Why Have Over 100 Teachers Died By Suicide In South Korea?

A video of a student hitting his vice-principal in a primary elementary school in South Korea went viral last month. The student slapped the vice-principal, spewed abuses and flung his backpack on him. This was because the vice-principal tried to stop the third-grade student from leaving the school without permission. However, in the video, the vice-principle stood still bearing the abuse with his arms folded back. Why? To avoid charges of abusing the student and being dragged to court which is so rampant in South Korea that is leading to suicides of teachers.

Why Have Over 100 Teachers Died By Suicide In South Korea?

A 26-year-old primary school teacher who had just joined her work last year died by suicide in South Korea after a few days. Her diary told a tale of how she was trying to put a brave face to the torments she was facing. Her father said that the teacher was facing abuse from parents who said things like, "They kept calling our daughter, saying things like, 'You'll never be able to teach again." Adding further to the abuses his daughter faced, he said "We'll make sure you eat prison food. I'm going to the police station to file a complaint against you right now. You'll never stand in front of a classroom again." She received 1,500 abusive texts from the parents of her students.

These cases are not new to the teachers of South Korea. As per reports by Channel News Asia, around 100 teachers have died by suicide between January 2018 and June 2023. According to a survey commissioned by teachers' union in South Korea, one in three teachers is battling with depression which is three times higher than the average count of the entire population. 

Education Fever in South Korea

Called "education fever", parents in South Korea put a lot of pressure on their children to perform well in school. Good performance in school means admission to good Universities and good career prospects. The birth rate of South Kora is the lowest because of which parents mostly have only one child. So they put all their hope on that child. 

But if children fail to perform well, all the blame goes to the teachers. "With diminished social standing of teachers and hypersensitivity around their child's education, parents are much more outspoken, sometimes to the point of aggression, if they perceive teachers are not meeting their demands," said Insoo Oh, a former teacher and education expert, to Channel News Asia. 

Children Protection Act: the reason behind the condition?

The recent passage of the Child Protection Act has led to an upsurge in complaints from parents against teachers for the poor performance of students. These complaints are so rampant that many teachers have been expelled or forced to go on an unexplained suspension on the charge of "emotional abuse of students".

The recent deaths of teachers have led to widespread protests of teachers against the hostility met out to the teachers. The teachers hesitate to reprimand students creating a nuisance because they do not want to get into any legal trouble.

New legislation to protect teachers

The protests have led to some changes in the policies. The authorities cannot suspend teachers right away on the charges of child abuse until the pending investigation is done. Teachers are now allowed to remove students from class who create a nuisance.

Moreover, elementary schools will record the phone calls from parents. The room of the parent-teacher meeting will be under surveillance of the camera. The complaints made by parents will be dealt with by the principal, not the teachers. Even if teachers end up in legal issues, financial support will be provided to them. Parents will no longer have access to teacher's personal details like mobile numbers.

Changes not enough

After this new legislation, the number of cases of parents launching lawsuits against teachers has reduced. Between September 2023 and April 2024, only 385 complaints were filed by parents. 

Korean Federation of Teachers’ Union has welcomed the changes but 78 percent of 11,359 teachers feel that the new legislation has not made much impact in improving the situation.