A kindergarten teacher in Itaewon has admitted to OhMyNews that she did, in fact, punish a 5-year-old girl by making her stand naked on a fire escape in the middle of winter.
The teacher, it should be pointed out, apologized for her actions, saying it was a momentary thing done out of anger and disappointment. She also told OhMyNews that she didn’t strip the student — the student stripped herself in a fit.
She claims she left the girl outside for — according to interviews she gave with SBS and KBS — one or two minutes.
The teacher plans to turn in her resignation soon, while Seoul Metropolitan Government and Yongsan-gu say they will investigate and punish the teacher.
Interestingly enough, this story broke because a foreigner — guessing from this Dave’s ESL thread, an English teacher — witnessed the kid screaming outside and took photos. The foreigner — identified as “K” — said this happened twice (on Dec 29 and Jan 25). The first time it happened, it was a little boy, while the second time, it was a girl. “K” also said the children were left outside for 10—15 minutes.
In case you were wondering, Jan 25 was pretty cold, with a high of -1.8 degrees Celsius and a low of -9.6 degrees.
The school, meanwhile, was not too pleased with OhMyNews, denying the accusations and threatening the reporting team with charges of slander. An official from the school said kindergartens were run by old people because they had nothing to do, and said, “Do you guys [OhMyNews] have that little to do?”
According to an official from Yongsan-gu, criminal punishment might be possible if a parent or a third party presses charges.
Somewhat disappointingly, local news reports have so far failed to mention whether or not the foreign witness smokes pot. Nor could I make out whether he (or she) likes to have sex with Korean women.
Not a Good Week
Truth be told, it hasn’t been a banner week for Korean education. This story comes hard on the heels of another major story, this one in Gwangju, where a court sentenced the former headmaster of a school for the deaf to five years in the pen, the former administrative head to eight months and two teachers to 10 months and six months, respectively, for molesting or sexually assaulting five or six students (between the ages of seven and 20) between 2000 and 2004. On the school grounds. The former headmaster was also convicted of taking bribes in return for teaching jobs.
This case, which first broke in 2005, really got going last August, when the National Human Rights Commission — after conducting a direct investigation of the school — accused six teachers at the school of sexual assault. Charges were leveled on five, but prosecutors refused to move against a sixth, citing the statute of limitations. That teacher was given his job back (well, it’s not like he was a foreign English teacher or something), sparking protests at the school. In case you were wondering about the fifth (former) teacher, the court dismissed the case against him, too, citing the statute of limitations.
For the record, the victims’ side welcomed the sentences.
(HT to reader)
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24 Comments
I say make the teacher strip naked and stand outside for 15 minutes
I think it has been a banner week for education. The non-banner weeks were when these incidents occured, not when authorities pursued punishment against the perps. This isn’t a case of ’see, they do it too’, its more a case of, ’see, they get bent for it too.’
#1,
I’m with you there, brother Nomad!
The latest scuttlebut: My niece was going there and last night the principal called my sister-in-law crying and asking if she would return. She said: NOT! Turns out the police will possibly arrest the teacher and principal. Jail time possible. The place is permanently closed down until further notice.
I’ve had more than one Korean friend tell me about receiving this punishment from their parents when younger… stripped to their underwear and locked outside for a few hours. Never heard of it happening in a school though.
I hope nobody buys the teacher’s “the kid stripped herself in a fit” horsepucky.
Throwing your naked child outside in the cold seems to be an old Korean standby. My wife Cruella has done it to our daughters twice.
I hope the teacher and principal at the kindergarten in Yongsan Gu do time. Child abuse is intolerable, and should never be happening in school - even a dodgy and, very likely, poorly regulated one - of all places. Too bad authorities may not do anything unless there is a formal complaint by parents. Gives the school a chance to pay them off. (Not that I would let it drop for a million bucks were it my kid being mistreated like that, but some parents might go for the green.)
As for the Korean teachers found guilty of sexual assault - on disabled kids, no less - the light sentences they received sends a pretty grim message as to how much value this society really places on children.
#1, I absolutely agree.
#6 Brendon- I hope you’re kidding about your kids.
I believe there’s a conflict with the traditional way of dealing with things of this nature and present day emphasis on transparency. Something in relation to child abuse or endangerment was and continues to be resolved behind closed doors to avoid bringing shame on the community. There’s definitely still a desire in official circles to pretend it doesn’t happen and prosecuting it with rationalizations.
It is the same with spousal abuse. It’s only been recently that the extent of the problem has come to light.
Don’t expect anyone in government to focusing on what’s been swept under the rug for centuries. It’s like gays in Iran. Child abuse in Korea isn’t a problem because it doesn’t exist.
Sorry, I forgot. If a foreigner is the perpetrator then every rock will be overturned and the crime projected upon all in the foreign community. There is no shame on the host because of an outsider’s behavior.
“Sorry, I forgot. If a foreigner is the perpetrator then every rock will be overturned and the crime projected upon all in the foreign community.”
This is an oft repeated meme in English K-blogs. Has anyone here directly had a negative experience or received bad treatment because of the recent media focus on alleged drug use, child molestation, etc among foreigners? I mean other than the new E2 visa regs.
Why, I just got back from two weeks in a former Soviet military facility in an unnamed Eastern European nation being waterboarded by irate Korean Immigration Bureau officials before I was able to convince them that not only was I not a drug dealing pedophile, but also that I’m not even an English teacher
user-81, your point is well taken…it is hard to say why some people spit on the sidewalk just as I walk by, or why I am ignored by taxi drivers or store merchants in the presence of a Korean who is out of line, or why my Korean girlfriend’s parents may possably never know about me, or why sometimes small children run off screaming when they see me, or why it is so much more difficult for me to be trusted with a credit card account or why my mail arrives from overseas opened and re-sealed or why people choose the empty seat beside me on the bus last if at all or why……..
#10- Yes.
But, y’know - just some narrow-minded nationalistic ajosshis. Nothing to make me enduringly bitter.
user-81, as has been said before me it is not usually something you can pin down nor is it overtaxing. We can all take it. But once again you as well as others believe we should take it without a peep. Ain’t gonna happen.
What I find more disturbing is the double-standard. I believe the prosecution of crimes against children commited by foreigners is appropriate and some suspicion on all of us because of this understandable. But the light sentencing and lack of convictions by a Korean native for the same crime and the inability to look at the problem as a domestic issue is unfortunate and makes us wonder about the sincerity of people’s outrage.
I also wouldn’t be so flippant about the new E-2 regulations. You mentioned it as if it were something easily dismissed. I guarantee you that for some it is a source of real consternation.
I’m not just talking about those aberrant few.
What I wrote in #10 seems to have been taken the wrong way by Maddlew and hitest. I asked the question out of genuine curiosity: it keeps being brought up as some kind of truism, but I myself don’t know of any specific cases… so I asked. It wasn’t a statement.
Maddlew (#14 and #15) I wasn’t being ‘flippant’ about the E2 regulations and I wasn’t suggesting ‘we should take it without a peep.’ I mentioned the E2 regulations not to dismiss them, but to recognize that the (serious) E2 issue is (by the Korean government’s own admission) AT LEAST ONE result of the media frenzy. My question is: are there others?
hitest, did that list of problems also occur before the media frenzy?
this place was right over here next to the hamilton hotel…..
crazy
i guess the mother has said she doesnt want the teacher to be punished but the prosecutors are filing charges and hopefully this looser goes to jail
but i doubt it
My heart ached when I saw the photo of one of the children on the Dave’s thread.
#17: What’s a “looser?”
#19: sniff… I smell English teacher syndrome
What IS abuse though?
I got spanked by my mom growing up but I dont consider it abuse. I deserved it every time.
My dad never ever hit me but he used to give me the silent treatment for days at a time when he was upset with me. That was probably more traumatic to me than the spanking. Some may consider that abuse.
Personally, I would NEVER hit my kids bc that’s just my preference.
On an interesting note, I noticed that American parents tend to ground you and make you stay home when they’re upset while Korean parents want you to leave the house. Am I the only one here that experienced this?
I remember threatening to leave home at age 10 and my mom called my bluff. I came back home two hours later. Yes, I’m a wuss.
#19 okay let me correct it LOSER
which to answer your question would be YOU who points out typos on blogs
Sister-in-law informed me last night that the head of the shool visited to return the registration money they had paid a year ago. 50,000 Won. Also, that the teacher tried to kill herself. Sad indeed.
I’m pretty sure that stripping toddlers and forcing them to stand outside in freezing temperatures would qualify.