Jung Geunsik: "After December 3 Martial Law, Seoul Education Focuses on Strengthening Democratic Citizenship Education"

"After the December 3 Martial Law incident, the primary focus of Seoul's education system was to 'ensure student safety' and to 'steadily maintain the foundation for students to grow as democratic citizens.' These two principles are at the core of Seoul's education policy."

Jung Geunsik, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, made these remarks in a written interview conducted on December 2, marking one year since the December 3 Martial Law incident. He stated, "Schools must be the safest space for students."

The photo shows Jeong Geunsik, the newly appointed Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, during an interview with The Asia Business Daily at the Jongno-gu Office of Education in November last year. Photo by Jo Yongjun

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Superintendent Jung, who faced a national emergency just a month and a half after taking office, responded by prioritizing 'student safety.' Amid a surge in downtown rallies and increased movement, he operated a 'commuting safety task force' to ensure students could travel to and from school without anxiety. He also collaborated with the police and local governments to establish alternative commuting routes, increase the number of safety personnel, and strengthen advance notification systems for each school. On the day of the impeachment trial verdict, he raised emergency response measures to the highest level and managed commuting situations in real time. Superintendent Jung said, "Even amid political turmoil, I focused on ensuring that students' daily lives and safety remained unshaken."

Superintendent Jung identified the 'strengthening of democratic citizenship education' as the most important task following martial law. He stated, "The martial law incident highlighted the need to strengthen democratic citizenship education in a more systematic way," emphasizing the Seoul Office of Education's initiatives such as the 'Empathy-Based Coexistence Debate Classes' and the expansion of 'media literacy education' to counter hate and fake news.

The Empathy-Based Coexistence Debate is a discussion class model developed by the Seoul Office of Education last year to address polarization, establish a culture of mutual respect, and foster debate skills that promote coexistence. The model goes beyond simply switching positions in a debate, aiming to help students understand diverse perspectives and stances, thereby learning the values of coexistence and cooperation.

Superintendent Jung remarked, "The recent martial law situation must have been a truly unfamiliar and shocking experience for children," adding, "That is why education to foster proper civic competence is absolutely necessary." He continued, "The goal is not just to be good at debating, but to cultivate democratic citizens who can express their views responsibly, based on facts and logic, while respecting different opinions."

The recommendation to utilize the live broadcast of the impeachment trial for educational purposes is in the same context. Superintendent Jung said, "Allowing students to directly observe the transparent and procedural decision-making process of a constitutional institution is a form of living democratic citizenship education that cannot be learned from textbooks," highlighting the educational effect of students experiencing procedural democracy firsthand.

He also made clear his standards regarding controversies over history education. Referring to this year's debates over 'Reebok School' and the removal of the 'Statue of Peace,' he stated, "This is not a matter of political or social conflict, but about upholding the fundamentals of education," stressing the "courage to view history as it is and the responsibility to convey tragedies such as war and human rights violations without distortion." Superintendent Jung said, "History education must be based on facts, coexistence, and human rights, not distortion and hatred," and added, "Schools should provide education grounded in historical facts and help students grow as citizens who understand others and live together in harmony."

He also expressed clear opposition to the Seoul Metropolitan Council's recent move to allow private academies to hold late-night classes until midnight. He said, "It is desirable to maintain the current standard of 10 p.m.," citing the overheating of private education, the widening of educational gaps, and the deterioration of student health as reasons.

Superintendent Jung pointed out, "Students' right to learn is already sufficiently guaranteed," and added, "If Seoul, which has the highest private education participation time and rate in the country, extends lesson hours, competition in private education will intensify further, and the gap in private education opportunities with other regions will likely widen." He also referred to previous Constitutional Court rulings and youth protection laws.

Superintendent Jung explained, "In 2009 and 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled in cases related to late-night lessons that 'the public interest pursued by the academy ordinance provisions-such as students' health and safety, improvement of self-directed learning ability, enhancement of school education, and reduction of private education expenses-outweighs the private interests restricted by the ordinance.'" He further pointed out, "The Youth Protection Act, Labor Standards Act, and Game Industry Promotion Act all set youth protection hours at 10 p.m., so allowing only academies to operate until midnight is not desirable from the perspective of student protection."

Superintendent Jung concluded, "I will work responsibly together with parents, schools, and the local community to ensure that students can grow in a balanced way within public education."

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