Oh Eun-young Speaks Out: "Heartbroken by Teacher Incident... 'Geumjjok-i' Is Not a Human Remodeling Show" Rebuttal

Stance on Criticism of 'Geumjjoki' Solution
"It Suggests a Direction, Not Short-Term Treatment"

Dr. Oh Eun-young, a psychiatrist specializing in mental health, expressed that she feels "heartbroken" about the recent incidents involving elementary school teachers. She also refuted criticisms raised about the 'Geumjjok-i' broadcast, stating, "'Geumjjok-i' is not a human modification program."

In an interview with Ten Asia on the 25th, Dr. Oh said, "I am also heartbroken by the recent unfortunate incidents," adding, "I am well aware of how heavy the responsibility is."

Dr. Oh Eun-young.

At the same time, she expressed regret over the situation where her solutions introduced through Channel A’s program Geumjjok Gateun Nae Saekki (My Golden Child) are seen as a kind of illusion and are pointed out as the cause of the decline in teachers' authority.

Earlier, Dr. Seo Cheon-seok, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, publicly criticized the 'Geumjjok-i' broadcast on his social media following the death of a teacher at Seo-i Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

On the 19th, Dr. Seo stated, "The problem with broadcasts like 'Geumjjok-i' is that they create the illusion that issues which can never be resolved by the solutions presented in the show can actually be solved," adding, "They make it seem as if very serious problems in children can be resolved after just a few counseling sessions or a month or two of effort."

In response, Dr. Oh said, "'Geumjjok-i' is not about 'this child changed like this,' but rather a program where parents who have lost their way in parenting openly share their problems, discuss the causes and reasons together, and talk about the future direction of parenting."

She added, "If medication is needed, we advise meeting a specialist. If hospitalization is necessary, we continuously say to get hospitalized. We tell them not to get discouraged because improvement does not happen quickly, and even if they get tired, to keep going. We have never said it gets better after just one or two sessions, nor do we think that way."

She continued, "'Geumjjok-i' is a program that suggests directions rather than treatments," emphasizing, "People watch the broadcast and say 'the child wasn’t modified,' or 'the solution failed,' but this program is not divided into success or failure. The purpose is to explore the various aspects together."

"Distortion of my book’s content... Violence is never acceptable in any situation"

Books by Dr. Oh Eun-young.

Some teachers and social media users raised concerns, pointing out problematic content in Dr. Oh’s parenting books, such as statements like "You must come back after apologizing to the homeroom teacher" and "Demand a change of homeroom teacher."

Regarding this, Dr. Oh said, "A book is a medium to convey the author’s opinions. There are implicit meanings between lines and in every paragraph," adding, "You need to look at the context before and after to understand the intent, but if you cut everything out and only present fragments, it is easy to misunderstand."

She also responded to the recent mention of "discipline without corporal punishment" as a cause of the decline in teachers' authority by saying, "When I did 'Our Child Has Changed' in 2005, discipline was the most important aspect."

She continued, "Parents need to teach their children when they behave wrongly. But back then, parents used to hit their children a lot," clarifying that she was not saying not to discipline, but rather not to hit. She emphasized discipline throughout her career.

She added, "Whose rights are less precious or more precious? Not only students’ rights but also teachers’ rights are important," expressing, "I am heartbroken over the tragic loss of teachers. However, the argument that the decline in teachers' authority is because children are not being hit is painful to hear."

Dr. Oh stated, "I plan to discuss the 'Geumjjok-i' broadcast, which reflects teachers’ difficulties," emphasizing, "I believe we must never return to the era of addressing problems through violence, no matter what happens."

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