Following Real Estate, Yoon Hee-sook Criticizes 'Education'... "We Must Pave the Way for Crayfish That Want to Become Dragons"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the Future United Party, who gained attention for criticizing the government's real estate policy with a 5-minute speech in the National Assembly plenary session, has now pointed out issues in education. Referring to the story of "Gajae, Frog, and Bungeo" written by former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk on social network services (SNS), she said, "The role of education is to pave the way for the gajae who want to become dragons."

On the 6th, Yoon said on Facebook, "Teaching children 'It's okay if you can't do anything. Society has an obligation to make you happy no matter what kind of gajae you become' is likely to create unhappy gajae," expressing this view.

She emphasized, "After 23 real estate measures, it has come to a situation where it is doubted whether the government even intends to support the people's earnest wish to own a home," adding, "But such suspicion is widespread not only in real estate but also throughout the social ladder, especially in our education system."

Referring to former Minister Cho's SNS post, "Not everyone needs to become a dragon. It is important to create a world where gajae, frogs, and bungeo can live happily," Yoon said, "The emotional power of words is beautiful. However, the role of education is to pave the way for the gajae who want to become dragons, to nurture gajae into hardworking and growing gajae so that they have the ability to find their own happiness no matter which stream they flow into."

She added, "Moreover, if the reason for holding children back like this is because teachers or schools want it easier, or because the government does not welcome more citizens with a will to improve, this is a great sin against the people and history," and "The Fourth Industrial Revolution is imminent. It is our generation's responsibility to equip all children with the ability to confidently navigate these powerful waves of change."

Yoon criticized, "Recently, the proportion of students below basic academic skills has exploded. Compared to 2016, the proportion of middle school students below basic math skills in 2019 increased by a staggering 12%, more than doubling, and high school students increased at a similar rate," adding, "What is most shocking is that there has been no response from the education authorities and government to this national decline."

She said, "Even the academic achievement evaluation to accurately grasp the distribution of underperforming students was withdrawn at the end of last year due to the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union occupying and protesting at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education," and "Not only are they uninterested in nurturing the potential of children who want to become dragons, the gajae who want to play in the big waters like sea lobsters, but they also refuse to make efforts to raise the gajae who are ignored even by their gajae friends in the neighborhood streams."

Yoon questioned, "The current banner of our education can be summed up as 'Go to private academies and learn more on your own, or not; only children from wealthy families get better private education and become dragons, or not,'" and asked, "Should we continue to stand by while the government and education authorities are devoted to the 'National Gajae Making Project'?"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.