‘Fear of facing students’: South Korea teachers grapple with high rates of abuse and suicide 

Slapping a teacher?! In my times, I’ll get thrown out to the street by my own parents for such disrespect!

It isn't "bad parenting", it's *not parenting.*

Getting bullied by a child as an adult is such a weird experience

To parents in this comment section, Discipline starts at home, please Discipline your kids. Don't baby or spoil them so much.

Kids who slaps anyone should be charged for assault. Let them be accountable for their actions.

Soon no more teachers would like to teach because of entitled parents and students

What will be your next generation if you let an elementary student do something inappropriate like that

The child should be expelled from school. And the parents should pay compensation to the teacher for damages done to his or her self respect.

that kid should be expelled

Parents nowadays treats teachers like maids or servants to their children

This is definitely a parent issue, I worked there for years and the parents would call the schools and threaten if their kids failed exams. The parents would demand the school change their kid's grades. The parents are worse than the students.

Shame for the parents. Imagine how bad and nasty that kid is. Shame

kids who never got told “No”

The parents are the problem here. They act very entitled just because they are paying the school or donating a lot of money. If the parent of that kid have seen how he behaved, they should be the first one to correct that behavior because it reflects who they are as a parent. The school should also not tolerate that behavior, at least have them suspended that student or expelled for extreme cases.

discipline is not child abuse.

I was an English teacher in Korea for 3 years (I just returned to my home country at the end of February). I experienced this first hand. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through as a person. I asked for help many times but with the language barrier and my Korean co teachers being young, no one listened to us until it was too late. My last year was the worst. I had students threaten to kill me, kill their classmates, and kill themselves for being told no or to stop hitting their classmates (including with crutches). I had a student pull a craft knife on another kid. Kids kicking doors, breaking windows, and throwing chairs because they were told they needed to use an eraser. Others throwing basketballs down stairwells from the 4th floor. Pushing teachers, swearing at teachers. Their homeroom teachers had given up because they were fearful of the parents, so did the school administration. After I came home I decided I never wanted to be a teacher again (something I had wanted to do my whole life and did 5 years of post-secondary school for that costs tens of thousands of dollars). I felt so lost (and I still do a lot of time). I was diagnosed with PTSD and I'm working on it. I'm going back to school for a new career at almost 30 years old because I cannot walk back into a classroom as a teacher after what I went through. I love Korea and Korean people but my experience teaching there was a nightmare. And I am well aware that many Korean teachers feel hopeless and lost and they struggle getting any change. But there is a whole group of foreign English teachers who are also struggling with no support. As a native English teacher, we can't attend any protests or we can be deported. We have no union, no support, many of us face a language barrier, and we are often overlooked and forgotten.

The lack of discipline at home.

Can u imagine the kind of teenager that boy will be. I feel sorry for the poor girls that he will date and probably treat horribly. Then that teenager will become a man and imagine how that will go? The parents should be ashamed.

That's why in Korean there's lots of bullies movies/series

People say Asians are so respectful, kind, shy and conservative but that’s the total opposite. They’re just like everyone else. Don’t let the k dramas fool you people.

You can’t pay me enough to teach this generation of kids

I’m a teacher in Singapore; taught for more than 15 years and in 4 schools; just left the service and I concur it’s not easy to teach nowadays; 1) new generation of students that are so coddled by their parents that each little complain from their kids will have parents ring school up, and demand unreasonable explanations and apologies when it’s not even the teachers’ fault. 2) New generation of Principals and bosses (middle managers); the younger ones: scholars who are high strung in their pursuit of making names for themselves that they tend to always concede to parents’ demands rather than protect teachers dignity at times especially those at better schools and workload has increased significantly because every school is trying to outdo another by having niche programmes etc or unnecessary additional programmes that teachers always have to be part of; when it could be outsourced . They also treat Teachers for granted and we are replaceable anytime even after all the work we put in. 3) it’s inevitable that if education and discipline is not imparted properly at home by new generation of parents who treat teachers like day time nannies then future is bleak for even Singapore 4) Did I also mention students are getting more and more entitled

Who are these parents? Why don’t they teach children to respect their teachers instead of blaming teachers? This is terrible.

They learn this kind of disrespectful behavior AT HOME, and it's a trend for parents to not parent their kids anymore. They give them iPads, and let them do whatever they want.

If this was the 70/80s, such manners will not be tolerated.

imagine getting harrased physically by a child that are 30 years younger than you but cant fight back or even tell the world about it thats the definition of hell. hell on earth

아들 국제적 스타로 만들었구나 어리석은 부모 같으니라고

How rude this student is, no moral conduct. If this kind of student is rude on their teachers how much more you find out how rude their parents are.

imma lose my job if a student does that to me.

They poor teachers. They study so hard to get to university, pass, and get a job. Then they face situations like this. It’s endless.

I thought this was only happening in the USA. I quit being a teacher last year because of the bad behavior of students, low pay and dealing with parents who thought their kids poop didn’t stink.

so teachers are being harassed by parents, if that's the case then don't accept them in school. let the parents teach their own child.

Bad and irresponsible parenting leads to that kind of situation

I’m an only child with overprotective parents but i know my parents will never side with me if I ever disrespected a teacher.

That kid needs to be charged

What's wrong with the parents? Is that how they teach their kids? This is just bizarre.

Slapping a teacher .. such a shame the students and parents should be ashamed of themselves

As a parent it’s our obligation to teach our child a good behavior,, be kind , be respectful…

Let me say this First Off these "Today Kids" are Out of Control!! As a preschool teacher here in Texas I can tell you that it starts at home!! When parents don't enforce guidelines and boundaries Or principles with their kids and allow them to get away with that Bad Behavior!! Then naturally kids assume they can Do That With Any Adult!! Being an Educator/Teacher has become the Most Toughest Job in Society!! If it wasn't for the love I felt for working with children then Perhaps I should have taken a job working in Construction 🏗️ at least I won't be scrutinize or penalized for Doing My Job😮!! I wish all these Teachers/ Employees all the Best in getting some type of Relief or Comfort in this matter🙏🏽

What the boy did to a vice principal shows the values he has at home. When I go out, my parents always tells/reminds me..what I do outside that is against the rules means showing the values I have at home. In short, never put your parents in shame for not teaching their children the good manners and right conduct particularly RESPECT TO ANYONE REGARDLESS OF STATUS.

I live in Korea with my husband and taught English for a verrrry short time because the kids just did not listen to me. They just yelled and messed around the whole time, not even listening to the co-teacher who spoke to them in Korean. Every day I had only 1 class by myself, and no matter how loud I spoke (which the head of the school told me to just speak louder and louder to the kids so they would listen), I had to call in another teacher to help me control them. Kids fighting, yelling, crying, running around. All of the other foreign teachers talked about how much the parents didn’t discipline their kids and we were responsible for it. They have so many teachers who quit every year because of it and I was a replacement for one them. The parents too just blame the teachers. Now I just tutor English online instead. Mind you, this school paid not much more than minimum wage but those parents paid A LOT for that school and had us to do after school (basically daycare) which was way worse. Kids with behavior problems that literally had to be taken out of school. Although, I’ve heard this happening in the US too lately in some schools. 😬

You lay hands on a teacher, you get expelled. Do they not do that in Korean schools?

I was an English teacher at a private school in South Korea in 2008-2009 and am very surprised to hear of the challenges teachers in S.Korea are experiencing. When I was there, the students were all expected to be very respectful towards their teachers, and it was my experience that all of the students were. I'm a teacher in Canada now and have seen a massive rise in behavioral and emotional challenges in students since I began a decade ago.

Parents should be held accountable for how their children behave. Only shows how Korean parents has big impact on their children. So sad.

Shame the parents

Wow..how dare a young child abuse an adult like this. it won't stop there. no norms and values. spoil your children parents!! These kids become narcissists or murderers

I used to be a teacher in the U.S. I wasn’t ever beaten by a student, but I’ve been talked back to and coughed on during the pandemic.

And the teacher didn't do anything on the spot ? That teacher is weak.

How would these little boys survived the compulsory military service when they turn 18?

The boy should be expelled from the school and sent to juvenile detention center.

My son held another boy back from hitting another student. He lost his job over it and even though it went to court and was considered not child abuse but a protective act, he still was not ever able to teach again. These students were five years old. To this day, it has never been removed from his record. The red flag remains. This happened in Provo, Utah, USA.

Philippines based teachers also experienced challenges from entitled parents and students who would not allow their kids to be disciplined. however slapping a teacher would somehow be not tolerated by the govt. Economically and demographically Ph is far different from SoKor, this new culture of tolerance on children misbehavior may have caused by a high western influence which is the biggest similarity of both countries.

This is disturbing.ill not be surprised if when this kids grow up they'll end up being a bully .this is parents fault. So ironic that parents wanted their kids to be in school but doesn't want them to learn even the basic respect

if your children are too precious to you, raise them properly.

We are doomed globally if parents worldwide are raising kids who are entitled. What happens when they are adults? Will they be working adults?

Well, this case isnt only happening in korea but most of the countries. Traditional disciplines is now considered as child abuse. These brat disrecpectful kids are over protected by the child protection policies and spoiled by their parents. GOOD LUCK TO THIS FUTURE GENERATION!

That's why parents should say NO to their kids

where are those who says south korea is perfect 😂😂😂

This situation triggers your heart for the teachers who suffer the abuse. Huge blame to the parents for cuddling bad behavior, and the government for not doing their job of protecting teachers from abuse and retaliation. So sad.

Sadly, this is a GLOBAL problem.

The parents of the child who slapped the staff should be fined and face shown in media. Very poor parenting.

I can say Singapore is slowly turning into this… Ever since Big Bro gave more power to parents, instead of teachers - professionals who are trained to TEACH your children. I have several family members in education and the amount of horror stories is endless. We have teachers who either a) suffer in silence and develop a plethora of psychological conditions or b) convert from full-time teachers to part-time flexi adjunct. Parents, all we ask is for you to PARENT your kids early on appropriate behaviours. Good luck, SG.

Just stop teaching those ungrateful kids of ungrateful parents, let them teach their own kids and see how well they'll grow in a decade

I'm a foreign teacher here in Thailand and students and parents here have high regards and respect to teachers ❤❤❤ I hope teachers in South Korea would experience the same 🙏

To be fair, the overprotectiveness from the modern South Korean parents were resulted from being abused by teachers in the past. Corporal punishments left a scar and they know how much it affected their mental state in the long term. South Korea's corporal punishment back in the 70s-90s were at different level than the ones in SG. It even caused deaths or permanent injuries before. This is why some South Korean parents in modern days became overprotective. However, their overprotectiveness and new laws protecting students resulted in teachers being abused by bad eggs in school.

Parents needs to step up and discipline their children. Otherwise they will grow up abusive as well as make teachers quit thereby putting at risk their children's quality of education.

When I tell you that these children wouldn't last a day if they were in a African's child's shoes I meant. The level of disrespect that kid has is outrageous.

Wow, I am surprised this isn't just a US issue. I assumed the Asian cultures had more respectful children and parents. I am so sorry for all teachers. It used to be, the threat of telling your parent of you misbehaving at school worked for most of us. The fact that parents are as bad as the students is heartbreaking. I think the parents with disrespectful children should have to teach their children themselves.

Consider this : Enact a law to protect the innicent teachers. If the stydents physically hit the teachers or members staffs of schools, then both the parents of that particular student will be held responsible legally. The iatents can be fined, sentence to imprisonment snd the students send to rehabilitation centres. ### Parents cannot blame the teachers if the students cannot enter top universities. Students must learn to study effectively themselves. Teachers are just navigators to guide the students but the students must do all the hard work in studying. Parents must accept this fact

Discipline, kindness and basic moral values start from home. Parents should teach their children good manners and right conduct before letting them go to other places.

Their Asian parents are not being good Asian parents. So disappointing.

As a teacher parents scares me a lot

This is a glimpse of a bigger problem guys. What’s wrong with the Korean culture? What is wrong with modern Korean parenting? This is obviously the fault of parents.

Parents have authority over their children at home while in schools , principals and teachers should have the authority over the students if they are not abusing their power. All students must know this truth or the country will collapse.

I was asked to do a private language-tutoring session with a 5-year-old girl. Within the first 10 minutes, the child came over to my side of the table and slapped me on the back of my right hand as I was writing. She later accused me of pushing her because I had to keep blocking her with my left forearm. I told her at least 10x, "Don't touch me!" Then, when I would block her from molesting me, she'd say back to me: "Don't touch me!" It was so grotesque that I ended a 10-year relationship with the tutoring school, and refuse to ever do private tutoring again. It felt like I'd been set up. Fortunately, I am a woman, but if I were male, it would have been much more serious in terms of the child's accusations.

from being bullied by teachers, to bully teachers. korean society came a long way.

Imagine that kid become a politician in the future

I have met a few teacher record themselves teaching. They got HR's permission to do this. They used the schools/county's cameras and had it record their classroom all day long. Admin use the recording to show the parents' how their child behaved in class. The sad part is that the parents still refused to allow their child to be punished. At the beginning of the next school year, some of the parents brought signed legal documents that stated that their child cannot be recorded and can't have their photo taken.

It should be the Parent's RESPONSIBILITY TO DISCIPLINE THEIR CHILD! Who would want to be a teacher if they're treated this way! I will never tolerate my child behaving like that. Very disrespectful. If they behave this way while young, what more when they Grow up?

The doctor stopped working in S.Korea and now maybe teachers will stop working there also

Thank you so much to all my dear students whom I have taught for 19 years. 99% of you have been such a joy to teach and such an inspiration for me to keep on loving my job. I just realized how lucky I am to have very good and dedicated students whenever I watch videos like this. I wish all teachers in the world will be as lucky as me too.

I am not surprised that this happened, as nowadays parents often have just one or two children and tend to mollycoddle them, only listening to their perspectives. Recently, I overheard a conversation between a parent and her daughter. The mother asked, "Is Mdm Koh afraid now? Why didn’t you use your phone to record her?" She also inquired about her daughter's chemistry teacher. The daughter replied that the teacher didn’t teach much and instead asked them to solve some questions on the board. The mother commented, "Such an easy life." From these conversations, it is evident that the mother only listens to her daughter and possibly harbors some prejudice or trauma from her own youth that causes her to dislike teachers. The mother is imparting the wrong values to her daughter, and yet nothing is being done about it. Why are there signs indicating that one cannot abuse customer service workers, including bus drivers, but not for teachers? Are teachers not human too? This situation reflects a downfall in values and society if it is not rectified.

This is because the parents are overprotective to their children. It is not good parenting.

This is sad. I understand being there for your child, and protecting them but what a disservice it is to your child to not hold them accountable for their actions. Who cares about the low birth rate! Raise your children to be model citizens and to be respectful. There should have cameras in schools for the teachers safety and the children safety. Also, so the parents can see how disgraceful their child can be.

I didn't realise this was also happening in Korean public schools. What I can tell is that this kind of abuse is more prevalent within Korean hagwons. Not only from the students but also from hagwon owners who literally push their Korean teaching staff members off the cliff. Yelling at them every other day for an hour at least, so bad that everyone on the street can hear the yelling while the Korean teacher just sit there defenselessly crying.

Parents neglect and does not care for good parenting at all. Teachers or other members society should not be held liable. Return the responsibility to the parent. Record each student and parents behavior in the students record. Teachers roles is to teach class lessons but not complete human lesson. It's the parents role!! Fail the student if needed? If they want forced passing of grades, give it. Next, it will reflect on the work enviroment as seen from South Korean news tv? Teacher's life is important too. Or create law or program for extra challenging behavior of students? Like farming, cleaning, fishing or doing charity? Or create study from home or online studying for spoiled students?

The teacher is being abused. 😢 The parents probably think it's funny 🤬 some of us are too nice and it keeps happening 😢

This kid is the perfect definition of a declining education environment from home to school and even the society. Lucky us Africa, elderly respect is still a duty for us !

Why no corporal punishment? Your drama series should stop showing people of higher status or more senior slapping those they perceive to be of lower status or more junior.

these are students with filthy rich parents…. they think daddy’s money can get away with anything…

As a parent, I agree that there are parents out there who are tolerating bad behavior on their children. I've had an encounter when a 9 year old yelled at my 3 year old because my toddler wanted to play with her. She didn't like it and yelled in such an abusive tone at my child. I immediately pulled my toddler away. The mother smirked at me and was quite proud at how her daughter behaved. The father, however, was ashamed. I am worried about the future as these are the kinds of people my daughter will be dealing with when she grows up. It's a sad world and I am quite fearful of it. Parents should train their children to become good and responsible human beings. Sadly, I am seeing more and more parents teaching their children to become horrible humans. It is absolutely distressing. I could imagine the pain teachers have to go through because parents are not doing their part in the home.

this is crazy humanity is regressing

It’s up to the parent to teach their child what is and what is not acceptable before going to school, school is a place of learning no your personal day care.

SO does this mean Korean school dramas are real then? the way the parents control the school administration, puts pressure on teachers , and rich spoiled brats bullying poor and introvert helpless students

That's what happens if you have to much freedom with crazy laws

In my country, this would not happen. Dare a child become rude to a teacher, let alone to an adult, and he'll get a lesson of a lifetime from the parent and worse from his grandparents. Korea has this bully culture that young kids emulate, its astonishing to know it exists.

Bad kids equals bad parents. I said what I said.

It's the same everywhere. We teachers can't touch a child. That would be fine if teachers had the support of parents, principals and politicians. It's time for a change. We must be able to demand that parents take more responsibility for the actions of their children. We are educators, not parents.

In the PH we have a Values Education/Formation subject. They are also graded with their GMRC (Good Manners and Right Conduct). Everytime the teachers give out the report cards quarterly, they write down in the remarks section the kids' behavior. And they also talk to the parents about it and what the child needs to improve on. Then the parents followed up. So there is a partnership between parents and teachers for the kids' development not only with subjects and the grades but also for the entire well being of the child. So the child should behave accordingly.

America is so different, my teacher would say “I don’t owe you nothing except an education” period, teachers are humans too!