“The Cane of Love:” Social and Cultural Reform of Corporal Punishment in South Korea

Abstract

With the public release of a very controversial video of a middle school teacher beating a student, much attention has been put on South Korea domestically as well as internationally to establish and reform policies regarding corporal punishment in schools. Since corporal punishment has been practiced in the classroom for centuries, it has been a hard fought battle of rapid social change and conservation of culture between those who wish to protect established cultural norms that accept corporal punishment in the classroom versus progressive ideas that strive to protect the integrity and human rights of school children.