School violence reports climb as Korea's classroom culture shifts

The proportion of students in Korea who experienced school violence has exceeded two percent for the first time in about 11 years.

Employees of the Blue Tree Foundation, a youth violence prevention organization, call for an end to school violence during a press conference in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 24, where they announced the results of a nationwide survey on school violence and cyberbullying. [NEWS1]

The proportion of students in Korea who experienced school violence has exceeded two percent for the first time in about 11 years.

The Ministry of Education announced Wednesday the results of a 2024 census and a 2023 sample survey commissioned by 17 education offices nationwide.

The 2024 census, conducted between April 15 and May 14, involved 3.98 million students from fourth to twelfth grade. The 2023 sample survey, conducted from Sept. 18 to Oct. 17, involved 4 percent of students from fourth to eleventh grade, or about 190,000 students. The surveys were conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute.

According to the 2024 census, 2.1 percent of students reported experiencing school violence, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year.

The figure has risen steadily over the past four years, from 1.1 percent in 2021 to 1.7 percent in 2022 and 1.9 percent in 2023.

The sample survey also showed a similar upward trend, with the figure reaching 1.7 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous year. This marks the highest rate since 2018.

A higher percentage of younger students responded they experienced school violence.

According to the 2024 census, 4.2 percent of elementary school students said they experienced school violence, up 0.3 percentage points. Among middle school students, the rate was 1.6 percent, also up 0.3 percentage points, while 0.5 percent of high school students reported school violence, up 0.4 percentage points.

Verbal violence accounted for the largest portion of reported incidents. In the 2024 census, 39.4 percent of students who experienced school violence said they were subjected to verbal abuse, an increase of 2.3 percentage points from the previous year. Meanwhile, the proportion of physical violence dropped by 1.8 percentage points to 15.5 percent.

Cyber violence saw a rise, increasing by 0.5 percentage points to 7.4 percent. The increase comes as the country has recently responded to a surge in deepfake content.

The number of students reporting sexual violence also saw a sharp rise, increasing by 0.7 percentage points to 5.9 percent, marking an all-time high since the Ministry of Education began conducting these surveys in 2013. Previously, the highest rate was 5.2 percent, recorded in both 2023 and 2018.

The number of people who observed school violence has also risen, along with the number of those who reported it. According to the 2024 census, 5 percent of students said they had witnessed school violence, an increase of 0.4 percentage points. The proportion of those who reported these incidents remained high at 91.8 percent, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year, according to the 2023 sample survey.

"The sensitivity to school violence appears to have increased as it emerged as a social issue," said Sung Yoon-suk, a senior researcher at the National Youth Policy Institute, in a press release from the Ministry of Education.

"Since it was difficult to implement school violence prevention education during Covid-19, we need a prevention program to counter the accumulated effects. In particular, prevention education should focus on resolving everyday conflicts and rebuilding relationships, especially among elementary school students."

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]