Seoul elementary, middle, and high school field trips sharply decline... teacher liability burden is the cause

It has been found that nonresidential field learning activities such as school trips have significantly decreased at elementary, middle, and high schools in the Seoul area. This year’s rate of schools in Seoul conducting school trips has dropped sharply compared with three years ago, with the decline being the largest at elementary schools. According to analysis of data from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education by Rep. Kim Moonsoo of the Democratic Party of Korea, who sits on the National Assembly’s Education Committee, the number of Seoul elementary, middle, and high schools that planned school trips this year was 407 out of a total of 1,331 schools. The figure for elementary schools fell from 99% in 2023 to 26% this year, while middle and high schools also saw declines. At school sites, the greatest reason cited is the burden of civil and criminal liability that teachers must bear when a safety accident occurs. A survey by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union also found that the younger the grade, the greater the fear of criminal liability felt by individual teachers. Political circles and education authorities are reviewing the need for institutional improvements to reduce the shrinkage of field learning.