Seoul schools roll out sportsmanship curriculum after May 18 uprising chant backlash
The city’s education office is distributing sports human rights materials after students mocked the May 18 Democratic Uprising at a baseball game.
Members of the Paichai High School baseball team bow toward the stands before their first-round game against Incheon High School at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, on Aug. 12.
YONHAP
Seoul's education office is rolling out a sportsmanship curriculum for schools after a group of students chanted slogans mocking the May 18 Democratic Uprising during a baseball game, drawing national backlash.
The move is a follow-up measure to the Paichai High School incident, in which students taunted opponents from Gwangju Jeil High School with the chants during a game, sparking widespread criticism.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said Monday it developed the sports human rights education material "Cheering with Dignity" (translated) jointly with the Council of School Physical Education Promotion and is distributing it to schools.
The materials are intended to spread a culture of respect and consideration in sports settings and raise awareness of sports-related human rights issues among students and coaches. They target elementary, middle and high school students as well as coaches.
The package consists of three video clips and three sets of card news-style materials, short image-based slides designed for easy viewing and sharing.
The videos are titled "Think Like an Athlete," "Speak with Dignity" and "Compete Fair and Square." Each addresses prejudice, discrimination and hate speech that can arise in sports settings and offers guidance on competing fairly through proper speech and conduct.
The card news materials were produced in three versions: for elementary school students, for middle and high school students, and for coaches, and are provided as files that can easily be used in schools.
The video materials will be released on SMOE's YouTube channel and shared with education offices nationwide.
"I hope this material will be widely distributed to education offices and schools across the country so that, win or lose, a mature student sports culture takes root, one built on honest effort, fair competition, and consideration and cooperation," said Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Jung Keun-sik.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
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.
