"Teacher Who Took Off the Watch and Hit Me"... The Glory Spreads as 'Gyopok'

Movement Expanding to Expose and Report Experiences of 'Teacher Violence'

Along with the popularity of the Netflix drama 'The Glory,' which has sparked a wave of accusations and revelations about school violence experienced during school days, there have also been ongoing disclosures of so-called 'teacher violence' (gyopok), referring to excessive physical abuse by teachers.

A scene from the Netflix series 'The Glory.' / Netflix

Many people have horrific memories of teacher violence that go beyond educational discipline to the level of abuse, suggesting that the movement to expose such violence will likely grow stronger.

On the 14th, numerous posts related to teacher violence appeared on various online communities. Although these incidents happened decades ago, those who clearly remember the situations have come forward belatedly to report them.

In particular, a user named A posted on an online community at the end of last month with the title, "Can school violence by a teacher from 20 years ago be punished?" A claimed, "In 2004, when I was a middle school student, I was taken to a school storage room by a teacher named Kim for 'poor class attitude' and was physically abused," adding, "The teacher took off his watch and punched my face and head for an hour while shouting insults."

[Image source=Pixabay]

A continued, "Whenever I fell down, he would make me stand up and hit me again, repeating this for an hour. The violence was terrifying and painful," she said. She also stated, "It became difficult to attend school normally, so I dropped out after one semester in high school and have lived with that nightmare my whole life," and expressed a desire to punish the teacher despite the incident being 20 years ago.

There were various other posts exposing violence by teachers. Netizens shared experiences such as "I was beaten with a stick until it broke for not paying the parent association fee and had to clean the restroom for a month," "I was slapped so hard in the teachers' office during middle school that my cheek burst," and "I was punched in the forehead for not bringing a book."

One netizen sarcastically remarked, "There was a teacher 33 years ago who gathered kids who didn’t give bribes and bullied and beat them. If she is still alive, she must be a grandmother now, so I hope she lives long."

Teacher Corporal Punishment Was Legal in Korean Society Until the Mid-2000s... Revelations Expected to Continue for a While

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Asia Economy]

Revelations of teacher violence that exceed educational discipline and reach the level of abuse are expected to continue for some time.

However, it is considered difficult for these cases to lead to actual punishment. Under the Child Abuse Punishment Act, the statute of limitations for assault charges is five years after reaching adulthood, and seven years for injury charges, meaning the limitation periods are not long. Moreover, criminal punishment is challenging because evidence of the assault is required.

Until the mid-2000s, corporal punishment by teachers was common in Korean society. Although it was justified as disciplinary action, many argue that the frequency and severity of the violence depended on the teacher’s mood. Some teachers even used baseball bats, wooden sticks, or ice hockey sticks for punishment, which caused controversy. There were also teachers who used their bare hands and fists.

The issue of teacher corporal punishment became publicized starting in the mid-2000s. The late singer Shin Hae-chul once argued on a 2006 debate program that "violence intensifies when it spreads and its effectiveness diminishes. Alternatives to violence should be sought first," emphasizing the need to ban corporal punishment.

Eventually, starting with the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education in the 2010s, corporal punishment was banned nationwide through student human rights ordinances enacted by city and provincial education offices. At that time, some educational groups strongly opposed the ban, arguing that proper discipline would become impossible.

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