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| The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union fails to attract new teachers to join their cause and total members has halved over the years. Korea Times file |
By Kim Hyun-bin
The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) has been struggling to attract new members in their 20s and 30s as they don't feel the necessity to be affiliated with the leftist teachers' union.
The KTU, which will mark the 30th anniversary of its foundation next week, has made efforts to improve the nation's education environment such as banning physical punishment at schools, prohibiting teachers from receiving gifts from parents and leading the movement for innovation in education.
However, the organization which used to be the symbol of young liberal teachers currently lies at a crossroad struggling to maintain its reputation. At its peak, it had some 100,000 members, but that number has been halved to 50,000.
Teachers in their 40s and 50s account for more than three-quarters of the organization, the former with 40 percent and the latter with 36.4 percent.
Members in their 30s accounted for 17.7 percent and only a mere 2.2 percent of people in their 20s have joined the KTU. Teachers in their 60s represent 3.7 percent.
Many say the KTU's efforts to achieve the democratization of school administration, and fight for true education have been successful and mostly been implemented in schools nationwide, but this does not encourage more teachers to join the union.
"There have been great achievements in the democratization of school administration and job security for teachers is better than for those in other professions. There is no reason not to join the union but also we don't feel the need to join," a high school teacher surnmae Choi in Gyeonggi Province said.
In addition, innovative teaching methods that were once best offered from the union can now be obtained through other education research societies and gatherings and many teachers claim the KTU is no longer a leader in the field.
Others are turning their backs on the KTU as they believe it is engaged in politics and ideological battles instead of focusing on enhancing the country's education.
"There should not be a political stance in education, but the KTU has been far left in my opinion so I never considered joining," a middle school teacher in her 30s surnamed Chung said.
Many parents also agree that education in Korea has drastically improved in the last few decades.
"In the past, we supported the union in their fight to abolish physical punishments at schools that was responsible for taking scores of students' lives each year. Some 20 years have passed and as a parent my perspective has changed, as the KTU and the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) seem to have become political organizations," said Kim, a parent of an elementary student.
In the past, many teachers fought for justice and for the greater good but generations changed to seek their own interests, which experts believe played a part in weakening the organization.
The trend has been changing over the years and most teachers join the Korean Teachers' Credit Union instead of the KTU, as many teachers believe in case of a violation of teachers' rights the insurance of the credit union will better provide protection than that of the KTU.
In efforts to better appeal to younger teachers, the KTU has established a 2030 committee that communicates with and tries to adapt to the needs of the younger generation. It also plans to utilize Instagram, YouTube and other social network services to appeal to them.
