Paichai allows students to attend in street clothes as backlash over 'Starbucks' baseball team chant grows
The high school decided not to require uniforms out of concern for student safety as the fallout from the chant, perceived to mock the May 18 uprising, widens.
Funeral and supportive wreaths are displayed outside Paichai High School in eastern Seoul's Gangdong District on July 2. One wreath, right, criticizing the players reads, "The democracy you enjoy today was earned through the blood and sweat of those who came before you." Another, left, supporting the students, reads, "The adults will protect you. Don't worry. Everyone makes mistakes."WOO SANG-JO
Paichai High School has temporarily allowed students to wear casual clothes instead of school uniforms as safety concerns rise in the wake of a baseball game in which some players on the school's team were caught chanting a phrase widely seen as mocking the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.
The school in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, instructed students to attend in street clothes beginning Friday and until further notice, according to parents at the school the same day.
The measure was taken out of concern that students wearing school uniforms could become targets of ridicule or even physical harm because they attend the school.
The controversy arose after some Paichai players repeatedly shouted "Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks!” during their match against Gwangju Jeil High School in the 81st Blue Dragon Flag National High School Baseball Championship, held at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in western Seoul on Monday.The chant was started by a sophomore and quickly picked up by several other students, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Another student reportedly then shouted, "Tank Day!"
The remarks appeared to have referenced Starbucks Korea's controversial "Tank Day" promotion, which took place on May 18. The promotion faced intense backlash for allegedly mocking the Gwangju uprising, which was brutally suppressed in 1980 by the military regime ruling Korea at that time.
The controversy has also heightened tensions around the campus. Since Wednesday, funeral wreaths criticizing the school's baseball team and supportive flower wreaths defending the students have been placed outside the main gate of Paichai High School.
Gangdong District Office has begun removing the wreaths after receiving a series of complaints from parents and local residents that they were obstructing pedestrian traffic.
"Some students clearly did something wrong, but it's heartbreaking that all of the children are being blamed simply because they attend the school," one parent said. "Many of them were proud of their school and would even wear school hoodies to private academies on weekends. This has been an incredibly cruel situation for them."
A Gangdong District Office notice ordering the voluntary removal of illegally placed items is attached to a funeral wreath criticizing Paicahi High School's baseball team over its controversial chants directed at Gwangju Jeil High during a national high school baseball tournament on June 29.WOO SANG-JO
The school has also begun formal disciplinary proceedings against the students at the center of the controversy and is reviewing whether to refer additional students who joined in the chants.
Paichai has decided to refer two students who led the controversial chants to the school's disciplinary committee, according to a report submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to the office of Rep. Kang Kyung-sook of the Rebuilding Korea Party, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee.
During the game between the two schools, coaches from Gwangju Jeil High School immediately protested the chants to the umpire, according to the education office’s inspection. However, Paichai High's bench coach did not hear them at the time.
Paichai High School's baseball players look on from the dugout during a game against Gwangju Jeil High School on June 29.SCREEN CAPTURE
After learning of the protest during a change of sides, Paichai's coaching staff reportedly reprimanded the students on the spot. Following the game, the coaches visited the Gwangju Jeil High dugout to apologize in person.
School officials and the education office had initially concluded that disciplinary action against the coaching staff was unlikely because the coaches were unaware of the chants during the game and apologized immediately afterward.
However, as public outrage over the incident has grown and questions about the coaches' responsibility have continued, authorities are now expected to consider disciplinary measures against the coaching staff for failing to properly supervise the players.
Following the controversy, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education sent an official notice to all elementary, middle and high schools in the city with athletic teams, instructing them to refrain from hate speech and discriminatory expressions during training sessions and competitions and to carry out human rights education for student athletes.
The education office also plans to visit every related school by Aug. 17 to verify that the required education has been properly implemented.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
