Korea’s risk-free schools
For many Koreans, school trips from elementary, middle and high school are lifelong memories. Those from Seoul mostly headed to Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, to see cultural relics such as Bulguksa temple, and even rundown motels became part of the fun when shared with classmates. However, as President Lee Jae Myung recently remarked, it seems these experiences are becoming a thing of the past. “I hear that these days, students don’t go on picnics or school trips much anymore,” he said in a Cabinet meeting, lamenting that they are “taking away good opportunities from students just to avoid responsibility.” According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, only 31 percent of elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul have announced plans to conduct daytime field trips this year. Overnight field trips are decreasing even further, with only 17 percent of schools planning to do so. Behind the plunge are the excessive legal and emotional risks borne by teachers. In a survey by the Elementary School Teachers’ Union, 96 percent of teachers who responded expressed a ne
