A middle school in Seoul included President Lee Jae-myung's autobiography and books by politicians from the Democratic Party of Korea among the subject-by-subject recommended readings for summer vacation. As parents kept protesting, the school decided to review the recommended reading list.
According to the education community on the 24th, a post titled "Please file a complaint on the National e-People portal" was uploaded the previous day to a parenting online cafe with more than 10,000 members. The writer said, "I personally called the teachers' office to protest and also filed a complaint."
The post included a notice with a middle school's subject-by-subject recommended reading list for summer vacation. The list featured recommended books for ethics, Korean, math, and social studies. The social studies recommendations included "The far right is coming for the 1020 generation" and "Lee Jae-myung's my boy factory worker diary."
"The far right is coming for the 1020 generation" is a book published by Jeong Min-cheol, a vice chair of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, addressing why people in their teens and 20s are shifting to the right. "Lee Jae-myung's my boy factory worker diary" is based on 10 years of diaries the president kept from his time as a boy factory worker through his years at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.
The writer said they filed a complaint on the National e-People portal against the middle school that included the books in the recommended list, citing "listing books with a biased mindset."
As the controversy grew, the school sent a letter to parents that day. The letter said, "Regarding the subject-by-subject recommended reading list, we have received valuable opinions and concerns from parents about the appropriateness of some books," and added, "The school takes parents' opinions seriously."
The school went on to say, "We intend to conduct an in-depth analysis and review of the entire recommended reading list," and, "We will later provide an updated list of books that align with students' developmental stages and educational values."