logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
13m 54s

Why are teachers bullied in South Korea?

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Tens of thousands of teachers in South Korea have been striking to demand better protection. They say they are so scared of being called child abusers at work, they feel they can't discipline their students. The protests happened after the suicide of a young teacher. It later came out she had been dealing with severe complaints from parents. The BBC's Yuna Ku explains what it's like to be a teacher in a high-pressure society, like South Korea.

Also, the Burning Man festival in the US has been struggling with mud and also swirling fake rumours. We debunk the claims.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this episode, help and support can be found at this https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/ If you live in South Korea, you can visit https://www.129.go.kr/1393/ for help, or call LifeLine on 1588-9191 or the Suicide Prevention Hotline on 1577-0199.

Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler, Mora Morrison, and Benita Barden Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Up next
Yesterday
COP30 made some progress, but not on fossil fuels
<p>COP30, the big meeting where countries discuss climate change annually, has finished. This year it was hosted in the city of Belem in Brazil, in the Amazon forest, which is directly affected by it. The role of the two biggest emitters has also made headlines. The United States ... Show More
14m 27s
Nov 21
The ancient origins of kissing
<p>Scientists at Oxford University in the UK now think that kissing evolved more than 21 million years ago, and it wasn’t humans that started it.</p><p>As a behaviour, it has no obvious survival or reproductive benefits but it’s seen across the world, in humans and animals alike. ... Show More
11m 34s
Nov 20
The drama at this year’s Miss Universe
<p>Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch has been crowned Miss Universe at a ceremony in Bangkok, marking the end of an exceptionally scandal-filled pageant season. It's the 74th Miss Universe pageant and there was a lot of drama before a single contestant took to the stage.</p><p>Early in No ... Show More
12m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
'I was suicidal': The teachers being bullied by their colleagues
Over 300 teachers have told Sky News that they have been bullied by fellow teachers and colleagues at school.   <br /><br />Niall Paterson is joined by our correspondent Amelia Harper, who's been speaking to some of those teachers about their experiences, including a teacher who ... Show More
19m 32s
Aug 2024
What's behind the UK riots?
Violent anti-immigration protests have been taking place in cities across the UK for more than a week, leading to hundreds of arrests. The unrest has been linked to the online spread of misinformation about the fatal stabbing of three young girls in the seaside town of Southport ... Show More
25m 15s
Mar 2025
Why South Korea Reinstated its Impeached PM
In today’s episode, we cover South Korea’s ongoing political crisis, a fresh round of ceasefire talks for Russia and Ukraine, anti-government protests in Turkey, and the ever increasing death toll in Gaza.Watch TLDR’s latest videos here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV9OfUGiExQ ... Show More
6m 22s
Jun 2025
‘We want to put them in trauma’
<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">When President Donald Trump took office in January, 2.4 million people worked for the federal government. It was America’s largest employer.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: ... Show More
26m 30s
Oct 1
Race for survivors after Indonesian school collapse
The race to save dozens of students after a school collapses in Indonesia. At least four students were killed and about 100 injured, some critically, after the two-storey Islamic Boarding School in East Java caved in. Hundreds of students, most of them teenage boys, had gathered ... Show More
30m 1s
Jan 2025
LA fires: “It was like watching the end of the world”
It’s been a week since wildfires started sweeping through Los Angeles, California, destroying swathes of the city and reducing communities, homes and schools to little more than rubble and ash. The inferno has now ravaged an area larger than Manhattan. Some fires have been exting ... Show More
26m 35s
Mar 2025
Why are students protesting in Serbia?
How did Serbia’s students prompt a national movement for change? They’re leading countrywide protests after a railway station collapse killed 15 people last November. The protests have grown beyond demands for resignations, calling for structural change. Will they pull it off? In ... Show More
23m 44s
Aug 2024
#381: 44 HS Boys FREED After Gang SA Of 14 Yr Old Girl - Now Korean YouTubers Are Doxxing Them
<p>On June 1, 2024, A Korean YouTube channel uploaded a video titled - “Pack Ki Beom, did you think that I wouldn’t find you?”</p><p>The video includes details about Pack’s personal life. Showing his comfortable luxurious lifestyle with his wife and young daughter. It would appea ... Show More
1h 41m
Aug 29
Thai court removes prime minister over leaked call
Thailand's prime minister has been removed by the constitutional court, plunging politics into turmoil and dealing a blow to Thailand's most powerful political dynasty. Paetongtarn Shinawatra was dismissed for violating ethics in a leaked June phone call, where she could be heard ... Show More
33m 28s