Teachers Express Anxiety Over Criminal Liability Risks in Field Trips, 84% Fear Legal Consequences if Accidents Occur, Says KCTU

Half of South Korean schools are canceling field trips amid growing teacher anxiety over criminal liability for student accidents during off-campus activities, a nationwide survey reveals, exposing a systemic crisis in experiential learning that threatens both educational development and local tourism economies reliant on student group travel.

The problem is clear: when teachers face potential prosecution for incidents beyond their control during school-organized trips, they avoid approving such activities altogether, depriving students of vital real-world learning while destabilizing regional businesses that depend on educational tourism. This isn’t merely about risk aversion—it’s about a legal framework that places unreasonable burdens on educators, forcing schools to choose between student safety and pedagogical innovation.

According to the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union (KTU), 84% of teachers surveyed expressed fear of criminal liability if accidents occur during field trips, a statistic that directly correlates with the 50% drop in approved off-campus learning activities reported by the Ministry of Education in early 2026. The anxiety isn’t abstract—it’s rooted in recent court rulings where homeroom teachers were prosecuted under the Child Welfare Act following drowning incidents during beach outings, despite adherence to official safety protocols.

This chilling effect is most pronounced in rural provinces like Gangwon and Jeollanam-do, where school trip cancellations have severed a critical revenue stream for family-run guesthouses, traditional meal providers and cultural experience centers. In Sokcho, a coastal city that historically hosted over 120 school groups monthly during spring and fall, local accommodation bookings from educational trips fell 65% year-over-year in Q1 2026, according to Gangwon Provincial Tourism Data. “We’ve seen entire seasons vanish overnight,” said Park Mi-young, owner of a 30-room pension in Sokcho’s tourism district. “Schools used to book us six months in advance. Now, we’re lucky to get one inquiry a week.”

The legal ambiguity stems from conflicting interpretations of the Framework Act on Education and the Act on the Prevention of Sexual Violence and Protection of Victims, which together create a gray zone where teachers can be held individually responsible for supervisory lapses—even when student misconduct or unforeseen environmental factors are the primary cause. “The law expects teachers to be omnipresent guarantors of safety,” explained Attorney Kim Soo-jin of Seoul-based education law specialists, “but provides no corresponding indemnity or institutional shield. This isn’t risk management—it’s scapegoating.”

“When a student slips on a wet trail during a mountain ecology trip, the teacher isn’t just blamed—they’re investigated. That’s not justice; it’s institutional failure dressed as accountability.”

— Lee Hyun-tae, Director of the Korea Institute for School Safety Policy, in testimony before the National Assembly Education Committee, March 2026.

The economic ripple extends beyond hospitality. Local transit providers, museum educators, and guided tour operators specializing in curriculum-aligned experiences report parallel declines. In Gyeongju, the historic capital renowned for its UNESCO-listed heritage sites, cultural program bookings for student groups dropped 58% compared to 2023 averages, per data from the Gyeongju Cultural Foundation. “We designed entire curricula around field trips—archaeology walks, traditional craft workshops, temple stays,” said Choi Ji-woo, a program coordinator at Bulguksa Temple’s education wing. “Now we’re redesigning them for virtual delivery because schools won’t risk the trip.”

Meanwhile, urban schools in Seoul and Busan show slightly higher retention of field trip approvals, not because teachers feel safer, but because affluent parent-teacher associations often privately fund supplemental liability coverage or hire external risk management consultants. This creates a two-tiered system where access to experiential learning becomes a function of municipal wealth—a stark contradiction to South Korea’s constitutional guarantee of equal educational opportunity.

The solution requires more than reassurance; it demands legislative clarity and practical support structures. Municipalities like Suwon and Changwon have begun piloting “shared liability pools” funded by local education offices, where accident costs are distributed across districts rather than falling on individual teachers. In Suwon, the model reduced teacher-reported anxiety by 40% in its first year, according to a 2025 survey by the Gyeonggi-do Education Office. “We’re not removing accountability,” said Superintendent Park Jong-hoon. “We’re ensuring it’s shared—because no educator should face criminal charges alone for a system-wide shortfall in training, resources, or legal protection.”

Schools navigating this crisis are increasingly turning to specialized services that help design legally compliant experiential programs. Organizations offering educational risk assessment consultants report a 200% increase in inquiries from school administrators seeking to audit trip protocols, revise consent forms, and align activities with Ministry guidelines—all while attempting to preserve the educational value of off-campus learning.

What’s at stake isn’t just itineraries—it’s the erosion of a pedagogical pillar that connects classroom theory to lived reality. Field trips teach adaptability, cultural empathy, and observational skills that standardized testing cannot measure. When fear overrides pedagogy, we don’t just cancel trips—we narrow the boundaries of what education can be.

As South Korea grapples with this tension between safety and exploration, the path forward lies not in eliminating risk, but in distributing it fairly. Educators deserve protection, students deserve experience, and communities deserve the economic and cultural vitality that school travel brings. For verified professionals who can help schools rebuild trust in experiential learning—from legal advisors who understand education law to local partners who design safe, meaningful programs—the World Today News Directory connects you with the expertise needed to turn anxiety into action.