Six Out of Ten Teachers Consider Changing Jobs or Resigning

Today (15th), which is Teacher's Day, is a designated statutory holiday aimed at boosting the morale of educators and enhancing their social status. However, it has been revealed that six out of ten teachers have contemplated changing jobs or resigning in the past year.

On the 14th, the Korean Federation of Teacher's Associations released the results of a survey conducted from September 23 to October 7, targeting 8,254 teachers from kindergartens, elementary, middle, high, and special schools across the country.

According to the survey results, more than half of the teachers, totaling 4,788, reported that they have "considered changing jobs or resigning in the past year," with only 32.7% indicating satisfaction with their teaching profession.

Among the reasons for considering job changes or resignations (multiple responses allowed), "infringement of teaching rights and excessive complaints" topped the list at 77.5%, followed by "low salary" (57.6%) and "excessive workload" (27.2%).

The satisfaction score for the teaching profession was only 2.9 out of 5, and when asked whether the profession of teaching is respected in society, 64.9% responded negatively.

The percentage of teachers who reported experiencing infringement of their teaching rights from students and parents in the past year was 56.7% and 56%, respectively. Among teachers, 23.3% indicated that they had sought psychiatric counseling or treatment due to teaching rights infringement.

Ibo-mi, chairperson of the teacher union, stated, "Nowadays, teachers are facing the reality of contemplating job changes due to poor educational conditions and rapidly changing teaching culture, rather than feeling pride and fulfillment as educators." She emphasized the urgent need for policies to prevent the loss of frontline teachers.

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