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[Brian]

Remember to submit your criminal background checks ASAP.  There are far too many dangerous, unchecked foreign teachers running around.  In other news . . .

A video clip of a high school teacher beating two students with a bamboo sword has caused a stir among netizens.

In the 38-second video clip, a teacher is seen striking the hips of two students in a push-up position with the sword. When one student stands up, unable to endure the beating, the teacher follows him to strike his back.

The clip, recorded by a student with a mobile phone, has spread on the Internet. Netizens have voiced their outrage in message boards, saying the punishment was extreme.

"This is violence, not punishment," wrote a netizen. "The teacher's actions require criminal punishment."

But another said, "If a teacher can guide students better with corporal punishment, the teacher deserves praise rather than criticism."

The school, in Jeonju city in North Jeolla Province, said, "The two students often miss class without advance notification. The teacher spoke to them and the students promised not to skip class again but they didn't keep their word. The teacher punished them because they skipped class the previous afternoon, although it seems extreme."

The principal of the school said, "The teacher apologized to the two students who were punished and the other students in the class. I am sorry for causing controversy and I have given the teacher a warning."

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200711/200711010024.html

Edit my edit: The video was taken off that Naver blog but is still around other Korean sites.  I put it up on youtube today: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMTXnf7mnZI&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/hMTXnf7mnZI&rel=1</a>

[Samuel]

Jesus! The principal gave the teacher warning: "Please don't use such a big wooden pole again."

[AlexMokpo]

An appology makes it all better.  Clearly.  Fuck.

I actually saw this already.  It was on Pandora.tv on the front page a few days ago.  I showed it to my study group students.  I was happy to see their disgust and tried to talk to them about it after.  I brought up the fact that teachers in Canada don't do this for two reasons
1) it's illegal, duh
2) there would be a reprisal on said teacher

I asked if they thought it was too much.  My students agreed.
I asked if they thought it was good to video tape it and put it on the net.  They said yes, but dangerous (the teacher/school may punish that person if caught). 
I asked why, if they thought it was wrong - so wrong that it needed to be video-taped and put on the net - did no one stop it?  --> Then they would be hit too (duh).  So I asked them "how many students in your class would think this was bad?"  Making it obvious that it's 30 vs 1.
Grrr.  I hate how much they just accept this shit. 
Korea has "laws" against this shit, but of course, this man in the video and others have no punishments set upon them.  People just look the other way.  Video tape maybe, but never step in to stop it themselves. 

[Samuel]

I sometimes wonder if I should say something to co-teachers that wail on students. I don't mind some hitting, but it's the tear streaming kind that makes me want to interfer.
I would have no problem jumping between such a student and the teacher's kendo pole, but I wonder what would happen to one of us if we stood between a student and a teacher mildly hitting a student. The teacher might get upset about losing face. Any thoughts?
What about: When in Rome? God, I hate that expression. Koreans use it to justify all kinds of stuff I think is wrong, but maybe I am just a cultural imperialist.

[AlexMokpo]

Samuel, I totally agree with your hatred of the Korean uses of "When in Rome."  They use it to excuse any of thier 'culture' that is offensive.

I've interfered by way of taking pictures of students being beaten and put them on the net.
...as an act of defiance to my anger, my school knows, has seen them, acknowledged that they know, and never asked me to take them down.  Cocky.

http://kyre2.deviantart.com/art/hitting-54082457

[Samuel]

 Yes, I appreciate your website. Do we just say that there is no objective right or wrong in the world, or do we say that objective morality exists and all people should follow such a moral law? Is there such a thing as universal huiman rights?
 I know what a "certain" user would say.

[Jessica]

I don't claim to know the answer for everyone in every situation, but there are a few points I'd like to mention:

1. It is illegal in Korea to beat students in school. Yes, it happens. It is still illegal.
2. I couldn't imagine watching a kid get beat until tears are streaming down their face without saying anything to anyone.  I would feel I was complicit with the beating. I might not be able to intervene, but I can make it clear how inappropriate _I_ find their actions, even if it is just by telling a co-teacher. I've found that even if the person doing the hitting can't understand English, they know that you are talking about what just happened and that you think it is wrong. It might not make it stop, but it might make them think.
3. If corporal punishment was an effective means of behavior change, why do the same kids tend to be on the hall on their knees regularly? (There are studies that support the lack of efficacy - not just my opinion)

There are times I wouldn't intervene, because I have seen corporal punishment when it isn't being done maliciously or to an extreme. I  still don't agree that it is appropriate or effective,  and with one teacher at my school who uses physical punishment to an extreme, I'm planning to use Alex's photo intervention.  And yes, it is a delicate situation, and no, I don't know how someone should draw the line, and yes, I realize that what is disgusting to me might not be disgusting to you. (sorry, this touches on a few issues at my school this week...)

Anyway, unrelated, Samuel, what was the point to the last line of your comment? Was it meant to be as passive-aggressive as it reads?

[Samuel]

What last line would that be?

[Jessica]

Well, going by a typical definition of the word last, I mean the line right before your comment ended.

[Samuel]

I don't understand your question(s), then.   

[AlexMokpo]

hahaha, yes, Jessica, you missed all the drama that went on here the past few days (and is probably still going on via emails now).

It's most definitely passive-agressive, because if it's any more specific Nicola will cry to Virginia

[Jessica]

I missed the drama, which from what I can gather, maybe would have been interesting if it wasn't the same game being played over and over again.

But then, I'm probably just part of the Mokpo Friendship Society.

[Brian]

I missed the drama, which from what I can gather, maybe would have been interesting if it wasn't the same game being played over and over again.

But then, I'm probably just part of the Mokpo Friendship Society.

Well, to be fair, I was the one who used "Mokpo Friendship Society," not Samuel.  He's from Mokpo, so it wouldn't make sense for him to write that anyway, haha.  It's a little bizarre that out of all the things I typed, that sentence is what got people fired up.  I was making the observation that practically all the contributors here are from Mokpo.  I was responding to the charge that this forum is too cliqueish (sp?), which I found strange, considering that "you people" all know each other (which is why the little blow-ups that happen here are all the more amusing).  Relax, I'm sure we can all think of things far more inflammatory to say. 

[Virginia]

The whole "clique" issue really gets under my skin -- especially since last year, we were all from different places.
 
But that's beside the point.....

I would *hate hate hate* to have one of my classroom rants (one of which I had today when the entire class showed up 10 minutes late, didn't have their pencils, couldn't find their nametags....) publicized on the internet.... since I would look like a damn lunatic.

Should a teacher (or parent or guardian) hit a child/teen with such force? Absolutely not. I hate seeing my Grade 2 boys look fearfully at their (older, male) teacher, or flinch when he comes near. But, I also take solace in the fact that the (older, male) head teacher walks around the school cheerfully greeting the kids with high fives.

Beatings such as these seem to be on the way out... or am I mistaken?

[Samuel]

Yes, such beatings are on the way out. Beating is legal, now, however, not illegal as another post stated. There are dimensional guidelines to how thick and long a love stick may be. In any case, there is a bill of "student rights"in front of the National Assembly to make such beatings illegal in 2008 regardless of the size of stick.

[Jessica]

t's a little bizarre that out of all the things I typed, that sentence is what got people fired up.

What bothered me about that statement was that it seemed like an attempt to negate the opinions of an entire group of people simply based on where they lived and who they were friends with.

[AlexMokpo]

This problem is that even if beatings are on their way out BY LAW, they're not in people's minds.  Like everything else in Korea, it's only ON PAPER.  The laws are already written, but people turn a blind eye to it because they grew up with it.  "Well when *I* was young..." blah blah blah, the same old story/excuse. 
And kids turn a blind eye to it too, because they
1) are taught this is normal/okay/expected/"affection"
2) enjoy watching.  Ask a kid - they'll tell you they laugh because it's not them, so they don't care, really.  Only when it's THEIR turn for the beating is it a problem.

And my co-teacher told me it's illegal to hit the students with hands or feet, that they must use a 'tool' (I corrected him, "WEAPON" and thus began an arguement no one can win due to language barriers and "cultural" misunderstanding).

[Samuel]

Alex:

 Good points.

 If you come across any information about the supposed change in law, please share it. I am curious about the law and what Koreans think about it, and how likely it will be enforced.

[Brian]

This recent entry on Gusts of Popular Feeling is worth a look: http://populargusts.blogspot.com/2007/11/yusin-lives-on-at-school.html

[Samuel]

 Wow. It is worth a look. I never heard of the hair cutting situation before.