"Children Reduced to Heavy Baggage"... The Neulbom School Controversy Making Dual-Income Parents Feel Guilty [The Editors' Verdict]

School arrival between 8:40 and 8:50 AM, dismissal between 12:40 and 12:50 PM. As the new semester approaches, the biggest concern for dual-income families with children entering the first grade of elementary school is the school arrival and dismissal times. In Korean society, where a typical work schedule is from 9 AM to 6 PM, the elementary school schedule is practically impossible for dual-income families to manage without third-party help. This is also the main reason why the number of career-interrupted women (Gyeongdan-nyeo) sharply increases when their children start elementary school.

According to Statistics Korea, the average daily commute time for office workers living in the metropolitan area is 1 hour and 20 minutes. If parents send their children to school on time and then commute to work, being late is inevitable. Although dismissal times for upper elementary grades are delayed to around 2 PM, lower elementary grades often finish school around 1 PM, making it essential for dual-income families to apply for after-school care programs where students are supervised in separate classrooms. However, these care programs have limited capacity, and families that are not single-parent, low-income, or multi-child households often face rejection even after applying. Without help from grandparents or other third parties, children are inevitably pushed into the private education market early on.

In China, where dual-income families are common, first graders start school before 8 AM and finish after 4 PM. This is a common system applied to all students in a class, not a differentiated system based on whether the child is from a dual-income family. Of course, if additional care beyond regular class hours is needed, schools sometimes provide supervision until the evening. Although children spend more time at school, they engage in many activities there. There are plenty of physical activities such as running on the school playground and jump rope, and after lunch, there is a rest period for naps.

Our government has decided to expand the 'Neulbom School,' which cares for elementary students from 7 AM to 8 PM, to all elementary schools to ease the burden on dual-income families. However, teachers strongly oppose this. A survey conducted by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union of 5,877 teachers showed that 97.1% of respondents opposed the establishment of Neulbom support rooms in schools. Since teachers are expected to take on childcare in addition to education, and there is a shortage of teachers, space, and programs to care for children, significant difficulties are expected before implementation. This is a typical bureaucratic desk policy that pushes through 'implementation first' without creating a proper environment for children to be well cared for and educated, leaving the parties involved to bear the side effects later.

As opposition from teachers intensifies and the Neulbom School controversy grows, dual-income families suffer deep wounds. The guilt of their elementary-aged children becoming a heavy burden for teachers because they cannot be cared for during the day due to work falls on the parents. Even if the government pushes forward with expanding Neulbom Schools despite teachers' opposition, parents cannot help but feel uneasy knowing the extent of teachers' resentment about taking care of students.

It is clear that the current elementary school arrival and dismissal system, which greatly differs from office workers' hours, cannot solve the work-family balance issues for dual-income couples. However, it is problematic to impose a forced solution that demands teachers' sacrifice under the guise of measures for dual-income families. The reality is that parents working together feels like a burden or a source of guilt to someone else.