Part-time teachers increasingly taking on homeroom duties: data

In South Korean schools, homeroom teachers are responsible for overseeing various aspects of their students' lives including their academic progress and college applications, keeping regular contact with parents if necessary.

According to Education Ministry data made public Monday by Rep. Jin Seon-mi of the Democratic Party of Korea, the proportion of part-time teachers serving as homeroom teachers has been on the rise. In the past, homeroom teacher roles were reserved for full-time teachers.

Last year, 15.6 percent of all homeroom teachers in the country's elementary, middle and high schools were part-time, up from 14.8 percent in 2022 and 11.1 percent the year before.

Among the country's major provinces, Busan had the highest proportion of part-time homeroom teachers at 21.3 percent, followed by North and South Gyeongsang Provinces at 18.5 percent each.

In South Korea, both full-time and part-time teachers hold teaching certificates but differ in whether they have passed the national teacher's license exam. Part-time teachers sign yearly contracts and are often excluded from incentives and pay raises given to full-time teachers.

Despite this disparity, part-time teachers are often asked to take on additional responsibilities, such as homeroom or other administrative positions, which significantly increase the daily workload, insiders say.

The South Korean Educational Officials Act states that part-time teachers should not take on "any supervisory position with significant responsibility."