"Grooming beautification, defamation of teachers" protest against the production of the drama "Elementary School Students I Love"
Jul 02, 2025
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The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations issued an official statement on the 1st regarding the news of the production of the webtoon-based drama `My beloved elementary school student" The drama should be immediately discontinued, saying, `This drama is a dangerous content that wraps the sexual objectification of children as freedom of creation.'"I strongly criticized it. In particular, he pointed out that `the act of portraying the current teacher as a perpetrator of child sex crimes to undermine trust in the teaching society as a whole and to tarnish the reputation of the entire educator.'
The work contains a shocking twist that an elementary school female teacher 'Sim Cheong-ah' was favored by an opponent she knew in an online game and that the user was her elementary school student 'Imdangsu'. After that, the flow of emotions and conflicts between the two become the central plot. In response to this setting, the Federation of Teachers expressed concern that "consumption of grooming crime as a romance genre can blunt social alarm."
The drama is based on a webtoon of the same name that has been serialized since 2019 and has won the Excellence Award at the 1st World Cartoon Contest. However, even at the time of Webtoon serialization, the boundaries between children and adults are ambiguouscriticism continued that " The controversy intensified as the news that it would be produced as a live-action drama was announced.
Online communities and others are responding that "It is impossible if the gender was the opposite" and "It is worrisome that the child actor should play the role".
The drama was reportedly directed and scripted by director Jung Sung-hyun and writer Jeong Se-hyuk. The production company Metanurine also explained that "We plan to bring back the sensibility of the original work and add fun to the drama at the same time."" However, as 'the sensibility of the original work' itself conflicts with public ethical standards, it is expected that difficulties will arise from organizing to casting.
mj.cho@sportschosun.com
