Ex-teacher accuses ’Dogani’ school of murdering students

By Kim Rahn

A former teacher at a special school for the deaf, which has been criticized over a sexual assault and rape scandal, claimed two students there were abused to death and buried secretly about 50 years ago.

The former teacher, Kim Yeong-il, 71, said Monday the two incidents took place at Gwangju Inhwa School in 1964.

The revelation comes amid public anger against repeated rapes and sexual harassment by school staffers on students after the film “Dogani,” titled “The Crucible” in English, based on the true story, was released recently.

“In October 1964 when I worked at the school, then vice principal starved an about seven-year-old orphan boy, who was raised at the school, for a long time and beat him to death,” Kim claimed in a media briefing.

He claimed that after the boy died, the vice principal, another teacher and he wrapped him up in a straw bag and buried him on a mountain about 7 kilometers from the school.

Before the boy died, the vice principal confined him in a room for a long time and barely fed him, Kim said.

“About six months later, another girl, about six years old, also died. The starved girl even ate wallpaper. An old lady taking care of the girl threw her off a building, so she died,” Kim claimed.

Kim said he reported this to police but police ignored him saying they didn’t find any dead bodies. “After my reporting, the vice principal and principal, who were brothers, confined me at the school for five days and beat me. I left the school in 1968.”

Other alumni of the school also testified human rights infringements happened at the school. Some claimed that the son of the school’s chief of board of directors forced two female students to undress and drew nude paintings of them in 1975, adding the offender is currently teaching art at a school in the city.