Now even in South Korea teachers are being treated very poorly and thus leading to less college students wanting to become one:
“Teachers can no longer teach in the way they used to,” Choi said. “They are constantly challenged, monitored, and disrespected. Classrooms have become increasingly difficult environments to manage. Teachers face verbal and even legal confrontations from students and parents.”
Choi’s doubts echo those of many young Koreans. Once considered a prestigious calling, the teaching profession in South Korea is losing both its appeal and its authority.
This erosion of teachers’ authority in classrooms has driven young people away from teaching and dragged down the competitiveness of education universities nationwide.
According to recent data released by Jongro Academy, the admission thresholds for education colleges in the 2025 academic year have plunged to record lows. In some special admission tracks, students with high school grades as low as 7 were accepted. Korean high schools rank students according to a nine-level relative evaluation system. Even in general admission rounds, which typically draw top-performing students, some candidates with GPAs in the 6th-grade range made the cut.
“Seeing a GPA of 6 in general admission is extremely rare and suggests a sharp decline in interest even among mid-performing students,” said Im Sung-ho, head of Jongro Academy.
The drop comes despite a reduction in the admission quota at these institutions, which under normal conditions, would push scores higher. Instead, both early and regular admission scores declined — an indication that fewer students with high GPAs are applying to become teachers.
Korea Herald
You can read more at the link, but the disrespect of teachers in Korea is different from the United States. In the U.S. the teachers are treated liked they are overpaid babysitters for many disinterested parents. In Korea the disrespect comes from overinterested parents who get upset if their child didn’t get the grade they think they deserved or if their kids are disciplined in any way. I think I would rather have the Korea problem of overinterested parents instead of the U.S. problem where many parents just don’t care.
