"65% of Gwangju Students Experience Regional Discrimination... Fundamental Measures Needed"

Analysis of the Jeonnam and Gwangju KTU Branches' Survey on Hate Speech Awareness

Criticism: "Educational administration is failing to provide effective support"

A recent survey has revealed that students and teachers in the Jeonnam and Gwangju regions are being left defenseless against the spread of severe regional discrimination and historical distortion online. The local education community has called on the newly established integrated education authorities to stop making empty rhetoric and instead establish practical institutional safeguards to protect teachers and students on the ground.

The Jeonnam and Gwangju branches of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) released the results of a separate analysis of data from Gwangju and Jeonnam as part of the union headquarters' "Teachers and Youth Perceptions Survey on Hate and Historical Distortion Expressions" on July 8, 2026.

According to the analysis, 65.0% of Gwangju youth responded that they had directly experienced expressions of regional discrimination and ridicule online in the past year. This figure is significantly higher than the nationwide average of 47.7%. The seriousness of historical distortion as perceived by teachers also reached its peak. In Gwangju and Jeonnam, 58.5% of teachers said they "frequently and repeatedly encounter" historical distortion—such as that relating to the 5·18 Democratization Movement—online or in daily life, marking a 13.3 percentage point gap compared to the national average of 45.2%.

A particularly concerning aspect was the "hidden wounds" of Gwangju students exposed to hate speech. When asked about psychological harm caused by ridicule, 8.7% of Gwangju students answered "I don't want to respond." This is nearly double the national average of 4.6%, indicating that local students hurt by online hate are often unable to heal and keep their pain deeply hidden.

The KTU criticized education authorities for failing to provide effective support, noting that while teachers on the frontlines have worked hard to sustain public education amidst a wave of hate, administrative support has been insufficient. They pointed out that, instead of supporting substantive democratic citizenship education, the authorities have been preoccupied with "mechanical numbers"—such as the number of event participants or projects carried out—resulting in superficial performance-based administration.

As a consequence, there is virtually no systematic defense to protect teachers at the school level when malicious complaints or accusations of "political bias" arise in relation to hate speech or historical distortion. In the survey, a striking 91.0% of teachers in Gwangju and Jeonnam said that there is either no response manual at the education office level, or they are unaware if such a manual exists. This demonstrates that, amid administrative neglect, even the most basic institutional safeguards have been left unattended.

The union also referenced recent controversies, such as the derogatory slogan incident in high school baseball, stating, "This issue is not a simple mistake that can be resolved merely by students apologizing to each other or a few schools making visits of respect." They urged the Jeonnam·Gwangju Integrated Special City Office of Education, which was launched on July 1, 2026, to go beyond mere expressions of regret and introduce fundamental structural measures.

A representative of the Jeonnam and Gwangju KTU branches emphasized, "Article 346 of the recently enacted Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Act legally obligates the superintendent of education to provide democratic citizenship education that inherits just historical events, such as the 5·18 Democratization Movement and the Yeosu-Suncheon Rebellion. This authority and responsibility must not remain mere words on paper—it must serve as a shield to protect children and teachers from hate groups."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.