Over 96% of South Korean Elementary Teachers Oppose Field Trips Amid Liability Fears

A recent survey reveals a stark disconnect between the presidential directive to encourage school field trips and the reality on the ground for elementary school teachers in South Korea. President Lee Jae-myung's call to address the decline in these educational activities has seemingly had little impact, with an overwhelming 96.2% of teachers expressing negative sentiments towards organizing them.

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The majority of elementary school teachers are negative about organizing field trips.

The survey, conducted by the Elementary Teachers' Union among over 21,000 teachers, highlights deep-seated anxieties that are deterring educators from facilitating these potentially valuable learning experiences. The most significant concern, cited by nearly half of the respondents (49.8%), is the fear of legal repercussions should an accident occur. This fear is amplified by the memory of a tragic incident in 2022 where an elementary student died after being hit by a bus during a field trip, leading to a guilty verdict for the supervising teacher in lower courts. This case has cast a long shadow over the perceived risks associated with field trips.

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96.2% of the teachers surveyed responded negatively to promoting field trips.

Beyond legal liabilities, teachers also grapple with significant stress stemming from parental complaints (37%) and the burdensome administrative tasks involved in planning, contracting, and settling accounts for these trips (12.4%). The lack of adequate funding also limits the choice of venues. These factors combine to create an environment where teachers feel overwhelmed and exposed, leading them to actively avoid organizing field trips.

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The biggest reason teachers avoid field trips is 'anxiety about the teacher's legal responsibility in case of an accident' (49.8%).

The teachers' union is adamant that the solution lies in establishing clear institutional safeguards that guarantee teachers' legal immunity in the event of accidents. While the School Safety Act was amended last year to provide such protection if teachers fulfill their safety duties, educators argue that the criteria for these duties remain ambiguous, rendering the protection ineffective. The survey results underscore a critical need for the government to address these concerns by providing concrete legal protection and reducing administrative burdens, rather than simply encouraging more field trips without addressing the underlying issues.

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'Stress from responding to parental complaints' (37%) and 'excessive administrative work such as selecting and contracting experience sites and settling accounts' (12.4%) were also cited as reasons.