"What is 'Ucheon-si'?": What Has Happened Over the Past Five Years?

Did you know that many students nowadays often struggle to understand expressions like "ucheon-si" (in case of rain) or "geumil" (today)?

In a survey targeting elementary, middle, and high school teachers nationwide, 96.6% of respondents answered that students' literacy skills have declined over the past five years.

In actual classrooms, there have been cases where students mistook "ucheon-si," which means when it rains, for the name of a city, or interpreted the phrase "to be carried out within geumil" as taking place on Friday (geum-yo-il).

There were also students who mistook "chado," which asks whether one's physical condition has improved, for a road where cars drive, or understood "gosogongpojeung" (fear of heights) to mean a fear of legal lawsuits (goso).

At one middle school during an exam, several students did not know the meaning of "yoji," which means the core point of a text, prompting the school to broadcast the definition across the entire campus.

About 8 out of 10 teachers answered that they frequently face difficulties during classes because they have to explain the meanings of words.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.