Female teacher dominance deepens at primary schools

By Kim Se-jeong

Nearly eight out of 10 teachers in elementary schools nationwide are women, the Ministry of Education said Sunday.

As of April this year, the proportion of female teachers in elementary schools rose to 76.6 percent from 75.3 percent in 2010. At middle schools, the proportion rose to 67.9 percent from 66.1 percent. It also increased to 48.7 percent from 44.8 percent at high schools.

Daejeon topped the survey with 85.5 percent of teachers at elementary schools being women, followed by Seoul with 85.4 percent, Daegu with 81.7 percent and Busan with 80.8 percent. South Jeolla Province had the lowest at 60.8 percent.

In Seoul alone, Gangnam posted the highest percentage of female teachers at elementary schools. It had 91.5 percent, followed by Seocho with 89.3 percent, Yongsan with 88.7 percent and Songpa with 88.1 percent.

This trend shows that young women prefer teaching careers and the trend is backed by the high number of female applicants seeking entry into universities specializing in education.