Teacher Survey Reveals Ongoing Discontent Despite Policy Reforms (Image supported by ChatGPT)
SEOUL, May 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Two years after the high-profile suicide of a young elementary school teacher at Seoul’s Seoi Elementary School sparked national outrage, according to new survey results released ahead of Teachers’ Day.
A nationwide poll of 8,254 teachers conducted by the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Unions between April 23 and May 7 found that just 32.7% of respondents expressed satisfaction with their teaching careers, nearly matching the 32.3% who said they were dissatisfied.
Although satisfaction has increased significantly from 13.2% in 2023, when the Seoi Elementary School tragedy occurred, the overall score for job satisfaction remains low, at 2.9 out of 5.
The results also reflect a pervasive sense of societal disrespect. Nearly 65% of teachers said they do not feel respected by society, compared with just 8.9% who felt they were.
More than half (58%) reported having considered quitting or changing jobs within the past year, with infringements on teaching authority and excessive parental complaints cited by 77.5% of those respondents as the main reason, followed by low salaries (57.6%) and heavy workloads (27.2%).
Alarmingly, more than half of the teachers surveyed reported experiencing violations of their authority either by students (56.7%) or parents (56.0%) over the past year. Nearly a quarter (23.3%) said they had sought psychiatric counseling or treatment due to such incidents.
While legislation dubbed the “Five Teacher Protection Laws” was enacted in response to the crisis, many educators say real change has been slow. Only 13.4% believed student discipline systems were functioning properly, and just 14.0% said administrative support for handling complaints was effective.
Children listen to a reading lesson in a nursery classroom at an elementary school in Seoul, South Korea (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
An overwhelming majority of respondents (96.9%) said current education policies fail to reflect feedback from teachers on the ground, while 95.8% said government policies lack consistency.
A separate poll by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU), conducted May 8–12 among 2,503 teachers, echoed the grim sentiment. Nearly 67% said they were dissatisfied with current working conditions, and half reported being pressured to justify use of vacation time or to get verbal approval for routine duties.
Notably, 61.5% of teachers said they do not intend to remain in the profession until retirement, citing financial concerns, fear of abuse accusations, excessive administrative burdens, and declining respect for their roles.
“Rather than feeling pride in their role as educators, teachers today are struggling under worsening conditions and a rapidly changing school culture,” said Lee Bo-mi, head of the teachers’ union. “It is urgent that the government deliver meaningful reforms to prevent further attrition from the profession.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
