Job satisfaction among teachers hits all-time low

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An overwhelming majority of Korean teachers say they regret their choice of profession, as job satisfaction among educators hits an all-time low.

According to a survey released on Monday, only 19.7 percent of more than 11,000 teachers working at kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools as well as universities said that if they had a chance to start over, they would choose different careers.

The rate fell below 20 percent for the first time since 2012 when that question was included in the annual poll. The figure was the highest at 52.6 percent in 2016 and has fallen steadily since.

The survey was conducted by the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations, the country’s largest union of teachers, on the occasion of Teachers’ Day, which falls on May 15.

Asked if they were satisfied with their work, only 21.4 percent said they were, a major drop from nearly 68 percent in 2006.

When asked about their biggest difficulties, 31.7 percent said educating disruptive students, followed by handling complaints from the parents of students and maintaining a good relationship with them (24 percent), and dealing with too much administrative work that is seemingly irrelevant to education (22.4 percent).

Many teachers complained about a disturbing trend of secret recordings, with 26.9 percent saying they had seen students or parents recording conversations with them.

Concerned about possible litigation, 62.7 percent of teachers said they were willing to buy their own recording devices.

Amid an increase in political voices calling for a law to protect the welfare of students in response to regional education offices moving to scrap such ordinances, 79.1 percent of teachers said they disapprove of the idea.

The teachers’ union said such legislation would aggravate frustration among its members, many of whom are already struggling with “excessive” legal protections for unruly students.