hankyoreh

People fill the sidewalk outside an elementary school in Seoul’s Seocho District on July 20 to mourn the passing of a teacher found dead in her classroom from an apparent suicide. (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

An elementary school teacher was found dead in her classroom in Seoul’s Seocho District in an apparent suicide on Tuesday. Claims that the deceased took her life amid ongoing conflicts with demanding parents have led to a public outpouring of grief, with hundreds of fellow teachers paying their respects.

This incident followed another in which a teacher in Seoul’s Yangcheon District was assaulted by one of her students.

Teachers outlined their experiences of dealing with malicious complaints from parents and called for measures to be put in place to protect teachers.

On Thursday, hundreds of mourners laid countless memorial wreaths in front of the school where the deceased had worked and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Among those paying their respects were fellow teachers demanding a thorough investigation of the case.

Amid the unanticipated outpouring of grief, education authorities are stepping forward to take appropriate measures, such as preparing a bill to protect the rights of teachers.

A line of more than 300 mourners stretching some 200 meters filled the sidewalk bordering the elementary school where the deceased took her life.

Most were dressed in black and held white chrysanthemums, a symbol of mourning, in their hands. More than 500 mourning wreaths were left by teachers.

The school’s main gate was covered in messages written by those paying their respects, with notes reading “As a senior teacher, I am sorry that I couldn’t protect you,” and “Who protects the rights of teachers?”

The death of a young teacher has triggered many educators who have felt that their schools fail to provide adequate safety nets. For them, this is personal.

People fill the sidewalk outside an elementary school in Seoul’s Seocho District on July 20 to mourn the passing of a teacher found dead in her classroom from an apparent suicide. (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

A 35-year-old elementary school teacher in Seoul who came to pay her respects teared up as she spoke to the Hankyoreh. “Every year, I worry about what the class I’ll be assigned to will be like. There are no systems to protect teachers from the parents’ complaints, which often come in the form of verbal abuse,” they said. “Teachers are always subject to such complaints.”

“Teachers can always be reported [by their students’ parents]. It’s very much like a traffic accident. There’s nowhere to turn for help once complaints are filed against you, and the Ministry of Education always sides with the parents,” shared an elementary school teacher of eight years, surnamed Jang. “I find myself thinking about how I wish I could quit soon.”

After news broke about the teacher taking her own life in her classroom, the Seoul branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union claimed that the death was caused by conflicts with the parents of her students.

“The teacher in question was struggling with parents’ complaints in response to a recent incidence of classroom bullying,” the union stated. “Many parents made dozens of calls to the deceased, whose phone number they had received through unknown means. We have received further information from a fellow colleague of the deceased, who reported that the deceased was ‘unnerved’ by the incident and claimed that she would ‘change her phone number once the school holidays started.’”

The police and the school have denied that there was any conflict involving parents.

“We have conducted an investigation with school officials, the bereaved family, and parents of students, but we are yet to obtain any evidence that confirms that she committed suicide because of problems with the school or any conflict with parents,” commented a police official.

No suicide note has been found.

The principal of the elementary school issued a statement on Thursday in which they claimed that the teacher “was assigned to be the homeroom teacher of a certain grade according to her wishes,” and “was not involved in dealing with school bullying cases (even though many online communities claim that this was the case),” and that “there were no bullying cases involving students in that class this year,” denying all claims that the school was responsible for the incident.

However, when an uncle of the deceased met with reporters in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Thursday, he said, “My niece must have wanted to send a certain message by ending her life at the school she worked in.”

“Any problems that have to do with the school should be revealed,” he added.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education decided to move the memorial space currently set up in front of the school to the Gangnam Education Support Center. The memorial space will be maintained for three days from Friday.

With growing outrage among educators, Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho and Seoul Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon called for a swift passage of a bill for protecting the rights of teachers that remains pending in the National Assembly.

By Park Ji-young, staff reporter; Kwak Jin-san, staff reporter; Park Go-eun, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]