Elementary and Middle School Students in Hoengseong-gun: 47% Feel 'Alone' During COVID Era, 32% Find 'Online Classes Difficult'

Hoengseong-gun Child Rights Monitoring Team, Survey of Hoengseong Area Elementary 4th Grade to Middle School 3rd Grade Students

Policy Recommendations from Hoengseong-gun Child Rights Monitoring Group [Provided by Good Neighbors Gangwon Regional Headquarters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] A survey conducted among elementary and middle school students in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon Province, revealed that nearly half of the respondents lived 'alone' without care on weekdays due to the COVID-19 infection situation, and one-third experienced difficulties with 'online classes.'

Good Neighbors Gangwon Regional Headquarters announced on the 27th, "In collaboration with the Hoengseong-gun Child Rights Monitoring group, we conducted an online and offline survey targeting students from 4th grade elementary to 3rd grade middle school living in Hoengseong-gun to propose policies to Hoengseong-gun."

According to Good Neighbors Gangwon Regional Headquarters, about 40% of the total targeted students participated in the survey, and among them, approximately 31.8% responded that they had 'difficulty keeping up with online classes.'

Additionally, 24.6% of these students said they 'solve difficulties on their own,' while 9.7% answered that they 'do not resolve difficulties and just pass over them.'

On weekdays when online classes were held, 47.2% of all respondents reported that 'children were alone or with other children without a guardian,' indicating the presence of 'children alone' without care.

In particular, in response to the question 'Did you eat all three meals after the outbreak of COVID-19?', only 29.4% of children in Hoengseong-gun answered that they 'eat all three meals,' compared to the national average of 50.1%.

COVID-19 also affected the leisure activities and play patterns of students in Hoengseong-gun.

The survey on changes in play and rest activities before and after COVID-19 showed that time spent 'just resting or sleeping, using SNS, watching videos' increased, while time spent 'physical activities, talking with friends or close people, meeting and playing with friends' decreased.

Especially, before COVID-19, 'meeting and playing with friends' accounted for a large portion of overall play and rest activities, whereas after COVID-19, 'watching videos' took up the most time.

When asked about 'hopes for Hoengseong-gun,' respondents expressed a desire for 'safe spaces to play' and 'various play activities that allow for social distancing,' revealing their wish to enjoy active play and leisure activities as before COVID-19.

Regarding opportunities to express opinions related to COVID-19, 70.1% of respondents answered that they 'have no opportunity to voice their opinions.' It was found necessary to establish ways for students to freely express their thoughts and present their opinions.

The Hoengseong-gun Child Rights Monitoring Group directly delivered a policy proposal based on the survey findings to the Hoengseong-gun mayor, and Hoengseong-gun decided to review the results and reflect related content in policies.

Jang Sin-sang, mayor of Hoengseong-gun, stated, "We plan to incorporate the vivid voices of children into the county administration to create a happy Hoengseong for children and adolescents."

Park Mi-kyung, head of Good Neighbors Gangwon Regional Headquarters, said, "I saw the Child Rights Monitoring Group children leading all activities from planning the child rights status survey, conducting the survey, analyzing results, to drafting policy proposals," adding, "Children themselves are growing with a sense of ownership of Hoengseong-gun, so the future of Hoengseong-gun is bright."

Meanwhile, this survey was conducted from November 16 to 23 last year targeting 1,067 students (65% female, 33% male) from 4th grade elementary to 3rd grade middle school residing in Hoengseong-gun, with 422 respondents.

The survey method included online (participation after sending survey link) and offline (distribution and collection of surveys at elementary and middle schools), consisting of 30 questions across 4 themes (education, safety, play, COVID-19 and daily life).