Controversy Over 'Leftist Education' in Elementary Students' Group Viewing of 'Seoul's Spring'... Ultimately Canceled

An Elementary School in Songpa, Seoul Plans a Group Visit for 6th Graders
Conservative YouTube Channel Leads Effort to Block the Visit

A Seoul elementary school planned a group viewing of the movie 'Seoul's Spring' for 6th-grade students but ultimately canceled it after facing opposition from conservative YouTubers and others.

On the 6th, an elementary school in Songpa-gu, Seoul, announced the cancellation of the '2023 6th Grade Backpack-Free Day' through a notice to parents. The school stated, "Our school intended to achieve educational goals through the viewing of the movie 'Seoul's Spring' after gathering opinions along with event guidance. However, due to various concerns raised, including worries about the negative impact of watching the movie, student safety during walking, and fairness issues for students not participating, we have decided to cancel the originally planned movie viewing."

Movie Poster of 'Seoul's Spring'

Earlier, on the 4th, the school had sent a notice to parents stating, "We planned to watch the movie 'Seoul's Spring' on the '6th Grade Backpack-Free Day' to deepen understanding of modern and contemporary history and enhance historical sensitivity." At that time, the school explained in the notice, "Our teachers conducted preliminary visits and screenings, and we established plans for pre-education and post-guidance to prevent any negative effects beyond the educational purpose of the movie viewing," adding, "We hope this will be a good opportunity to strengthen democratic citizenship capabilities through activities linked to the 6th-grade social studies curriculum."

Along with this, the school checked each family's preference regarding their child's participation in the movie viewing and informed that students who did not wish to participate could either take an off-campus experiential learning day or attend school and participate in classes according to a separate plan, based on parental wishes.

When this information became public, some conservative YouTube channels and netizens posted messages such as "We must stop the group viewing" and "Let's all report this to the Ministry of Education."

The YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute' (hereafter 'Gaseyeon') incited viewers by saying, "Elementary School A is conducting a group viewing of 'Seoul's Spring' as part of school classes," and "We must stop this filthy 'leftist communist education.' Let's all report it to the Ministry of Education." Following this announcement by Gaseyeon, netizens posted proof that they had filed complaints with the Ministry of Education.

Group Viewing for 5th-6th Graders Also Canceled in Pohang

Earlier, a similar incident occurred in an elementary school in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, where a group viewing of 'Seoul's Spring' was planned but canceled due to opposition from some parents.

Recently, an elementary school in Nam-gu, Pohang, planned a group viewing of 'Seoul's Spring' for 5th and 6th graders. However, opinions for and against the viewing sharply divided among parents, especially on local online communities. In response to ongoing protest calls from some parents, the Pohang Office of Education consulted with the school and had the group viewing canceled.

A representative from the Pohang Office of Education said, "We understand that the school planned the group viewing of the movie as part of students' study of modern and contemporary history," adding, "We conveyed the opposing opinions from some parents to the school, and we were informed that the school canceled the plan."

The movie 'Seoul's Spring' depicts a series of events that took place over nine hours from the afternoon of December 12, 1979, to the early morning of the next day in Seoul, involving the forces of Security Commander Jeon Du-gwang (played by Hwang Jung-min) and Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-shin (played by Jung Woo-sung).

According to the Korea Film Council's integrated ticketing system on the 7th, 'Seoul's Spring' attracted 203,048 viewers in one day, maintaining its position as the box office number one for fifteen consecutive days since its release. The cumulative audience has surpassed 5.27 million. With this, 'Seoul's Spring' surpassed the cumulative audience record of 5.14 million set by 'Smugglers' and ranks as the second highest-grossing Korean film released this year, following 'The Outlaws 3' (10.68 million viewers).