After the 'Starbucks' chants, Paichai had lessons on democracy. One student says right-wing jokes persist.

A series of seminars on democracy was held at Seoul's Paichai High School after its baseball team sparked controversy by chanting slogans that appeared to belittle the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. But one student who attended the program claimed many students still do not take the incident seriously and that most showed little interest during the sessions.

“Everyone in my class of more than 30 students, except one other person and me, slept through the lesson,” a Paichai student told the independent student newspaper Tokipul, which reported the comments on Tuesday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education held three rounds of democracy and civic education for all students at the school on July 9, 13 and 15, with each class receiving two hours of instruction.

On July 14, Lee Jae-oh, president of the Korea Democracy Foundation, also delivered a special lecture.

Lee, a former five-term lawmaker, was imprisoned five times for a total of 10 years and six months during Korea's military dictatorship because of his pro-democracy activism.

The Paichai student said Lee had told students before the lecture, "It's okay if you sleep, but those who want to listen should pay attention."

"After hearing that, most students just went to sleep," the student said. "I'm not sure the education itself was effective."

Much of the instruction focused on the history of Korea's democratization movement, while giving little attention to the definition, scope and dangers of hate speech, according to the student.

"We didn't learn what kinds of hate speech exist or why they are harmful," the student said. "I wish they had explained what these expressions are, what hidden meanings they carry and why they are problematic. The program focused on history, but what really matters is how we interpret it and the attitude we take toward it."

The student also claimed that many students treat hate speech as a form of humor despite understanding the historical pain and political context behind it.

"I think about 70 percent are making Ilbe-style jokes," the student said, referring to the far-right online community. "There's a strong herd mentality. If you don't join in, there's a feeling you could be left out."

Asked about the mood within the school, the student said few regarded the baseball team's hate speech controversy as a serious issue.

"Instead, students still joke in private by saying things like 'Let's go to Starbucks,'" the student said. "The overall atmosphere is, 'We did something wrong, but was it really that serious?' Some students even go further and ask, 'What did we do wrong?'"

The controversy began on June 29 during the 81st Blue Dragon National High School Baseball Championship, when Paichai players chanted slogans including "Let's go to Starbucks!" and "Tank day!" toward students from Gwangju Jeil High School. The expressions were criticized for referencing Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day" marketing campaign, which was accused of using phrases that mocked the May 18 Gwangju democracy movement in its promotional materials.

The Korea Baseball Softball Association initially suspended Paichai High's baseball team from national competitions for six months. After a review, it reduced the suspension to one month.

BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]