Teachers Day: Highly Commemorated in Korea – May 2025

By David J. Richter

Teachers Day does not necessarily mean the same thing to all people around the world. World Teachers Day is celebrated on October 5, which is not when Koreans celebrate their version of Teachers Day. Korean Teacher’s Day (Seuseung-eui Nal, 스승의 날) falls on the May 15. And while many countries do not really celebrate Teachers Day all too much, here in Korea it really is an all-day celebration.

It is said that the origin of the Korean version of Teachers Day goes back to 1963, when a youth group associated with the Red Cross visited their teacher who had fallen ill and was in the hospital. This event, however, did not take place on May 15. the observance was moved to May 15, King Sejong’s (r. 1418–1450) birthday, two years later in 1965. Another piece of interesting history related to Teachers Day is that the commemorative day was banned in Korea from 1973 to 1982, during the later years of President Park Chung- hee’s dictatorial reign and into the early stages of Chun Doohwan’s. It returned as a holiday in 1983 and has been celebrated ever since.

Nowadays, Teachers Day simply refers to the day of the year when students show their gratitude towards their teachers. If the day falls on a weekend or other no-school day, Teachers Day will be observed on the closest school day before the actual holiday. While all teachers will receive presents from their students, often flowers, one teacher in the nation is given the award of “most outstanding teacher” each year by the Ministry of Education.

Teachers Day, as it is now celebrated, gives teachers and students a school day that focuses more on having fun and social interactions and pleasantries than it does on education. Students prepare activities for their teachers, sing songs, invite their parents to school, or even teach classes in place of the teacher for this special occasion. Even former students make their way back to their old school to visit their former teachers and to partake in the day’s events.

But this well-intended and innocent holiday is not without its controversies. There have been instances where, instead of simply giving the teacher a small gift to show appreciation, some parents hijacked this holiday to instead give teachers a large sum of money or other expensive gift to “encourage” the teacher to give their child preferential treatment.

As mentioned earlier, Teachers Day in Korea is not exclusive to current students. Former students also reach out to their former teachers to thank them for what they had done during these graduates’ school days. This part of the holiday is, however, reported to be much less prevalent these days than it used to be.

While the stature of teacher in Korea may not be as revered today as it was centuries or even decades ago, it is still quite heartening to see that teachers here are more distinctly recognized for their contributions to education and to society than they are in many other parts of the world.

The Author

David Jona Richter, born and raised in the extreme south of Germany, is a current graduate student at Chonnam National University. Before coming to Korea in late 2022, he spent about three years in Chicago in the U.S. Midwest. Besides his studies, he tries to engage in local communities in Gwangju and elsewhere in Korea.