Korean Schools Seen as ‘Black Companies’ for Teachers

In Gyeonggi Province, a teacher in her 20s, identified as Ms. A, recently resigned and began studying for the certified public accountant exam. She had dreamed of teaching since childhood, but school proved too harsh a workplace to endure on dedication alone. She was worn down by frequent complaints from parents, and even when she taught with conviction, she constantly wondered whether the school would protect her if problems arose.

Mr. B, who left an elementary school position in the Seoul metropolitan area and is applying for corporate jobs this fall, also changed course. He said the death of a teacher at Seoul’s Seoi Elementary School the year after he was appointed dealt a heavy blow to morale among colleagues. He had chosen the profession for honor rather than income, yet after feeling the pay gap with high school friends who joined corporations, he decided to seek a new path while still young.

According to Ministry of Education data, the number of teachers resigning mid-career rose from 6,704 in 2020 to 7,988 last year. Over the same period, resignations among teachers with fewer than five years of service, like Ms. A and Mr. B, increased from 290 to 380, up 31%. The share of short-tenured teachers leaving continues to grow.

Once a byword for stable employment, South Korean schools have, for many young educators, turned into so-called “black companies,” exploitative workplaces marked by low pay and unreasonable demands. Teachers are abandoning what was once viewed as a lifelong career because of abusive complaints, heavy administrative burdens, and compensation that does not match the workload.

Complaints that a child was placed next to someone they dislike in a class photo or was barred from using a cellphone have become routine. Some parents demand that teachers wash children’s clothes soiled during lunch and send them home cleaned. Others send dozens or even hundreds of angry messages through the night.

Despite the 2023 Seoi Elementary School tragedy and the passage of the so-called four laws on teachers’ rights, teachers say little has changed on the ground. Authorities pledged to create complaint response teams, yet the first wave of grievances still lands on classroom teachers, leaving them more burdened. With scant expectation of resolution, many hesitate to bring cases to teachers’ rights committees.

In an April survey of 4,068 teachers nationwide by the Korean Federation of Teachers Unions (KFTU), 46.8% said malicious complaints had disrupted their teaching within the past year. A 25-year veteran, identified as Mr. C, said, “High-quality public education is built when teachers, students, and parents work as one team. If teaching becomes a shunned profession, students will ultimately bear the cost.”

Late last month, an unusual event at Seoul National University of Education drew notice. The Fairfax County school district in Virginia held a briefing to recruit Korean teachers. Regarded as a top district near Washington, Fairfax runs an “ambassador teacher program” to ease shortages and broaden diversity by actively hiring from abroad. Last year, it selected 10 elementary school teachers from Korea as a pilot, and they were praised locally for their expertise and classroom skills. As long as schools remain workplaces that feel like black companies to young, capable teachers, there is no guarantee the brain drain shaking academia and industry will not take hold in education as well.