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News & Current Events Apr 20, 2026 at 4:56 AM

South Korean teachers struggle with malicious complaints from overprotective parents

Posted by Skippernutts

South Korean teachers struggle with malicious complaints from overprotective parents
The Straits Times
South Korean teachers struggle with malicious complaints from overprotective parents
Protective measures for teachers remain elusive despite recent reinforcement through legislation. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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Toucanplaythatgame-2 Apr 20, 2026 +202
I literally don't get what the possible complaint would be in celebrating a kid getting first place in the swimming competition. Is it something like: "My Timmy didn't win anything and he's now feeling insecure because of the medal ceremony being held in front of everyone"?
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Plane-Breakfast-8817 Apr 20, 2026 +94
Yes, that's what I thought. It seems that all the parents of the kids who weren't 1st then complain. Sounds awful and the unfortunate reality is they will drive all the teachers away. 
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Toucanplaythatgame-2 Apr 20, 2026 +49
Damn. Parents should man/woman up and do their job of raising their kid. Take this as an opportunity to teach how to handle failure and pick themselves up from self-dissapointment in a healthy way. SMH
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neonam11 Apr 20, 2026 +28
Yes, because in life there might be only one person who is awarded a job position. There is no such thing as everyone is a w***** in that situation. We all have to learn how to deal with setbacks, grow from them, and move on.
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Gomnanas Apr 20, 2026 -10
They won't drive teachers away, not in Korea. They have cushy jobs for life. What will and what is happening is that schools will end up just cutting EVERYTHING fun to protect themselves from bs like this.
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Plane-Breakfast-8817 Apr 20, 2026 +22
Pretty much most of the article is saying they it's not in fact a cushy job. Teachers facing excessive complaints and “gapjil”, or abuse of power, from parents, have been a social issue for some time. After the 2023 suicide of an elementary school teacher in Seocho-gu, Seoul, stirred public outcry, a handful of Bills were introduced.
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ExplanationLess1083 Apr 21, 2026 +1
We have a befriended couple and they both teach at public schools, and they have cushy jobs. There is a small group of teachers that take everything personal and these are also the loudest in venting to others that their job is hard. But the majority just nods to the parents and go their way again
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Plane-Breakfast-8817 Apr 21, 2026 +1
Over 50% is quite a lot. From the article: A December survey on 2,746 teachers by the Korean Federation of Teachers Unions showed that 51.9 per cent suffered from malicious complaints from parents in the second half of 2025.
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AmielJohn Apr 20, 2026 +13
Yes. I teach in Japan and I can’t celebrate in front of other students whenever one student has an achievement. Why? Because it causes unnecessary jealousy from other students and parents. It’s BS.
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Careless-Inspection Apr 20, 2026 +34
From the article it's also a way for the parents to fight the overcompetitiveness of the Korean educational system (and system in general) . It is maybe a bit misguided but I wouldn't say it is just entitlement.
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Important-List344 Apr 20, 2026 +3
Yeah, it’s strange how normal competition is being treated as something negative.
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MrBoomBox69 Apr 20, 2026 +1
Actually it’s Korea so it would be “Kimmy” not “Timmy”.
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Many-Coconut-4336 Apr 20, 2026 +5
Idk why the downvotes. I loled
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orange-flying-rabbit Apr 21, 2026 +3
Under-appreciated joke
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Important-List344 Apr 20, 2026 +807
Teaching is becoming impossible everywhere.
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sjbfujcfjm Apr 20, 2026 +260
Everything is becoming impossible everywhere. Some people are just looking to end your career, business, end you financially for a mistake or misunderstanding
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Important-List344 Apr 20, 2026 +53
That’s true, but when complaints are abused, it only drives good teachers away.
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TheElusiveFox Apr 20, 2026 +13
I think the point is when complaints are abused it drives people away from basically every industry... its not something unique to teaching, society needs to be way more ok telling people to stfu.
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Kolby_Jack33 Apr 20, 2026 +7
I'm pretty sure the point is that teaching is especially prone to this kind of abuse. People think anything they do in the name of their child is justified no matter how horrible it is.
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Important-List344 Apr 20, 2026 +2
Exactly, and that mindset makes it really hard for teachers to do their job properly.
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Important-List344 Apr 20, 2026 +3
That’s true, but teaching seems especially affected because parents are directly involved.
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ansin0523 Apr 20, 2026 +6
Buy why?? Life has become a headache due to this
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sjbfujcfjm Apr 20, 2026 +50
People think their opinion matters over anything else. They think everything should be perfect or else someone should pay. Social media
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Tylenol_the_Creator Apr 20, 2026 +23
People think their opinion is fact
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sjbfujcfjm Apr 20, 2026 +6
That too
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Kolby_Jack33 Apr 20, 2026 +4
Things are bad globally which makes people want to assert some measure of control over their lives so they lash out at people and things they are capable of hurting without realizing that they are just scared of the uncertain future.
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SmartWonderWoman Apr 20, 2026 +2
I couldn’t agree with you more!
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helm Apr 20, 2026 +32
It's usually tied to extreme risk avoidance: > In latest examples, more schools are forgoing field trips – something that has become more commonplace after a deadly incident in 2022 in which a child on a school trip died in a car accident – while some schools have banned students from playing any sports on school playgrounds. Minimizing risk is usually good. Eliminating risk, OTOH, isn't necessary a good thing, since it's almost impossible to do without stunting children's growth.
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Important-List344 Apr 20, 2026 +4
Exactly. Reducing risk makes sense, but trying to eliminate it completely just creates bigger problems later.
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thesagaconts Apr 20, 2026 +3
Agreed, parents don’t want their children to struggle for a second. Then overwhelmed when their adult children are so anxious.  You learn a lot thru failing and trying again. Also, some people are average and that’s ok.
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Important-List344 Apr 20, 2026 +2
100%. Kids need to face some difficulty early, otherwise it hits much harder later in life.
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Metafield Apr 20, 2026 +40
You don’t know the full story. I know some South Koreans that got beaten up by the teachers on the regular. I get the feeling they are trying to protect their kids from shit that happened to them
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Huge-Recognition-366 Apr 20, 2026 +23
I know someone who taught there and a parent told the teacher it was fine to hit their kid!
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Bayou_Blue Apr 20, 2026 +1
I taught in Mississippi for a decade. Was shocked to learn corporal punishment is allowed with signed parental permission and a lot of the teachers have a paddle and practice it.
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wakethenight Apr 20, 2026 +59
You also don't know the full story. Have you taught in South Korea before? I have. For close to 5 years. The parents there are a whole 'nother level of helicopter parenting. They are so f****** obsessed with their kids education that on college entrance exam day, Korea goes on NATIONAL lockdown. No flights, nothing that could possibly "disrupt" concentration. Please don't talk about things you've never personally experienced.
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shane201 Apr 20, 2026 +2
It’s definitely a 'nother level' of intensity, and your 5 years there clearly showed you the worst of it. But I think the nuance is that these two points aren't mutually exclusive. The obsession you saw is often fueled by the trauma the previous commenter mentioned. We're looking at a society that swung from one extreme (unregulated teacher power) to the other (unregulated parent power). Both ends of that spectrum end up hurting the students and the teachers.
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[deleted] Apr 20, 2026 -12
[deleted]
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TLOU2bigsad Apr 20, 2026 +26
Please don’t tell people how to start sentences. It’s annoying
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wakethenight Apr 20, 2026 +5
The irony is strong with this one.
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[deleted] Apr 20, 2026 -9
[deleted]
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[deleted] Apr 20, 2026 +1
[deleted]
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Important-List344 Apr 20, 2026 +35
Past abuse shouldn’t justify abusing the system now — both can be wrong at the same time.
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Metafield Apr 20, 2026 +31
It’s far from fixed there. Some of the things that are normalized would be absolute culture shock to a westerner. Only a couple of years ago a teacher told my friend that she would need to get a nose job in order to be hired by a company. She went home and told her dad what happened and they agreed with the teacher and got her surgery. This was a 16 year old girl. It’s beyond fucked up.
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Spreckles450 Apr 20, 2026 +23
While that is a fucked up thing to say, if the work/office/corporate culture is as bad as I hear it is (almost as bad as Japan's if not worse) then that teacher might have just been being honest with the kid rather than calling her ugly. It seems like a symptom of a larger systemic problem, rather than a case of an adult being an a******.
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Green_Hurry_882 Apr 20, 2026 +4
It's a bullshit
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TheBraveGallade Apr 20, 2026 -1
Thats less of abuse and more of a reality check in south korea.
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Green_Hurry_882 Apr 20, 2026 -1
You clearly don't know us at all, so don't act like an expert. Go touch some grass; the world is bigger than the internet.
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ExplanationLess1083 Apr 21, 2026 +1
Its because parents want to be best friends with their kids and not acting like parents.
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Important-List344 Apr 21, 2026 +1
That’s definitely part of it, but I think it’s also about fear of complaints and consequences. Schools and teachers end up walking on eggshells, even over reasonable decisions.
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NPC1938356-C137 Apr 20, 2026 -18
homeschooling is always an option. its not like you are stupid or something.
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halakaukulele Apr 20, 2026 +272
Parents are getting worse And I don't understand how You'd think with more and more information being easily accessible would help parents take better decisions
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Another-attempt42 Apr 20, 2026 +312
As a teacher, most parents are fine. The problem is a few serial offenders, and here's my take on them: Their children are an extension of themselves. As such, any disciplinary action taken against them is seen as an attack on the parent. Any failure from the kid is an indictment of their education of their own kid and their parenting skills. I have a kid in one of my classes who has been treated like a princeling all his life by his mother. No joke, we routinely get emails where the mother states that her sons failures in class are a result of the teaching staff not understanding or nurturing her kids "genius". Her kid is a normally bright kid who has a shitty attitude. He is no where near bright enough to justify his complete lack of work. But the problem, according to his mother, is that we just don't *understand* him.
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doskey123 Apr 20, 2026 +78
I concur. There are parents who are oblivious up to the point where the school can hold 5+ conferences on the bad behaviour of a student and talk about plans on how to best help the student (e.g. with the parents applying for a student aide who just sits there and supports the student through all classes) and still the work is for nothing because these parents tell their kids that they are the best and that the school is evil etc. So they are actively sabotaging efforts to help the students. Most cases these parents also have failed to ever set a damn boundary for their children, they are too weak to even take away their kid's phone for a week. At the end sometimes they see their errors (2-3 years) but it is so exhausting to work with them and they use up so many resources.
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Another-attempt42 Apr 20, 2026 +55
We've tried everything with the kid in question. Additional classes, chill discussions and giving him additional time, resources to escalating punishments until suspension. Nothing works, because he gets constant positive reinforcement for his bad behavior, as soon as he gets back home. As one of my colleagues said: it'll catch up to him, at some point. Probably a judge will be involved, and there'll be less wiggle room then. At this point, the main issue is that he makes the class worse for everyone else, who is trying.
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hera-fawcett Apr 20, 2026 +3
have u been mean and blunt about it? like, had a huge meeting w district lvl higher ups who say, 'ur child is ruining others experiences and bc they are a disruptive force, we will have to isolate him so that others can have appropriate school time?' if this district hasnt stepped in by now, raise the issue w ur local teachers union and maybe some of the parents of the affected kids. once it escalates up the chain from teacher -> principal and goes no where, u gotta make it the districts prob. and if the district refuses to engage, make the union and parents pressure them to. bc thats their job.
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Another-attempt42 Apr 20, 2026 +7
We're kicking the kid out of our school by the end of this school year. It has gone too far, we can't help him, all he does is hurt others, and we've attempted everything else. So now we're on a mission to just isolate him every time he acts up, until the end of the school year.
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hera-fawcett Apr 20, 2026 +3
understood. it sucks when it comes to it. thank god its the end of april tho-- i hope ur days are a bit less stressful w this plan in place. and i hope the kids feel a bit less stressed too!
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Harry_Gorilla Apr 20, 2026 +11
Have you *tried* building a relationship? /s
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Another-attempt42 Apr 20, 2026 +17
No, because I am just a teacher. I can't *understand* his genius. He flies above me like some intellectual titan, and my small and smooth brain cannot truly comprehend the majesty and pure light of his divine thought.
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CutieBoBootie Apr 20, 2026 +5
I wish there was a system to kind of flag these parents but then the opposite side would be "can that flagging system be abused by malicious staff" 
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ScienceGiraffe Apr 20, 2026 +5
This makes a lot of sense and brings up another question for me: is this a shift from punishing the child to punishing the teacher? As a kid, I had this type of parents who believed I was nothing more than an extension of themselves, and anything I did spoke of their own successes or failures. If I got in trouble or had bad grades, I was the one who got my ass beat. That was 40 years ago, and now it's much less acceptable to beat/spank/severely punish children (and rightly so). Spanking and beatings reflect poorly on most parents nowadays, at least compared to back then, and social media amplifies this view. I'd imagine that these types of parents would still need some kind of scapegoat punching bag, and I wonder if teachers have become that "socially acceptable" extension.
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maestrita Apr 20, 2026 +3
> This makes a lot of sense and brings up another question for me: is this a shift from punishing the child to punishing the teacher? Even if there is no action against the teacher, being made to participate in multiple meetings because parents complained or didn't agree with a consequence still cuts into either our planning time or our personal time outside contract hours.
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CryptographerHot3109 Apr 20, 2026 +6
Does she know about homeschooling?
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Another-attempt42 Apr 20, 2026 +27
Sure, but she can't. She doesn't know a bunch of the subjects. Though she does routinely tell us how we should be teaching our subjects...
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wakethenight Apr 20, 2026 +4
God save me from these people, LORD.
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Ecureuil02 Apr 24, 2026 +1
These serial offenders are often mentally ill and that includes the really anxious ones messaging teachers 3 times a day seeing if there kid ate all their food and went to bathroom.  
1
conmeonemo Apr 20, 2026 +37
For many parents kids are a project (and mean of competition with other parents). As they often pay for education, they expect results, and it's easier to complain/push for higher grades etc. (and thus get results, fake or not) than accept that your project isn't that smart.
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KhruKhru Apr 20, 2026 +38
I had a student skip basically every single class for the last 6 months of school, he only came to class to take the final which he failed. After I submitted my grades they were officially changed so that he would pass, just like every student who doesn't get a good enough grade I don't even discuss grades with students after I submit them because I honestly don't know what grades they'll get back half the time because it's not what I submit.
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sirjuiceofthebox Apr 20, 2026 +20
God help us when that generation is running the country.
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habitual_citizen Apr 20, 2026 +21
Hahaha yeah I remember being a kid (born in the 90s) and when my teachers sent home complaints they’d do it veryyyy gently because they knew I’d have hell to pay at home. My mum *never* defended me and everything was always my fault. I’m not saying the above is healthy (it’s not), but it’s bonkers to me how parents now will hold their children accountable to absolutely nothing. There’s surely a middle ground…
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evilryry Apr 20, 2026 +5
We have fewer kids AND our environment has gotten more stressful so we pour all of our fears and anxiety into just one or two children.
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thelyfeaquatic Apr 20, 2026 +1
Currently reading a book about this: https://www.amazon.com/Overinvested-Emotional-Economy-Modern-Parenting/dp/069127004X
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False_Raven Apr 20, 2026 +3
Its an issue with standards. Thats to say people's standards are disproportionately high. Parents want their kids to be treated with the utmost courtesy and respect. This leads to kids being spoiled and negligient to their poor behavior, teachers lash out and the one suffering those consequences are teachers themselves while the kids get off scot free. I am a firm believer of punishment and correction. If someone does something that requires harsh discipline, and that discipline is not enforced, then they will continue that negative behavior. That's just the harsh truth. But no, parents are so damn terrified of someone besides themselves administrating punishment (they don't even discipline their own children) because their kids are a fragile little snowflake, which funny enough, just makes them more fragile. Kids need to be punished and they need to learn the hard way to get their behavior in order. No punishment? You're just raising spoiled brats that cry whenever they don't have their way.
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Positive_Chip6198 Apr 20, 2026 +2
Turns out our 90’s parents, who never gave a shit, were better for the teachers of today that care too much and sabotage the teachers and kids alike. There needs to be a middleground with respect, authority and boundaries.
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CanadaCloneStore_Com Apr 20, 2026 +1
Where would you have seen a story like this 25 years ago though?
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Delicious-Expert-180 Apr 20, 2026 +69
Schools banning sports on playgrounds? What are the kids supposed to do during recess then
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meesta_masa Apr 20, 2026 +48
Recede into their screens.
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timbomcchoi Apr 20, 2026 +15
There's no recess but there is PE class (which is usually just a "here's a ball, go play") and lunchtime, what usually ends up happening is they stay in the gym. The field stays empty all day 😭
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Delicious-Expert-180 Apr 20, 2026 +1
They dont get recess in lunch too?
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timbomcchoi Apr 20, 2026 +3
recess in the American sense is a random playing time between classes, no? You get about an hour for lunch and whatever time you have before/after eating is your recess I guess
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Moldy_slug Apr 20, 2026 +1
Just a lunch break is standard for higher grades in American schools (kids 11-17 years old). For elementary schools (5-10 years old) it’s common to have a lunch break plus another play break… since young children aren’t expected to be able to concentrate for hours at a time.
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irishfro Apr 20, 2026 -4
u think korean kids get recess? how else do they always get top ranked global scores on tests
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boredguy12 Apr 20, 2026 +5
I was gonna say, those kids probably do \*NOTHING\* but study or are forced to study from sun-up to sun-down and maybe an hour more. Yes they'll have gym class, but not a real "break time" recess that's not teacher directed.
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Shiizuh Apr 20, 2026 +66
Unfortunately it's not a South Korean problem, it's everywhere, people think their child is the next Einstein, don’t punish my child, don’t scold my child, don’t upset my child. People are unbearable, my daughter goes to daycare; some parents and their child were expelled because their daughter would spit on people when things didn't go her way and when confronted about it, they said it was normal, that it was just her way of expressing herself.
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FantasticPangolin839 Apr 20, 2026 +10
This is not just in South Korea.
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goddamwarrior Apr 20, 2026 +8
We have that is the US too. I’ve seen younger teachers leave the profession bc of it.
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Positive_Chip6198 Apr 20, 2026 +17
Thats a thing in europe also
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engineeringstoned Apr 20, 2026 +9
Yes. My wife works for a school district and parents are sending lawyers! Timmy did not get an A --> Lawyer Just insane
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lilithrepose Apr 20, 2026 +4
Oh hell no. They can do it themselves then
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Ecsta Apr 20, 2026 +4
And if you're a male teacher basically a single parent or student malicious complaint can ruin your career/life. I'm surprised any guys go into teaching at all.
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kormatuz Apr 20, 2026 +6
I got annoyed working at public schools because of the parents, but also because of the teachers because they had this whole beat around the bush way of interacting with the parents when what the parents needed was a firm “hey”. I’ve honestly seen some nice parents who really did care, but the teachers avoids telling them things in a direct manner or criticizing their kids. That’s why I liked doing private lessons. I talked to the parents directly, no middle man. I told one parent to stop doing their kids homework for them. If they made a mistake they would correct it in class and in front of the others. They would quickly learn to do a good job on their own. The parent listened, the kid got better. I had another parent teaching the kid English that was beyond their level. I was teaching basic sentences subject-verb-object, and this kid was writing sentences with infinitives in his workbook. I saw this and asked him to make a sentence using to + a verb, I didn’t even bust out the infinitive terminology. He said, “I love to dog.” I messaged the mother and explained the problem. She listened and the kid got better and wasn’t confused by English anymore. Trying to get things like that across in public school was like pulling teeth.
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VariolaMajor92 Apr 20, 2026 +3
Lol this is an everywhere problem. My wife has kids that hit each other and scream slurs at one another but when she notifies the parents its "my baby could NEVER do that why do you hate us!?"
3
Last-Accountant-9384 Apr 20, 2026 +11
I can still remember the "good old days" of almost 50 years ago, when my mom had to sign an ass whooping consent for the nuns at St. John Cantius grade school. And ass whoop and face slap they did for anything. Not doing homework, forgetting shoes to change on a rainy or snowy day, talking in class, ... . My mom wasn't a saint either. This one time she beat me so bad with an extension cord for some stupid shit I did that I didn't go to school for a week because of the marks on my legs.
11
rainbowwithoutrain Apr 20, 2026 +17
The millennials and Gen Z had very assholes teachers. Seriously horrible, I have high-functioning ADHD (adult diagnosed) and several teachers were verbally and psychologically abusive to me. The problem is that they are not 100% of the teachers, they were a frustrated weirdo that hated their life and their job, but these parents have the untreated trauma in their brains and believe that all their teachers are Mr. Whatshisname who told the whole class that he was faking my symptoms of what they later diagnosed as endometriosis and that failed me in a geometry exam with real A+ rating because I could not foresee that day would be a surprise exam and I did not have my compass with me, he failed me for not drawing a perfect circle. But I also had amazing teachers who loved their work.
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CutieBoBootie Apr 20, 2026 +14
My experience as a millennial is that most of my teachers were average. I had a handful of great memorable teachers. And I had 4 specific abusive teachers that were so bad that just remembering them infuriates the shit out of me. I was telling a friend of mine (he is a teacher) about the shit they did to me and he shook his head and went "Hearing that makes me really sad." Those teachers were abusive because I was a neurodivergent kid from an abusive home and I was an easy target. I wish I had parents that stood up for me. But sadly I did not. 
14
Metafield Apr 20, 2026 +13
I would never want my kids (if I had them) to go through the shit we did. One of my Korean friends was in tears telling us how he used to get beaten in front of all the other students every day because the teacher hated him. Good for the parents for sticking up for their kids.
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Capital_Hunt8643 Apr 20, 2026 +1
All teachers in Korea, the parents will do the homework for the kids, or they’ll come in there and basically verbally assault the teachers saying that their child is perfect. Why aren’t they getting these grades and threatening them. So all they have to do is go to the administration and make a claim against a teacher, and pretty much you’d be gone or at least be on probation.
1
jjb0ne Apr 20, 2026 +1
and we have the worst birth rates in the world …. wont even be around in 100yrs
1
HalcyonTraveler Apr 20, 2026 +1
US schools get that too, why is this news
1
Hamezz5u Apr 20, 2026
Uff South Koreans should see the millions of Karens in US raising overprotected kids
0
Not-A-Real-Person-67 Apr 20, 2026
It was never real to begin with. It’s always been a marketing ploy to try to convince people to work for pickings so millionaires and billionaires can get richer.
0
Agreeable-Race8818 Apr 20, 2026 -5
Listen I’m not saying it’s okay but if my child was one of the few dozen 4th graders in country I would also feel like I have a strong say in how they are taught. 
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lcdr_hairyass Apr 20, 2026 -9
Soft AF kids.
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ItsUselessToArgue Apr 20, 2026 -2
The same country with a plummeting birth rate. All gas no brakes
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