A student places a condolence message on a memorial wall for a teacher who died at Seoul Seo2 Elementary School in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, in 2023. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald) Nearly half of elementary school teachers in South Korea say they feel helpless in dealing with parents, a new report showed, nearly three years after the death of a young teacher in Seoul sparked nationwide debate over teachers’ rights.According to an issue paper published in May by the Korea Education Development Institute, 49.4 percent of elementary school teachers surveyed in 2023 felt helpless in their relationships with parents.The figure was significantly higher than the 31.7 percent reported by middle school teachers.In the same survey of 5,587 elementary school teachers nationwide, 68.9 percent said they worried about parents filing complaints or reporting them to police, with 40.7 percent describing their concerns as severe.The anxiety was not limited to younger teachers.Teachers across all career stages reported similar levels of concern over complaints and feelings of helplessness, suggesting that the pressure is rooted in the working environment rather than individual inexperience.“The findings suggest that difficulties in dealing with parents are not simply the result of inexperience or trouble adjusting to the job, but are shared by teachers regardless of their years in the profession,” said Kum Jong-ye, a research fellow at the Korea Education Development Institute.Kum called for measures to ensure teachers feel protected in the classroom, warning that difficulties could undermine elementary school teachers’ job satisfaction.The issue of teachers’ rights has drawn national attention since the suicide of a 24-year-old elementary school teacher in Seoul’s Seocho district in 2023.In the months that followed, several other teacher deaths came to light, fueling public debate over parental complaints, student discipline and the legal protection of teachers.The findings add to concerns that worsening working conditions have made elementary teaching less attractive to young people.The profession was long regarded as one of South Korea’s most desirable careers, particularly after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when stable public-sector jobs became highly valued. Admissions competition for colleges of elementary education rebounded this year after several years of decline.However, education officials remain cautious about interpreting the increase as a recovery in the profession’s popularity, citing continued reports of violations of teachers’ rights in schools.“The admission cutoffs for colleges of education have recovered from their downward trend, but it is still too early to conclude that this reflects renewed interest among high-achieving students,” said Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy.“The recent increase appears to be driven more by a sluggish job market, which has made stable careers more attractive.”