The Gyeongnam Provincial Council is facing growing controversy over the proposed repeal of the ordinance supporting the revitalization of the Gyeongsangnam-do Village Education Community, which was recently announced for legislative notice.
This ordinance has served as the foundation for the village education community support project, which Superintendent Park Jonghoon has continued since his first term. It was enacted in July 2021 to create an educational ecosystem where schools, villages, and local communities unite and cooperate.
However, controversy has arisen over issues such as village instructors publicly supporting Superintendent Park during his candidacy, a person involved in the so-called Changwon Spy Ring case working as a village instructor, concerns about undermining educational neutrality, the implementation of ideological and values-based education, and inadequate recruitment and management standards to ensure instructor professionalism.
In response, the council completely cut the supplementary budget proposed by the Office of Education during last year’s Special Budget and Settlement Committee, and on September 19 of this year, officially announced the legislative notice to repeal the ordinance.
The Emergency Countermeasures Committee Opposing the Abolition of the Ordinance on Supporting the Revitalization of Village Education Communities in Gyeongnam is holding a press conference at the Provincial Council briefing room. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]
On the 10th, when the council’s Special Committee on Ordinance Review held a meeting with education office officials, the council was heated with both support and opposition regarding the repeal.
On the same day, the Emergency Response Committee Against the Repeal of the Ordinance, consisting of parents and village instructors, held a press conference in the council’s briefing room. They stated, “The village education community plays a crucial role in raising children as healthy leaders of the future society, especially in this era where local extinction is discussed and communities face existential crises.”
The Emergency Measures Committee Against the Abolition of the Ordinance on Supporting the Revitalization of Village Education Communities in Gyeongnam is holding a rally opposing the abolition of the ordinance on the sidewalk next to the provincial council building. [Photo by Lee Seryoung]
“We believe that when we grow old, the children we taught as village instructors will care for us in some way,” they said. “To help children become trustworthy members of society, what we can do is to collectively care for the village children.”
They added, “We hope the council will make a wise decision from the perspective of children living in the present,” and “We urge them not to overlook the significance of this ordinance, which goes beyond simple education policy to encompass regional recovery and nurturing future generations.”
Democratic Party of Korea Changwon City Council members Wooan Lee (from the left), Hyungik Jin, and Sungyu Moon participated in a rally opposing the abolition of the ordinance supporting the revitalization of the Gyeongnam village education community. [Photo by Seryeong Lee]
They also held a protest against the repeal between the council and the Gyeongnam Police Agency.
“Just as the saying goes, ‘the whole village is a school,’ children are learning how to live together in village schools and gaining important opportunities to build relationships with the local community,” they said, demanding the repeal be withdrawn.
At the protest site, Changwon City Council members Moon Sungyu, Lee Uwan, and Jin Hyungik of the Democratic Party of Korea participated, holding placards expressing their opposition to the repeal.
More than 20 parent and civic organizations, including the Barun Value Protection Gyeongnam Residents' Union, are holding a press conference in favor of repealing the ordinance supporting the revitalization of the Gyeongnam Village Education Community. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]
Meanwhile, over 20 parent and civic groups, including the Gyeongnam Citizens’ Alliance for the Protection of Right Values, which has long raised concerns about the ordinance, voiced strong support for its repeal.
They held placards and banners at the intersection in front of the council, stating, “We welcome the abolition of this politically biased community disguised as a village education community,” and also held a press conference in front of the council entrance.
The groups stated, “The Gyeongnam Office of Education and the village education community have violated Article 6 of the Framework Act on Education, which stipulates that education must not be used as a means to spread political, factional, or personal prejudice.”
“One Gyeongnam Happy Village School Center director incited during a basic training session for village teachers, saying, ‘Let’s occupy schools like the Donghak Peasant Movement, have village teachers create school textbooks, and have village teachers make ordinances,’” they claimed. “This is an outrageous statement that threatens public education.”
More than 20 parent and civic groups, including the Barun Gachi Suho Gyeongnam Residents' Union, are performing a demonstration urging the abolition of the ordinance supporting the revitalization of the Gyeongnam village education community. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]
They further asserted, “A person affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is operating the village education community, an individual involved in the Changwon Spy Ring case has worked as a village teacher, and those who supported Superintendent Park Jonghoon during his candidacy are now serving as executives in village education communities in Yangsan, Gimhae, and Geoje.”
They added, “We question whether rural children truly need vegetable garden experiences or plant and insect collecting provided by village schools. Instead of village education communities that offer activities like gardening, coffee barista training, woodworking, biased human rights education, or comprehensive sex education that causes serious conflict with parents, we should ensure high-quality education is available domestically without needing to go abroad.”
Hwang Heungwi, Chairman of the Gyeongnam Office of Education Superintendents Council (left), is handing a petition opposing the abolition of the ordinance supporting the activation of the Gyeongnam Village Education Community to Jeong Gyuhun, Chairman of the Gyeongnam Provincial Council Ordinance Revision Special Committee. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]
That morning, the Council of Education Directors of the Gyeongnam Office of Education, composed of education directors from 18 city and county education support offices in Gyeongnam, visited the special committee to deliver a petition against the repeal.
The council argued, “Repealing the ordinance will close village learning centers and ultimately lead to the extinction of local communities.”
They emphasized that efforts are underway to strengthen the selection process for village instructors and require political neutrality pledges from hired instructors, as previously pointed out by the provincial council.
The Gyeongnam Education Solidarity, Hope Gyeongnam Parents’ Association, and Changwon Women’s Association began a tent sit-in protest against the repeal near the intersection in front of the council later that afternoon.
The council’s Special Committee on Ordinance Review held a closed-door meeting with education office officials that day to discuss opinions on the repeal.
The committee plans to submit the repeal proposal to the plenary session on the 15th to decide whether to abolish the ordinance.
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