Mass Cancellations of Field Trips Amid 'Noran Bus' Controversy, Widespread Impact

Confusion Continues Over 'Yellow Bus Only' Interpretation
Government Delays Charter Bus Crackdown and Revises Related Regulations
Field Trip Operators Say "10% Contacted Again"

The Ministry of Government Legislation issued an authoritative interpretation allowing only the use of the children's school bus, the 'Noran Bus,' for school trips, leading schools nationwide to cancel field trips one after another. As a result, charter bus companies and field trip site operators are reporting damages.

Previously, there was controversy surrounding the Ministry of Government Legislation's interpretation that only the 'Noran Bus' should be used for school trips. According to the National Police Agency, based on this interpretation, children's school trips must use the children's school bus, which is entirely painted yellow, instead of charter buses. However, many schools nationwide, unable to secure the limited number of 'Noran Buses,' have canceled their school trips consecutively.

The reason schools canceled their trips is the anticipated situation where parents could hold teachers legally responsible if a traffic accident occurs. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations from the 7th to 8th, targeting 12,154 kindergarten and elementary school teachers nationwide, 97.3% of teachers expressed concern about complaints, lawsuits, and accusations from parents due to unforeseen accidents during field trips.

A charter bus is parked near Peace Park in Mapo-gu, Seoul. The photo is not related to any specific expressions in the article. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

As the 'Noran Bus' controversy arose, charter bus companies and field trip site operators are suffering severe damages. According to the charter bus industry, cancellations of field trips and other events due to contract cancellations amount to about 1,700 cases, with damages exceeding approximately 16 billion KRW. The National Federation of Field Trip Operators, consisting of about 40 operators, also estimated annual losses of around 600 billion KRW.

After the controversy, the government announced that it would temporarily suspend enforcement against the use of charter buses this semester and revise related regulations to allow general charter buses to be used for school trips. The Ministry of Education also plans to support schools in resuming field trips.

However, despite the government's measures, damages from mass cancellations continue on the ground. On the 15th, Park Heon-young, director of the National Federation of Field Trip Operators, said on YTN Radio's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' "Because the Ministry of Government Legislation issued an interpretation insisting that only the Noran Bus must be used, frontline teachers are actually very angry about this. They are protesting, saying, 'Why does the law say this is illegal but shift the responsibility onto teachers?' As a result, many teachers are canceling trips."

Director Park added, "I hope the government provides practical measures to recover the damages, and that the Ministry of Education issues measures this time regarding the necessity of field trips and the need to conduct them regularly."

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