hankyoreh

In the drawing, a male and female high school student shrink back from each other with anxiety, placing their hands on their chest and while keeping a distance of more than 50 centimeters (1 foot and 8 inches) from each other.　

Behind them is a heart-shaped list of regulations on students under the age of 19 that lists penalty points for students touching each other.

According to the regulations of a school in Busan, walking arm-in-arm deserves 15 penalty points, a hug deserves 30 points and a kiss deserves 50 points.

A male and female student of a high school in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, received a penalty of three-day service in school for their standing within 50 centimeters of each other at a bus stop, an adolescent rights organization Asunaro (cafe.naver.com/asunaro) reported to the Hankyoreh on Nov. 16.

A couple who walked with their arms linked in front of the gate of a high school in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, were spotted subsequently received a whipping on their hips and thighs by the school’s vice principal.

According to Asunaro’s survey on the regulations of 354 middle and high schools nationwide conducted in September and October, 286 schools (81 percent) have rules to regulate dating and physical touching between students of the opposite sex.

(Cartoon by Kim Young-hoon, Story by Lim Ji-sun)