Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
International schools highlight gaps in Korea’s school violence law
An aerial view of English Education City in Jeju Island, where four international schools are located / Courtesy of Jeju Free International City Development Center
By Jung Da-hyun
Rise in cases, lack of committee meetings fuel calls for revised bill
Despite years of tightening school violence laws, international schools in Korea remain outside the purview of most legislation on the issue thanks to their unique status.
Hundreds of cases have been reported at international schools over the past five years, but the institutions have largely been left to handle incidents under their own rules, without holding the committees that would normally convene in cases of school violence at other kinds of institutions.
Schools say they address cases that arise under their own internal guidelines, but recurring incidents are fueling calls to bring them under the Act on the Prevention of and Countermeasures Against Violence in Schools.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Education to the office of Rep. Kim Yong-tae of the main opposition People Power Party, Wednesday, a total of 264 school violence cases were reported at seven accredited international schools between 2020 — when school violence countermeasure committees were introduced — and last year.
By school, North London Collegiate School Jeju recorded the highest number of incidents, averaging 19.8 cases a year between 2020 and last year. Branksome Hall Asia followed with an annual average of 9.3 cases per year over the same period, while Korea International School Jeju Campus recorded an average of 7 cases per year.
There have been a cumulative 415 incidents of school violence cases at international schools since 2010. Annual figures stayed below 30 per year until 2020, surging to 54 in 2021, 50 in 2022 and 56 in 2023. Last year, 40 cases were reported across the seven schools.
Cases at international schools are handled differently from those at institutions subject to the school violence law.
Under the current system, the law applies only to schools defined under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, covering public and private elementary, middle and high schools, as well as alternative and foreign schools. International schools are not included in the language of the act.
There are currently seven international schools in Korea — four in Jeju Island, two in Incheon and one in Daegu. Schools in Jeju operate under the Special Act on the Establishment of Jeju Special Self-governing Province and the Development of Free International City.
The education ministry said that while these schools are not subject to the same school violence laws, they handle incidents under their own codes of conduct or internal regulations.
It added that while such schools are not required to formally document disciplinary actions, some foreign educational institutions have guidelines for reporting serious cases when requested by universities, as school violence records are set to be reflected in all college admissions starting this year.
However, no instances where submission of such records has been confirmed.
According to the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education, international schools in Jeju handle school violence cases under their own internal rules. This leaves authorities unaware of incidents unless complaints are filed and limits their oversight to post-report intervention. The office added that provisions safeguarding school autonomy limit its ability to step in proactively.
Kim has repeatedly pointed out the absence of school violence countermeasure committees in international schools. In 2024, he proposed the revised bill extend the school violence act to international schools.
The need for revision was discussed by lawmakers at the National Assembly Education Committee on March 23 this year, but whether the education ministry will formally adopt and act on the proposal remains uncertain.