Corporal punishment laws are controversial because they contribute to an educational environment that respects students’ human rights, but they also undermine teacher authority and lack of control over students. As the international movement to ban corporal punishment continues to spread, South Korea has followed suit, but the issue is still being debated in the education field.
On March 18, 2011, South Korea amended the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to enact the Corporal Punishment Prohibition Act. Previously, corporal punishment that inflicts physical pain was allowed only when it was necessary for educational purposes, but the new law prohibits the use of tools or the body to inflict physical pain on students. This is also the result of increasingly strong social demands since the 2000s, when negative perceptions of corporal punishment in schools spread due to movies and cases involving school violence. In particular, a video of a teacher assaulting a student in a case known as the “Oh Jang-pung Teacher Incident” went viral and shocked many people, which was an important trigger for the ban.
The law’s implementation in South Korea came at a time of growing controversy around school rights and student rights. While students were being reconceptualized as human beings whose human rights should be guaranteed, there were calls for a reexamination of the role and authority of teachers. As a result, some schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province now have anti-corporal punishment laws, which prohibit teachers from physically punishing students. In other areas, however, corporal punishment is still allowed on a limited basis, or indirect forms of corporal punishment remain in place. This disparity in the application of laws continues to spark controversy among educators and parents. Some argue that banning corporal punishment has made it harder to control students, while others support the idea that it is a progressive step toward improving classroom environments and respecting student autonomy.
However, since the ban, incidents of students disrespecting teacher authority or students assaulting teachers have often surfaced in the media, making it a powerful social issue. As the perception that teachers’ authority has been weakened by the ban has spread, teachers are increasingly complaining about the difficulty of maintaining order in the classroom. Some teachers feel that their authority as teachers is gradually eroding in an atmosphere of less control and more respect for students’ autonomy. This has led to calls for the reintroduction of corporal punishment and a renewed discussion about effective discipline in the classroom.
However, many argue that these adverse effects do not apply to all students, and that we should not recreate the oppressive control situation where the misbehavior of a few students leads to the reintroduction of corporal punishment for the entire class. Opponents of corporal punishment argue that corporal punishment that involves physical pain should be banned as a basic human right, and that teachers’ skills and teaching methods need to be diversified. It is important for teachers to try to solve problems through deeper communication with students, and it is essential to find new ways to control students that are not corporal punishment.
In the Joseon Dynasty, the relationship between master and pupil was strictly hierarchical, with the master utilizing corporal punishment as a natural means of teaching the pupil to teach them right. At the time, corporal punishment was perceived as a way to symbolize authority and educational purposes. However, with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948, the global movement to respect basic human rights began in earnest, and legal regulations to prohibit or restrict corporal punishment began to be introduced in many countries around the world. In line with these changes, many experts agree that corporal punishment, even when used in schools for educational purposes, can be considered physical violence. In addition to the physical pain, students who are subjected to corporal punishment can also experience a great deal of mental stress, which can lead to psychological trauma. As a result, there is a growing international consensus that corporal punishment is a violation of human rights and should be abolished.
Global attitudes toward corporal punishment are changing, and many developed countries have legally banned it in education. For example, Sweden became the first country in the world to ban all forms of corporal punishment in 1979, and most European countries have since followed suit. As a result, fewer and fewer countries allow corporal punishment, and there is a growing realization that banning corporal punishment is a way to improve the quality of education and respect students’ human rights. South Korea’s ban on corporal punishment is part of an effort to keep up with the global trend.
Corporal punishment can leave emotional scars on students, and it is often an unpleasant experience for both the teacher and the student. While corporal punishment is often used as the quickest and most powerful tool for teachers to control students, it’s also considered an outdated method because there are plenty of other ways to communicate and reason with students. As social beings, we are capable of solving problems through dialog, and discipline and education are much more advanced than corporal punishment, which means that there are many ways to teach and guide students effectively without it.
Proponents of corporal punishment argue that it is an efficient way to maintain discipline and order. However, this efficiency is actually more of a convenience for teachers. While corporal punishment may seem like an instant fix for a student’s misbehavior, it actually skips the process of helping the student realize their mistakes and learn to behave correctly. Even if it’s a bit of a hassle for the teacher, it’s still true education to find other ways to help students grow autonomously and positively.
The current educational landscape is in a transitional period where there is confusion between the prohibition of corporal punishment and the authority of teachers. The debate is ongoing about whether to reinstitute corporal punishment as a quick and powerful form of control, or to find new ways to teach students discipline while respecting their human rights and autonomy. As society changes, so does education, and it’s time to find creative and positive alternatives to corporal punishment.
