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The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU), also known as JeonGyoJo, has publicly opposed the production of the upcoming Netflix series adaptation of the webtoon Get Schooled, calling for its cancellation due to concerns over its portrayal of violence and the education system.
On May 20, the union released a statement titled “Violence Is Not True Education,” urging Netflix and the production team to halt the drama. The union criticized the original webtoon for its “sensational depiction of conflict between students, parents, and teachers” and for portraying educators as “incompetent and passive.” It argued that the story glamorizes violence in schools and undermines the professional dignity and expertise of teachers.
“The issue with adapting Get Schooled into a drama is that it legitimizes violence by portraying a government-backed character who assaults students under the pretext of protecting teachers’ rights,” the union stated. “This not only weakens trust in democratic conflict resolution within schools but also distorts efforts to build a human rights-friendly education environment and restore public education.”
KTU further emphasized that “violence is not true education” and that infringing on students’ rights under the guise of teacher protection is unacceptable. While acknowledging the importance of creative freedom, the union stressed that content creators should consider their social responsibility and influence.
Get Schooled, which has been serialized on Naver Webtoon since November 2020, tells the story of Hwa-jin Na, an officer from the Ministry of Education’s Teacher Protection Bureau, who takes matters into his own hands to restore order in schools following the passage of a law banning corporal punishment. The series explores the challenges of maintaining authority in schools and delivering justice.
While the original webtoon gained attention for its satisfying narratives driven by strong state power, it also drew criticism for portraying marginalized groups such as women and people of color as villains, often resolving conflict through violence.
Jong-chan Hong (Juvenile Justice, Mr. Plankton) is directing the series, and Nam-kyu Lee (Behind Your Touch, The Light in Your Eyes) is writing. Director Hong has acknowledged the above concerns and previously stated that the drama adaptation will approach the material with greater sensitivity and care.
Get Schooled is written by Yong-taek Chae and drawn by Ga-ram Han.
Ablaze Publishing is releasing the series in print. WEBTOON Entertainment previously released part the series in English digitally, but has since removed the title from its service.
Source: TVDaily (Ji-hyun Kim)
