sort of immunity for teachers, that is to say that parents will no longer be able to file complaints at their whim against those who do not please them. Only real serious cases of abuse by teachers, which may exist, will be investigated by the courts.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Education wants to avoid direct pressure on teachers as much as possible. If they want to complain, parents will now have to contact the school principal and not attack the teachers directly. In the event that there is an exchange between parents and teachers, the conversations can be recorded, which in theory should make it possible to avoid excesses.