hankyoreh

Jeong Jin-hwa, who had pledged to take the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers Union (Jeon Gyo Jo) "back to the classrooms," has been elected as the new head of the organization. Criticism from both inside and beyond the union that it has been spending all its time in politics beyond the classroom and not dedicated to students appears to have worked in her favor. We hope to see Jeon Gyo Jo go back to being an organization that can take pride in having the support of students and parents, and that’s what Jeong says she’d like to see.

Jeon Gyo Jo is more than just a massive union, and it is more than a large social movement. It has made a significant contribution to the eradication of authoritarianism in our society and helped democracy take root in the process. Even now, when you hear the organization’s name, you think of its "true education" (cham gyoyuk) campaign and drive toward democratization. Now, however, it finds itself in the most difficult situation it has faced since its founding. The public does not like what it sees, and not just because of the internal division over what its priorities are. President Lee Su-il stepped down in the middle of his term, and Jang Hye-ok was unable to do more than complete the end of the term in Lee’s stead.

The reason for this situation was readily apparent in the election. The problem is that the organization looks like it exists to do nothing other than defend teachers’ income. That could of course be a misunderstanding. But this belief is held deeply by much of the country, and that means the organization should not simply do nothing beyond protesting that it is being misrepresented.

The perception that it is only out for teachers might be because the union became obsessed with opposing education ministry proposals, as poor as those proposals on teacher assessment and performance-based pay may have been. It failed to produce any persuasive alternatives or make the country understand its position. The continuous struggles made people tired, and that is why there were internal voices of concern about the organization becoming isolated.

There were also accusations that there is a lack of communication among members, and between the leadership and members in general, and that the leadership was being undemocratic in the way it ran things. Some said the teachers’ union suffers from the ills of bureaucratism, where everyone is supposed to follow orders from the top. As a result, it has been losing members.

Having always put children before anything else, Jeon Gyo Jo certainly must feel wronged by all the criticism. The new leadership, however, needs to look at why it is being viewed the way it is. It is good to hear that Jeong wants to "go in among the children." The reason the organization actually grew stronger when it was faced with harsh suppression, such as when thousands of teachers were fired, was because it had the love and support of the children. We hope to see Jeon Gyo Jo move forward with cheerful eyes, together with the children it teaches.


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