40% of New Elementary Teachers Assigned to Undesired Work Areas 'Gangnam-Seocho'

Excessive Malicious Complaints and Workload... Highest Number of Students per Class
Senior Middle and High School Teachers Avoid Positions, Filled by New Teachers

According to statistics, the Gangnam-Seocho area, known as a region where teachers avoid working due to malicious complaints and excessive workload, has the highest number of newly appointed elementary school teachers.

On the 25th, the Seoul Teachers' Union confirmed the status of new appointments for general elementary school teachers as of March 1, 2024, through information disclosure requests to metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide. It was found that 39% of newly appointed general elementary school teachers were assigned to the Gangnam-Seocho area.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The ranking of appointment locations by region is as follows: ▲Gangnam-Seocho (39%) ▲Gangdong-Songpa (22%) ▲Southern area (21%) ▲Eastern area (7%) ▲Western-Central, Dongjak-Gwanak, Seongdong-Gwangjin, Seongbuk-Gangbuk (2%) ▲Northern, Gangseo-Yangcheon (1%).

The number of newly appointed teachers allocated per public elementary school by education support office is ▲Gangnam-Seocho (0.8 teachers) ▲Southern area (0.36 teachers) ▲Gangdong-Songpa, Southern area (0.36 teachers) ▲Eastern area (0.2 teachers) ▲Central area (0.06 teachers) ▲Seongbuk-Gangbuk, Seongdong-Gwangjin, Dongjak-Gwanak (0.05 teachers) ▲Western area (0.03 teachers) ▲Northern, Gangseo-Yangcheon (0.02 teachers).

[Source=Seoul Teachers' Union]

The Gangnam-Seocho area, identified as the top appointment location, is considered a region where elementary school teachers avoid working. As of 2023, the average number of students per class in Seoul public elementary schools is 21, but in Gangnam-Seocho, it is 24.1, the highest among the 11 education offices. Additionally, among the 13 elementary schools in Seoul with more than 1,500 students this year, four are located in Gangnam-Seocho.

The high proportion of novice teachers in the Gangnam-Seocho area is also believed to be due to mid- and senior-level teachers avoiding this region. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is reportedly considering measures such as irregular transfers of teachers who have worked for more than four years at schools outside the district but reside within the Gangnam-Seocho Education Support Office area to schools within the Gangnam-Seocho Education Support Office when vacancies occur.