Investigation into Baejae High School Chanting Controversy Reveals Severity of Hate Speech in Classrooms

Following the controversy over cheering chants at Baejae High School, an awareness survey conducted by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union (KTU) on 1,109 teachers and 1,636 teenagers nationwide found that 89.3% of teachers reported experiencing students' hate speech, historical distortion, or mockery in schools over the past year.

73.9% of teachers said they directly encountered such expressions in students' speech, assignments, or presentations, and testified that slogans like 'Jeon-tank' and 'Tank-day Fighting,' as well as derogatory remarks about specific regions, were uttered during class.

In the survey of 1,636 students, 47.7% of respondents said they had encountered derogatory expressions about specific regions, and 46.8% had encountered expressions mocking historical events. YouTube (53.1%), Instagram (51.6%), and TikTok (33.6%) were cited as the main channels through which students are exposed to hate and mocking content. Over half of the responding students expressed a desire to receive education on the problems and reasons behind hate speech and historical distortion at school.