A world-renowned sociologist drew attention by reacting that comedian Lee Su-ji's kindergarten satire content, which recently went viral in Korea, was "the most shocking."
Sam Richards, a professor at Pennsylvania State University in the United States, shared his thoughts on the 9th on his YouTube channel under the title "The most shocking recent Korean video," after watching a video in which Lee Su-ji plays a kindergarten teacher.
Professor Richards said, "It was really funny, but on the other hand, it made me uncomfortable," adding, "A lot of people watched this video, and while they laughed, I think they also felt a strange ambivalence."
Professor Richards mentioned Korea's "nunchi culture," analyzing that the video goes beyond simple comedy to reveal a structure of social pressure. He explained, "Nunchi is an important means of getting along with people, but if you constantly meet others' expectations, you can grow distant from yourself."
He noted that the more a job deals with many people, like teachers, the greater the emotional drain. He said, "Jobs that have to interact with many people, such as teachers or managers, can easily lose the sense of 'Who am I?' while meeting others' expectations," adding, "Emotional labor in teaching is not unique to Korea but a global phenomenon."
However, he said that in Korea, the culture of parental complaints further increases teachers' burdens. Professor Richards said, "In Korea, many parents make it hard to do the job of a teacher," and "There are too many ways teachers are expected to accommodate countless parents and students."
He went on, "Parents think their child is special and make special demands of teachers," adding, "This is an important issue being discussed in Korea. One reason this video became such a sensation is that people saw some uncomfortable truth in it."
Earlier, on the 7th of last month, Lee Su-ji uploaded a documentary-style video titled "Kindergarten teacher Lee Min-ji's unending 24 hours" on her YouTube channel "Hot Issue Ji." In the video, Lee Su-ji plays "Teacher Lee Min-ji," the homeroom teacher of the Yoonseul class at Haetnim Kindergarten.
In the video, parents drop off their children while demanding, "My child's personality type (MBTI) is introverted, so please separate them from extroverted kids," or "When handling a credit entry, please switch from thin wet wipes to those containing eucalyptus." Throughout the drop-off time, as Teacher Lee Min-ji is bombarded with parents' complaints, makeup shows blood streaming from her ears.