1 in 8 elementary students face school violence, as half of witnesses stay silent

A performance against school violence is held in Seocho District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

School violence among elementary school students has more than doubled in the past two years, raising alarm over the growing vulnerability of the country's youngest students.

According to a survey released Tuesday by the Blue Tree Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to school violence prevention, the proportion of elementary school students who reported being victims of school violence jumped from 4.9 percent in 2023 to 12.5 percent last year. The survey polled 8,476 elementary, middle and high school students nationwide between November and December last year.

Middle and high school students reported lower rates, at 3.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, highlighting the outsized impact on younger students.

The foundation linked the rise to elementary school students' struggle to differentiate violence from play, noting that children at that age often cannot draw a clear line between roughhousing and actual harm.

Verbal abuse was the most common form of school violence, accounting for 23.8 percent of cases, followed by physical violence at 17.9 percent and cyberbullying at 14.5 percent. The physical violence rate was the highest since 2019, up 7.3 percentage points from 2023.

The survey also found a sharp rise in bystander inaction. The share of students who witnessed school violence but did nothing rose to 54.6 percent, more than double the 21.5 percent in 2021.

The proportion of victims who reported an incident but said nothing came of it tripled over the same period, from 10.9 percent in 2021 to 33 percent last year. When asked what resolution they wanted most, 70.8 percent said they wanted an apology from the perpetrator.

The foundation called on candidates in the June 3 local elections, including those running for school superintendent, to pledge stronger school violence response measures, expanded mental health support for victims,and education programs aimed at preventing the spread of conflict in local communities.

Several education superintendent candidates have already put forward school violence pledges ahead of the June 3 local elections.

Jung Keun-sik, a candidate for Seoul superintendent, pledged to shift the focus of school violence response from punishment to education-based recovery, with a restorative program that prioritizes repairing student relationships.

Kim Seok-joon, running for Busan superintendent, emphasized relationship-focused policies in addressing school violence and youth mental health.

“School violence cannot be solved by punishment alone,” Kim said, adding that he would expand social-emotional education to help students develop emotional regulation and relationship-building skills.