Kindergarten in hot water over gender bias

Korea Times file

By Jung Da-min, Jung Min-ho

A kindergarten in Gyeonggi Province is under fire for children “gender biased” homework.

The kindergarten in Dongtan has been widely criticized online after asking children's mothers to write to their husbands, saying the letters will be used as education material for Parents' Day (May 8).

As an example, the kindergarten mentioned “six things a husband wants from his wife” which has apparently shocked and enraged many mothers.

The six characteristics of a good wife include the ability to “sexually satisfy” her husband and to stay “clean and attractive.”

A photo of the homework posted on Twitter on April 8 went viral. The tweet has so far received more than 30,000 retweets.

A screenshot from Twitter.

After the issue came to the fore, the kindergarten apologized. But many mothers remain upset.

Some people are concerned that preschool institutions like kindergartens may intensify gender prejudices among children.

“I can't believe that no one in the kindergarten raised a question about the homework,” said Kim So-ri, 24, an office worker in Seoul.

A woman, 27, who works in Jeonju, said the letter contains the wrong idea that a wife is the one who should give sexual pleasure to her husband.