Parent faces backlash for ridiculing preschool teacher

Social Affairs

Published: 16 Aug. 2023, 22:26 Updated: 17 Aug. 2023, 18:50

Parent faces backlash for ridiculing preschool teacher

A teacher sheds tears during a rally held at Gwanghwamun in downtown Seoul on Aug. 5. The teachers plan to hold a rally until September to demand improvement in teachers' rights. [YONHAP]

A parent who recently ignited an uproar for allegedly harassing a preschool teacher is facing more criticism for her response to the initial furor.

After news of her previous harassment incident went viral, a poet and blogger identified only as Baek wrote yesterday on her now-closed blog, “I’m sorry, but it’s not like the teacher is dead,” referring to the teacher with whom she had the quarrel.

"The teacher isn't the Seo2 Elementary School teacher," she continued, referring to another teacher at a school in Seocho-dong who took her own life last month, sparking nationwide protests by teachers' groups.

Intellectual entitlement

In her blog, Baek asserted that her daughter's preschool teacher, whom she was accused of harassing four years ago, had also raised her voice at her.

Baek came under fire earlier this month after the Kyeonggi Ilbo and MBC reported the alleged harassment against the preschool teacher.

According to the reports, Baek belittled her daughter's preschool teacher during a phone call while boasting about her academic accomplishments.

"I'm a woman who graduated from a business school at KAIST [one of Korea's top universities] and has even got an MBA," Baek said in the recorded phone call. "What's your level of education?"

Baek accused the teacher of attempting to deceive a highly educated woman.

"How far and low are you trying to go to fabricate an excuse?" she asked.

According to the preschool teacher in Gyeonggi, the controversy began when Baek called to inquire why her daughter had been moved to another class.

Despite the teacher's denials, Baek continued to question and even accused the teacher of calling her daughter a liar.

"My child has been crying inconsolably after coming home," Baek said. "She told me you said it in front of the class. Yet, are you denying this?"

According to the teacher, Baek insisted they review surveillance footage to determine if the teacher was lying.

However, when the teacher agreed, Baek ended the call by threatening that children should attend class with recording devices for instances like this.

In a subsequent call, Baek claimed she was an educated person and that the teacher, whose education didn't match hers, was bringing shame upon her.

"I am not someone obligated to safeguard your rights as a teacher," Baek told the teacher over the phone.

Messags posted on the walls of Seo2 Elementary School in Seocho-dong on July 24 where a 23 year-old teacher last month took her own life, allegedly due to parents harrassments. The teachers' death started a nationwide discussion on the crumbled teachers' rights in recent years. [YONHAP]

Endless harassment

The preschool teacher stated that she was pregnant at the time. Due to Baek's relentless harassment, she had to change jobs and even her phone number.

At one point, Baek sent 28 messages in a single day.

In one call, after inquiring about the teacher's pregnancy stage, Baek stated that her own daughter was equally precious.

According to the teacher, she was also told to realize she was educating a child who would become an outstanding member of society.

However, contrary to Baek's claims in the call, she graduated from Handong Global University in Pohang.

Furthermore, in her book, she described being admitted to KAIST College of Business' Social Entrepreneur MBA program, a two-year course. She said she had to drop out a year later because she had given birth.

Epidemic of abuse

Since the death of the teacher at Seo2 Elementary School, cases of harassment by parents against educators have surfaced.

Webtoon artist Joo Ho-min, who nearly got a special needs teacher fired through a lawsuit accusing the teacher of abusing his autistic son, was also engulfed in controversy.

In an earlier statement, Joo claimed that the teacher had abused his son in a manner that extended well beyond discipline.

However, the webtoon artist was accused of initiating the lawsuit against the teacher due to his dissatisfaction with his son being placed in a special needs class separate from other students.

Joo not only didn't attempt to address the situation with the teacher, but also alleged that the school and the education authorities had advised him to take legal action. Both the school and the education authorities have denied providing such advice.

Joo's son, who is two years older than his peers, had been assigned to the special needs class not just for hitting other students but also for pulling down his pants and exposing his genitals to girls in second grade.

Another parent, an Education Ministry employee, faced controversy for getting a teacher suspended over abuse allegations. This employee handed a list to the replacement teacher detailing how to handle his son with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The suspended Education Ministry employee referred to his son as having "DNA of a king" and demanded the teacher follow specific rules, including never saying "no" or "stop" to his son. He insisted on constant apologies and words of encouragement.

These rules, as it turns out, were provided by a private institution called GG Brain Power Research Institute, which claims to treat children with ADHD.

The institute's founder and CEO, Kim Eui-chul, claims children with ADHD have highly developed "right brains."

Kim asserts that figures like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk have highly developed right brains and "DNA of a king."

Famous artist Joo Ho-min at an event in 2019. Joo filed a lawsuit, accusing a special need teacher for abusing his son. [YONHAP]

Death offers no escape from harassment

Recently, it has also come to light that two teachers from the same school in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, took their own lives within just six months of each other in 2021.

Initially, their deaths were reported as accidents, but subsequent reports revealed that both teachers had actually took their own lives due to stress caused by harassment from parents.

In particular, a recent report by MBC highlighted that one parent even attended the male teacher's funeral to ensure that he had indeed passed away, as the text messages sent by the student's mother had gone unanswered.

Despite attending the funeral, this parent refused to show respect and instead verbally attacked the grieving family.

The police have announced their intention to investigate the deaths of the teachers at Uijeongbu Howon Elementary School.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]