Some Bae Jae High players chant inappropriate slogan targeting Gwangju Jeil High

Seoul education office calls it 'unacceptable' at student sports events, vows follow-up

Some players from Bae Jae High School chant the slogan "Let's go to Starbucks" directed at Gwangju Jeil High School during a high school baseball tournament. [Provided by reader]
Some players from Bae Jae High School chant the slogan "Let's go to Starbucks" directed at Gwangju Jeil High School during a high school baseball tournament. [Provided by reader]

By Kim Yong-jae, The Herald Business

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has apologized after some players from Bae Jae High School chanted "Let's go to Starbucks" at Gwangju Jeil High School during a high school baseball tournament, sparking controversy over what critics say was a mockery of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. The office said it would visit Bae Jae High to investigate how the incident unfolded, whether it was stopped on the spot, and what follow-up measures the school has taken.

In a statement released that day, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it was taking "very seriously" the matter of student athletes from a Seoul school chanting an inappropriate slogan during a game between Bae Jae High and Gwangju Jeil High at the 81st Cheongnonggi National High School Baseball Championship at Seoul Mokdong Baseball Stadium — a slogan that could cause deep hurt to the opposing school and its community.

"Expressions that could be perceived as trivializing historical pain or mocking a particular region are educationally unacceptable and have no place at student sporting events," the office said. It offered "a sincere apology to the Gwangju Jeil High baseball team, their parents, alumni, and the citizens of Gwangju who were hurt by this incident."

During the previous day's game at Seoul Mokdong Baseball Stadium, some Bae Jae High players chanted "Gotta go, gotta go, let's go to Starbucks — Tank Day!" toward the Gwangju Jeil High squad.

The chant drew wider criticism because it came amid a separate controversy in which Starbucks Korea had faced backlash over promotional language that critics said trivialized the May 18 pro-democracy uprising and the torture and death of activist Park Jong-cheol.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it had immediately begun verifying the facts. It planned to visit Bae Jae High to "comprehensively review the circumstances of the incident, whether it was stopped at the scene, the process of coaching student athletes, and the school's follow-up measures and plans to prevent recurrence," adding that it would ensure "responsible educational action is taken in accordance with proper procedures."

Bae Jae High posted an apology on its website the previous day, saying it was "sincerely sorry for the deep hurt and disappointment caused to the Gwangju Jeil High team, their parents, alumni, Gwangju citizens, and many others by the inappropriate chant of some student athletes."

The school said it would refer the players involved to its student lifestyle education committee for disciplinary proceedings under school rules, and would hold special education sessions for the entire baseball team covering sportsmanship, human rights awareness, community values and athlete ethics.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it would use the incident as an opportunity to strengthen education aimed at eliminating hate speech and discriminatory expressions at sporting venues across all school athletic programs in the city.

However, the office also cautioned against the spread of personal attacks or excessive criticism targeting individual students. "Separate from the responsible educational measures that must be taken for the wrongful conduct, we must be alert to the spread of personal attacks or excessive criticism directed at individual students," it said, adding that it would ensure the matter was handled within the principles and procedures of education.


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