Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Does serving spicy food to young children violate human rights?
Students of an elementary school in Seoul are served lunch in this Oct. 13, 2019 photo. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
Civic group files petition with rights watchdog
By Bahk Eun-ji
A controversy has arisen over whether serving spicy foods as part of children's school lunches at kindergartens attached to elementary schools is in violation of their human rights.
Parents are showing mixed responses over the issue, after a civic group, Political Mamas, filed a complaint on Tuesday with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) against the Ministry of Education.
In Korea, some public kindergartens are attached to public elementary schools to share space and facilities of the schools. In most cases, children at such kindergartens also share the school cafeteria and are served the same food as elementary school students.
The civic group said kindergarteners, aged five to seven, and elementary students aged eight to 13 are served the same foods, regardless of being at different stages of physical development with quite a lot of foods containing spicy seasoning, including kimchi.
“As a result, many children at such kindergartens and some lower graders of elementary schools have difficulty eating meals because they are too spicy. This also leads to indigestion for some children,” Jang Ha-na, a member of Political Mamas, said in a statement.
Meals including spicy side dishes and soups provided at public kindergartens attached to elementary schools / Courtesy of Political Mamas
“Children not eating spicy food is not about being picky. Young children have more sensitive taste buds than adults, so they can feel pain. Excessive consumption of such food can also cause problems with their digestive system,” Jang said.
The civic group pointed out that private kindergartens and public ones not attached to elementary schools provide meals suitable for young children's taste and nutrition.
“Not being able to eat spicy food is not about preference or bad habits the children have to break. Forcing them to eat such food is nothing but a human rights violation,” the group said.
The petition has stirred debate among parents over whether spicy meals are a violation of children's rights.
Lee Ha-na, a mother of a second grader at a public elementary school in Nowon District in Seoul and a six-year-old attending a kindergarten attached to the school, said her children do not usually eat lunch at school. She always prepares snacks for them to eat after school.
“I was a bit surprised when spicy chicken was served at my six-year-old daughter's kindergarten a few days ago. I felt terrible when my daughter said she ate only rice because the other side dishes and soup were too spicy,” Lee said.
“Some people say if parents decide to send their children to such kindergartens, it means they have to shoulder such minor problems because the tuition is free. But I don't agree with that. School meals are closely related to our children's rights.”
Jo Jung-ran, a mother of a six-year-old boy, also said it is a violation of children's basic rights to prevent them from having a suitable meal by providing too many spicy foods.
“Is it really necessary to feed spicy food to young children in kindergartens or lower grades of elementary school? For upper graders of elementary school, they are used to spicy food because they usually eat the same food as adults anyway, but I don't know why they provide spicy food to young children who have not yet developed their sense of taste,” Jo said.
However, some others say it is an overreaction from parents who are “too sensitive.”
“It's a little surprising that some people say serving spicy food in schools can be a human rights violation,” said Kim Seung-ho, a father of a nine-year-old son attending a public elementary school in Songpa District in southeastern Seoul.
“My son and his friends often say they like spicy food offered as school lunch and they enjoy trying new food. I'm actually satisfied that a variety of foods are being served at the school,” Kim said.
A mother of a seven-year-old daughter in Nowon District, who wished to be identified only by her surname Kim, also said those parents who don't want their children to eat spicy food should not send their children to kindergartens attached to schools.
“Parents knew the meals would be provided like this, but they made a decision. It's not possible for a school cafeteria to prepare food separately only for kindergarteners and lower graders of elementary school. It's a matter of choice, and if they make a decision, the parents are responsible for making their children get used to such spicy food,” Kim said.