"Work Overload, Suffocated by Student Issues" Seoicho Teacher's Diary Revealed

Union, with Bereaved Families' Consent, Partially Discloses Diary

The diary of a teacher who made an extreme choice at Seo-i Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, was disclosed with the consent of the bereaved family. The diary is reported to contain entries expressing difficulties related to student behavior management.

The Seoul Teachers' Union revealed on the 24th a diary presumed to have been written by Teacher A about two weeks before their death, on the 3rd.

The Seoul Teachers' Labor Union, with the consent of the bereaved family, disclosed part of the diary of an elementary school teacher who took an extreme step at an elementary school in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 24th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, Seoul Teachers' Labor Union

The diary states, "Although I felt lethargic over the weekend, it was not to the extent that I felt overwhelmed. However, after returning to work on Monday, a workload bomb + the chaos caused by ○○ overlapped, and everything just became too much, making me want to give up."

It continues, "I felt suffocated. My hands trembled and tears almost flowed while I was eating."

According to the union, the characters before the word 'chaos' appear to be the name of a student.

The Seoul Teachers' Union emphasized, "It can be confirmed that the deceased struggled with work and student issues during their school life," adding, "This aligns with the union's report that one student shouted loudly and behaved disruptively, causing the deceased distress."

The union urged, "We hope the education authorities respond to the voices of teachers nationwide," and called for "prompt measures to protect teachers from false child abuse reports and indiscriminate complaints."

Earlier, on the 18th, second-year elementary school teacher A was found dead inside Seo-i Elementary School. According to the union and others, in the first-grade class where Teacher A was the homeroom teacher, there was an incident where students drew on each other's foreheads with pencils, and afterward, Teacher A was reportedly harassed by malicious complaints from parents.

The police summoned and investigated parents suspected of verbally abusing Teacher A while filing complaints last week as witnesses.

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