"One Meal Tray with Rice and Just One Side Dish"... School Lunch Controversy at a Middle School in Seocho-gu, Seoul

Controversy Over School Meals at a Middle School in Seocho-gu
"Side Dish Variety Adjusted Starting May"

A photo of a school lunch taken at a middle school in Seocho-gu, Seoul, has been posted on an online cafe, drawing parents' complaints.

Recently, a post titled "Are the students of ○○ Middle School begging children?" was uploaded on a mom cafe in Seocho-gu. The author expressed frustration, saying, "This is today's lunch at ○○ Middle School. There are only two side dishes: cubed radish kimchi and stir-fried sundae (Korean blood sausage). How long do we have to keep waiting for this situation to be resolved?"

Lunch meals at a middle school in Seoul city.
[Photo by Lemon Terrace]

The tray in the photo contained rice, soup, and only one side dish. According to the middle school's website, the menu for that day was ▲calcium glutinous rice ▲tofu kimchi stew ▲stir-fried sundae with vegetables ▲whole cabbage kimchi ▲HelloNyo (probiotic drink).

It is known that this situation was influenced by the fact that only two kitchen staff members are responsible for preparing meals for over 1,000 students. A parent of a student attending this school stated, "Preparing lunch for the students requires a total of nine kitchen staff, but due to unfilled vacancies, this kind of situation keeps recurring."

Parents expressed their opposition. They said, "Each school must have a set budget per student for meals, but I wonder what happens to the leftover money when they serve meals like this," showing their frustration. Comments on the online cafe included, "I thought the meals would be insufficient since the number of side dishes was reduced according to the survey, but this is too much," and "Even prison meals are better than this. Are they really playing around with kids who are growing up?"

Others added, "This has been going on for years here; why hasn't it improved? How exactly is the meal support fund being used? If there aren't enough staff, it would be better to distribute the support money to students and allow them to bring their own lunchboxes. It makes me cry," "Parents of graduates from this school say there have always been problems," and "Even when complaints are filed with the school, the poor-quality meals continue. The kids are so pitiful," expressing their outrage.

(This photo is not directly related to the article.) [Photo source=Pixabay]

According to News1, Seocho-gu, which received complaints from parents, stated in a response on the district website’s ‘Requests to the Mayor’ section, "After inquiring with the school about improving the quality of meals (requesting a change from 3 to 4 side dishes), we received a reply that from May, the number of side dishes was adjusted back from 3 to 4."

They added, "To ensure the normal operation of school meals, we contacted the relevant institutions, Gangnam-Seocho Office of Education and ○○ Middle School, and recommended the prompt increase of kitchen staff. We were informed that Gangnam-Seocho Office of Education will prioritize assigning kitchen staff to ○○ Middle School in the next appointment. The school confirmed that they are currently posting job openings to hire additional kitchen workers."

Meanwhile, the difficulty in recruiting kitchen staff is not unique to this school. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, as of the 1st of last month, the vacancy rate for kitchen staff in schools in the Gangnam and Seocho areas reached 25%. Out of 100 required kitchen staff, 25 positions remain unfilled, so the remaining 75 staff members are responsible for preparing all the meals.

Due to the high labor intensity and the risk of industrial accidents, it is difficult to recruit kitchen staff, and because one person has to handle too many meals, a vicious cycle of fewer applicants is occurring. The vacancy rate in Gangdong and Songpa areas is also 15%. Some have pointed out that the high labor intensity and industrial accident risks make it hard to recruit kitchen staff, and the excessive workload per person leads to fewer applicants, creating a vicious cycle.