Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member Park Hyung-dae Points Out "Serious Aversion to Teachers in Rural Fishing Villages"

There has been a call for urgent measures to address the phenomenon of teachers avoiding rural farming and fishing areas in Jeonnam.

Park Hyung-dae, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Progressive Party·Jangheung 1), urged the Jeonnam Office of Education to devise countermeasures regarding the seriousness of teacher avoidance in rural farming and fishing areas during the education office report on the 9th.

Park Hyung-dae, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

According to Assemblyman Park Hyung-dae, as of last year, the ratio of new teachers to the quota in public elementary schools by city and county was ▲ Jangseong 7.60% ▲ Jangheung 8.30% ▲ Haenam 9.90%, and the ratio of temporary teachers to the quota by city and county was ▲ Jangheung 13.1% ▲ Haenam 13.6% ▲ Jindo 18.8%.

In particular, transfers of disciplined teachers were concentrated in specific areas such as Haenam, confirming that the imbalance is severe.

Assemblyman Park stated, “Experienced teachers tend to avoid fishing villages, so new teachers or temporary teachers are filling rural farming and fishing areas. If there is a gap in teacher competency, educational disparities between regions are inevitable. The local community must establish mid- to long-term measures to improve educational capacity together.”

He continued, “The 'Coexistence Classroom,' a key project of Superintendent Kim Dae-jung, focused on classrooms that study and respect each other, but except for a few regional education offices, other local education offices do not even mention it. There is concern about the lack of will from education support offices and inconsistent educational administration.”

He emphasized, “With the increase in schools without new students this year and the widening gap in teacher competency between urban and rural areas, comprehensive and mid- to long-term attention and measures must be taken regarding these important issues in Jeonnam education.”