SEOUL, September 17 (AJP) - Bullying and violence in South Korean schools have worsened despite tougher discipline and prevention efforts, with reported cases now affecting 5 percent of elementary school students, a government survey showed.
Of the 3.26 million students from fourth grade through high school, 2.5 percent said they experienced school violence this year, up 0.4 percentage points from last year, according to the Education Ministry. The figure has steadily risen from 1.1 percent in 2021 to 1.7 percent in 2022, 1.9 percent in 2023, and 2.1 percent in 2025.
The problem is most acute in elementary schools, where 5 percent reported violence — the highest since the survey began in 2013 — compared with 2.1 percent in middle schools and 0.7 percent in high schools.
“My child woke up at night for several days,” said Park, the father of a 9-year-old boy assaulted by peers. “Teachers need more authority to intervene early and impose meaningful consequences,” he said, requesting anonymity.
Despite years of anti-bullying campaigns and zero-tolerance policies, the rise of cyberbullying has made oversight harder. Lee Soo-jung, a criminal psychology professor at Kyonggi University, said online harassment has “explosively increased” as students weaponize social media and videos to intimidate classmates. “The nature of school violence has changed — whereas physical abuse was more common before, online bullying is now much more prevalent,” she said.
Education officials are reviewing prevention strategies as they struggle to tackle violence in one of the world’s most academically demanding school systems.
reporter
Candice Kim
candicekim1121@ajupress.com
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