From 'Tumbler Fluid Terror' to Child Abuse Complaints: 'Unanswered Questions' Explores the Meaning of 'True Education' at Schools

The bitter reality of South Korean schools in 2026, currently facing a crisis of collapse, is set to be revealed.

On the upcoming broadcast of SBS's "Unanswered Questions" on Saturday, July 11 at 11:10 PM, the show will closely investigate the reality of educational settings that are operating like ticking time bombs, under the subtitle "True Education and Time Bombs - Now at Our School."

In April of this year, Jeong So-yun (pseudonym), a teacher working at an elementary school in Jeju, was shocked when she opened her tumbler, which she had washed clean the day before, and discovered an unidentified substance. It was a sticky, foul-smelling liquid, and a detailed forensic analysis shockingly revealed it to be male semen.

Teacher Jeong, who suffered from extreme anxiety, eventually took a sick leave, saying, "I kept hoping it wasn't true, but who could have done such a thing? I can't even remember how I conducted my classes after that because I was so terrified."

That was not the end of it. Two months later, in an empty classroom where a substitute teacher was conducting classes, a second attack occurred when someone broke in again, urinated on the teacher's chair, and fled. The identity of the perpetrator, revealed through a police investigation, was unexpectedly a 16-year-old male student in his first year at a nearby high school.

Although the student denies the crime, claiming he only entered the school because he urgently needed to use the restroom and had no malicious intent, his face and name remain veiled because he is a minor, leaving only the victimized teachers to suffer from severe trauma.

This is not the only crisis shaking schools. With bomb threats, weapon rampages, and assaults on teachers, classrooms have already lost their function as safe zones. On top of this, indiscriminate child abuse complaints filed by parents are pushing teachers into an endless cycle of litigation. Regarding the average of 700 child abuse complaints filed by parents annually, teachers on the front lines cry out that even proper guidance and discipline have become impossible.

On the other hand, the stance of the parents who filed complaints against teachers is also firm. One parent, who filed a complaint against a middle school teacher in South Gyeongsang Province last year for child abuse, presented witnesses and CCTV footage as evidence, claiming the teacher disciplined the child in the sweltering heat and dragged them to the staff room by their ear. The parent went as far as filing a second complaint against the teacher in April of this year for assault and insult.

Parents of children who caused trouble through sexual harassment or assault also claim unfairness, arguing that there were bigger problems with the teacher's method of discipline and response. Are the endless child abuse complaints from parents truly a reflection of hidden harsh treatment by teachers behind closed doors, or are they merely excessive emotional battles among parents?

Asking who truly needs "True Education" on the precarious teaching platform, "Unanswered Questions" will air this Saturday, July 11 at 11:10 PM.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)