Effectively Stage 3, Emergency Care in the 수도권 Region

Full Transition to Remote Classes Starting Tomorrow
Public Service Workers Strike on the 23rd and 24th of This Month

Elementary care workers, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' National School Irregular Workers' Union, held a nationwide care classroom general strike resolution rally on November 6 in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, urging improvements in working conditions such as the transition to an 8-hour full-time schedule. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Schools in the Seoul metropolitan area are entering 'full remote classes' equivalent to social distancing level 3, but no clear childcare measures have been prepared, making confusion inevitable in the education field.

According to the education sector on the 14th, kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as special schools in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon regions will switch to full remote classes from tomorrow (15th) until the end of this month. Small schools with fewer than 300 students, which were previously exempted, must also conduct full remote classes.

Following schools, private academies have also closed since the 8th, causing a significant increase in urgent childcare demand. Additionally, a general strike of educational public employees, including childcare and meal services, is scheduled for the 23rd and 24th. Parents are anxious trying to find places to leave their children. A parent living in Jung-gu, Seoul, Lee, said, "I need to find a place to replace school childcare starting from the 23rd, but time is tight." Kim, a dual-income parent with a first-grade elementary school child, also lamented, "I plan to leave my child with my parents for now, but I am very worried about what to do in the future."

Teachers who have taken on childcare duties are also dissatisfied. Teacher A wrote on a teacher community that the current situation is a 'childcare work bomb.' He said, "We have to manage both class students and childcare students simultaneously," and asked, "Is cleaning up after the strike ultimately the teachers' responsibility?" The measures presented by the education authorities are largely temporary solutions involving existing teacher personnel. A Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education official said, "We will make maximum use of available personnel by flexibly operating the working hours of childcare specialists or deploying principals and vice principals."

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