An empty hallway at a high school in nothern Seoul on May 11, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent survey has revealed that two-thirds of South Korean teachers have experienced verbal abuse, while around 20 percent have experienced physical threats and violence.
Furthermore, 40 percent of teachers exhibit severe depression symptoms, while 17 percent have contemplated suicide.
The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union and Green Hospital conducted a ‘Job-related Mental Health’ survey of 3,505 kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school teachers nationwide from August 16 to 23.
The survey found that 66.3 percent of teachers have experienced verbal abuse, while 18.8 percent have experienced physical threats and violence.
Of the perpetrators of verbal abuse (multiple responses allowed), 63.1 percent were parents of students, followed by students at 54.9 percent.
Regarding physical violence, 96.5 percent of the offenders were students, while parents accounted for 21.7 percent.
Female teachers experienced more violence than male teachers. The data showed that 51.3 percent of male teachers had experienced verbal abuse, while the figure rose to 69.3 percent among female teachers.
In terms of physical threats and violence, 20.2 percent of female teachers reported such experiences, nearly double the 11.8 percent for male teachers.
When it comes to verbal abuse, kindergarten teachers endured the most with 76.1 percent reporting incidents. In case of physical threats and violence, special education teachers had the highest incidence at 53 percent.
As for sexual harassment and violence, both special education teachers and middle school teachers experienced the most at 21.8 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
