Jinmyeong Girls' High School '慰問 Letters' Controversy Spreads... Education Office Says "School Must Resolve"

Jinmyeong Girls' High School Expresses Regret in Statement
"We Will Explore Various Ways for Letters of Encouragement," They Announce
Education Office Leaves Supervision and Improvement to School
Petition to Ban 'Letters of Encouragement' Nears 100,000 Signatures

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Controversy is spreading over the慰問 letters sent to soldiers by Jinmyeong Girls' High School in Seoul. There are criticisms that making high school girls write慰問 letters is anachronistic. The education office has begun investigating the situation, but it maintains that abolishing the慰問 letter volunteer activity is a matter for the school to resolve.

On the 13th, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the Seoul Gangseo Yangcheon Education Support Office visited Jinmyeong Girls' High School the day before and conducted supervisory guidance regarding the慰問 letter controversy. Regarding the leakage of personal information of the student who posted related content on SNS, the school provided counseling and protective measures. It is known that Jinmyeong Girls' High School is coordinating a schedule to arrange an apology meeting with the relevant military unit.

A representative from the Seoul Gangseo Yangcheon Education Support Office explained, "Whether to abolish the慰問 letter volunteer activity is a decision for the school. Although they have said they will find improvement measures, abolishing the慰問 letter volunteer activity is a matter the school must decide."

As the controversy spread, Jinmyeong Girls' High School issued a statement the day before, saying, "We deeply regret that some inappropriate expressions in the 2021慰問 letters severely distorted the original intent and meaning of the event."

Jinmyeong Girls' High School stated, "We continue to explore various ways to慰問 the Republic of Korea Armed Forces soldiers that fit the changing times, and in any future events, we will pay close attention to ensure that the original intent and purpose of expressing gratitude to the soldiers and recognizing the importance of unification and security are not compromised."

Jinmyeong Girls' High School, a private school established in 1906, has had a sisterhood relationship with the 25th Division since 1953 and has been conducting events sending慰問 goods and慰問 letters since 1961. The school explains that this is an educational activity to recognize the importance of unification and security.

Content of the慰問 letter revealed by Army soldiers (Source=SNS)

The慰問 letter controversy began recently when a soldier revealed the contents of a letter sent by a Jinmyeong Girls' High School student. The letter contained expressions such as "Life will have many trials, but you must overcome this much to be a man," and "Please work hard to clear the snow," which led to criticisms that it mocked soldiers.

There is also a growing demand to stop the activity of making students write慰問 letters at school. On the Blue House's National Petition Board on the 12th, a petition titled "Please ban慰問 letters forced by girls' high schools" was posted, and as of the morning of the 13th, about 97,000 people had agreed.

The petitioner stated, "The注意 points distributed to students at the school where慰問 letters were forced include 'Exposing personal information can cause serious harm,'" and added, "You must understand how inappropriate it is for minor female students to be forced to write letters comforting adult men."

Kim Min-moonjung, head of the Korean Women's Associations United, pointed out, "慰問 letters were a method used during the military dictatorship era to strengthen the military's prestige, but this issue arose as the school communicated with students in the democratic era with an anachronistic perception and attitude," and added, "The school should actively respond to the students' harm."