Asia Pacific Education Review Copyright 2003 by Education Research Institute 2003, Vol. 4, No. 1, 75-83. School Bullying in Korea and Christian Educational Approach Kwan-Chun Lee Myong Ji College Korea The central purpose of this study is to examine approaches for dealing with the problem of bullying (wang-tta in Korean) in schools from the Christian educational perspective. There has been much development in both research and practice in the 1990s and 2000s relating to bullying in Korean schools. Most Korean research on bullying, however, has almost exclusively focussed on verification of the facts that bullying or peer rejection is a widespread phenomenon in schools. This study, however, is mainly concerned with how to tackle effectively the bullying problem on the basis of Christian educational philosophy. To do this, this paper suggests a four stage approach to dealing with bullying: namely, clarifying the Christian school ethos, leading to determine the school’s bullying policy. With the bullying policy, school anti-bullying programs could be developed in order to create a bullying- free school environment. Key Words: school bullying, wang-tta, Christian educational philosophy, Christian anti-bullying approach “Bullying is the forerunner of adult violence”(Randall, 1991: 50) sensational coverage by journalists. The report has it that in 1996 a high school student was hospitalised for mental ∗ problems following longstanding malign bullying by some of Many people over the world would remember the 2002 his colleagues. Several students had bullied the student who Soccer World Cup, which was held in both Korea and Japan was physically weak. The bullies hit and kicked him in the in June this year. The foreign reporters impressed by the classroom several times and even used to prick him on his orderly attitude of the noisy Korean fans called the soccer finger using an educational compass. The parents of the games in Korea “Three NO” World Cup, namely, ‘no victim sued the bullies for their son’s mental and physical violence’, ‘no waste’, and ‘no disorder’. damage and won the lawsuit. The parents of the bullied However, these same Korean youngsters who surprised student, however, ended up having to emigrate overseas. the whole world with their peaceful attitude during the games Another Korean newspaper dated July 29, 2002 reported that also live with various forms of school based violence. In fact, a young man stabbed his mother and elder brother to death. youth violence, in particular, bullying in Korean schools, as He was reported to have been suffering from mental illness elsewhere, is being currently recognised as a major social caused by wang-tta (bullying) in his middle school years. problem. The bullying problem in Korea emerged onto the This incident is just the tip of a vast iceberg of misery public arena following one particular tragedy, which lead to experienced by thousands of children every day although the extent of bullying is varies depending of the individual. Many Korean educators are currently very concerned about what Kwan-Chun Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Adult and they see as an increasing amount of violence and aggression Continuing Education, Myong Ji College, Korea. Correspondence in Korean schools. Some claims that the violence and to a concerning this article should be addressed to Kwan-chun Lee, lesser extent bullying is getting out of control in schools. Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Myong Ji College, Bullying in schools has recently become a popular 356-1 Hongeun 3 dong, Seodaemun-ku, Seoul, Korea. Electronic subject of research amongst Korean academics. Various reports mail may be sent to [email protected]. 75 Kwan-Chun Lee and studies, for example, have established that approximately exclusion’. In Japan the widely used word is ‘Ijime’. Let us 25% of students are either bullied regularly or are initiators of compare the following definitions which are widely used in bullying behaviour, which is much higher than in schools of Scandinavia, Japan, and Korea respectively. Western countries. In Australia, for example, one student in six between the ages of 9 and 17 is bullied at least once a Bullying is longstanding violence, physical or psychological, week (CCI Bulletin, 2000). One exception is Donnellan’s conducted by an individual or a group and directed May survey(2001), which is a quite recent study on bullying against an individual who is not able to defend himself in in England (England only or the UK-the distinction could be the actual situation. The physical bullying could include rather important-Ed). The study, involving 2600 students in kicking, pushing, or beating the victim, while the most middle and high schools indicated that more than 30% of common means of psychological bullying are teasing and pupils had been victimised in the past year. exclusion (Roland, 1989, p.21). All of the studies in Korea claim that bullying is a serious problem that can have negative consequences for the Ijime is a type of aggressive behavior by which someone general school climate and for the right of students to learn in who holds a dominant position in a group-interaction a safe environment without fear. At the least, they maintain, it process, by intentional or collective acts, causes mental causes stress and suffering. At the worst it can destroy a and/or physical suffering to another inside a group person's life. Various reports on bullying in Korea, therefore, (Morita, 1985). claim with one voice that efforts should be made at national level to identify and curb bullying. Wang-tta is a repetitive pain-giving behavior, being Hitherto, most Korean research on bullying, however, physically or psychologically, against an individual of a has almost exclusively focussed on verification of the facts group, who is weaker than the aggressor or who violated that bullying or peer rejection is a widespread phenomenon in the group’s tacit rule, by one person or several persons schools and even in the workplace. This study, however, has together (Park, 1998). no intention to replicate the same sort of research on bullying in schools. Instead, this study is primarily concerned with the There may be arguments about the claim that Wang-tta search for an approach to bullying from the Christian and Ijime in Korea and Japan respectively have the same educational ideal or thoughts. This researcher firmly believes meaning with bullying in English. It is beyond my study or that the Christian educational ideal can play an important intention to distinguish the difference of the terms. It is, role in creating an ethos where pupils learn to treat each other however, clearly evident that the three terms, despite the with respect and where bullying is recognised as wholly difference of cultures, are very similar, comprising direct unacceptable. The paper begins with the brief literature behaviors such as teasing, taunting, threatening, hitting, and review on school bullying. It then examines the malign stealing that are initiated by one or more students against a characteristics of the bullying, followed by a Christian victim. In addition to direct attacks, bullying may also be educational approach to tackle the problem. more indirect by causing a student to be socially isolated through intentional exclusion. In this study the term, bullying Definition is used as also involving the concept of wang-tta, or peer exclusion. Violence in school can be defined as “anything from name-calling, teasing, sexual taunts, rough treatment of Bullying in Korean schools: Literature Review younger children, frequent fighting, protection rackets, and harassment on the way to and from school through to the Frequencies of bullying extremes of individual persecution and racial attacks” (Lane, 1989, p. 4). Bullying is a subcategory of aggressive behaviour; It is almost impossible to tell exactly how much bullying but a particularly vicious kind of aggressive behaviour, since goes on in Korea because of the mixture of secrecy and it is directed, often repeatedly, towards a particular victim exaggeration which surrounds bullying. There are, however, who is unable to defend him or her effectively. some Korean estimates. The first concern is regarding the The counterpart (though may not be identical) of extent of bullying. The question in most studies was similar to bullying in Korean vocabulary is ‘Wang-tta’ meaning ‘peer the following: ‘how often have you been bullied at school?’ In 76 Christian Approach to School Bullying an exhaustive study restricted to examining bullies only, Park European countries. However, it should be noted that the (1998) sampled 6,893 students in 57 primary and secondary comparison is not exact because the different methodologies, schools throughout the country and reported an incidence of especially different definitions and sampling methods used. 24.2 percent victims. That is, one in four students of primary Nevertheless, it seems clear that the data in Korea are and secondary schools reported being bullied ‘now and then’ considerably higher than those in European countries like or ‘once a week’ or more often. Canada (Perhaps you would like to include Canada in North This finding is quite similar to the results from other America rather than Europe) Scandinavia, Ireland, and surveys (e.g., Kim, 1997; Shon, 1997). Shon (1997) published England. In Canadian surveys of 4,743 children in Grades 1 to results from a study on bullying in primary and secondary 8, 6% of children admitted bullying and 15% of children students in the province of Chollabukdo in Korea. 23.6 reported that they had been victimized. Very few children percent of the students admitted bullying others more than (2%) reported being both bullies and victims (Pepler et al., once or twice in the last semester and 23.9 percent of children 1997). Canadian data are quite similar to those from reported that they had been victimized at the same rate. Kim’s Scandinavia, Ireland, and England (Boulton & Underwood, study (1997), involving 1624 students of primary and 1992; Olweus, 1991). secondary schools in Korea, shows a similar phenomenon of bullying. 30 percent of the respondents were bullied more Types and Characteristics of bullying than once or twice in the last six months and 48.1 percent, surprisingly much higher than in other surveys, admitted It is a general trend that directs bullying seems to bullying others. 22.1 percent of the students were involved in increase through the elementary years, peak in the middle bullying as either victims or bullies. school/junior high school years, and decline during the high The bullying problem appears to be more severe and is school years (Park, 1997). However, direct physical assault is getting worse. One study (Kim, 1997), focussed on direct an exception and still problematic in high school students in physical abuse in middle and high school students. Kim’s Korea. While direct physical assault seems to decrease with longitudinal study (1997) on school violence revealed that age, verbal abuse appears to remain constant. For the effect of physical violence in secondary school students got worse school environment, most studies indicate that bullying is from 1990 to 1996 (Table 1). A significant finding in the much more serious in schools in suburban or rural areas than research was that bullying was found to occur much more those in urban areas. frequently in middle school students, being boys and girls, than All the surveys in Korea show that boys engage in high school counterparts. Also, the survey indicates that bullying behavior and are victims of bullies more frequently physical assault was the most serious problem in both middle than girls. This is consistent with other surveys in western and high school and even girls were not exceptions to this societies. However, it should be noted that a considerable general finding. number of girls in secondary schools are more involved in It would seem that the Korean figures for bullies and physical assault and money extortion than often recognized. It victims indicate a considerably more serious problem than is clear, however, while boys typically engage in more Table 1. Change of School Violence in Secondary Students Male Female Violence Type Year Total Middle School High School Middle School High School 1990 22.6 40.7 28.7 8.4 4.2 Money Extortion 1996 27.6 47.9 28.7 21.3 12.3 1990 14.1 21.1 24.9 4.2 3.1 Physical Assault 1996 40.8 56.0 57.8 26.4 21.8 1990 15.8 21.5 23.2 10.0 5.5 Threatening 1996 19.4 30.4 23.0 12.4 11.3 1990 37.8 - - 32.8 45.8 Sexual Harassment 1996 38.7 - - 28.3 47.6 Source. Kim (1997, pp.19-21) 77 Kwan-Chun Lee physical forms of bullying; girls tend to bully in indirect ways, Malign Characteristics of Bullying such as spreading rumours and enforcing social isolation. According to Hyun’s survey (1999), most of the bullying Many Korean people do not regard the bullying between took the form of indirect aggression such as “sending them to children as serious violence, saying children have their own Coventry”(53.8%) say, deliberately leaving them out or social system and should sort themselves out. In other words, ignoring them, and “not letting them join in play”(56.8%), they say, the victim will toughen up and learn to cope. which may seem to be lesser extent of violence. Another However, this problem is not so simple, as indicated popular form of bullying is verbal, for example name-calling through the seriousness of bullying in the above section. What (48.8%), nasty teasing (30.8%) or spreading rumours this researcher wishes to point out in this paper is the unique (28.7%). Physical assault including hitting, kicking (21.5%), characteristics of the bullying, which is done in the form of threatening (13%), taking or damaging belongings (12.1%), wang-tta. That is, what I stress is that wang-tta is a particularly which is more serious violence, and is also one of the vicious kind of violence whether it is direct or indirect. It may considerably more frequent forms of bullying in Korean be important what kind of bullying behaviours the bullies schools. engage in, for example, whether the attacks are verbal or It should be noted that verbal and indirect bullying are psychological. However, the more important point is the also very aggressive although they may not seem so. They can values or attitudes of the bullying students in that they can cause serious distress to the victim. Although the bullying bully others physically weaker than themselves. In other takes very subtle forms, such as a nasty look, which is words, the more serious problem is the positive attitude of the difficult to detect by adults, they are still terrifying for the bully students toward aggression or violence, which may lead child or young person on the receiving end because they to adult violence. imply what might happen. Bullying contains several vicious kinds of violent Who are the bullies? Hyun (1999) in collaboration with characteristics. Firstly, bullying is not ‘instrumental violence’ Hangil Opinion Research Institute published results from a but ‘hatred violence’. Instrumental violence is an aggressive study on bullying involving 1st and 2nd grade students in behaviour with the intention of achieving some purpose such middle and high school located on Seoul and metropolitan as acquiring money or goods. In contrast to this, hatred area. Their findings indicate that students who bully are violence aims at just enjoying the violence itself. Hyun (1997) physically stronger and have a need to feel powerful and in reports that 34 percent of the bullies in Korean secondary control. In most cases, the aggressive student attacks the schools responded they are bullying victims just for fun, victims together with one or more bullies rather than by deriving satisfaction from inflicting injury and suffering on him/herself. In contrast to prevailing myths, 41 percent of the others, and ‘for enjoying bullying’ (Park, 1998). bullies in Hyun’s survey (1999) appear to have little Secondly, bullying is a wilful, conscious desire to hurt empathy for their victims and show little or no remorse another person (Tatum, 1989). That is, bullying is any action about bullying, even possessing strong self-esteem. Simply, it or implied action intended to cause fear, distress, and pain. can be cool to be a bully (at least in the bully’s perception). This intentionality is what underpins the vicious uniqueness Research also reveals that victims often fear school and of bullying. The third vicious aspect is the nature of stability. consider school to be an unsafe and unhappy place. Many of Bullying occurs over a period of time, rather than being bullied students want to stay home rather than go to school ‘once-off’ incidents of verbal and physical assault. Korean because of bullies. More than 60 percent of the victims suffer studies reveal that bullying goes on from several months to in silence without telling others, even their parents (Hyun, two or three years (Park, 1998). Hyun (1997) also reports that 1999). Thus, parents are often unaware of the bullying the bullying continues for a month (36%) and for more than problem and talk about it with their children only to a limited one month (60.1%). Whether the bullying is direct or indirect, extent. Less than half (46%) the victims feel that adult the key component of the bullying, as Olweus (1993) mentioned, intervention is ineffective, and that telling adults, 4.2% of the is that the physical or psychological intimidation occurs being bullied think, will only bring more harassment from repeatedly over time to create an ongoing pattern of harassment bullies. The act of being bullied tends to increase some and abuse. students' isolation because their peers do not want to lose Fourthly, by its very nature, school bulling or wang-tta is status by associating with them or because they do not want to a secret activity and it may be very difficult to check the increase the risks of being bullied themselves. incidence of the behavior. Many victims, as Hyun’s study 78 Christian Approach to School Bullying (1997) revealed, are reluctant to speak up about their situation The second way of dealing with bullying is the consequences for fear that it will make it even worse. In this sense, wang-tta approach. Simply, if a student chooses to bully, then there can be said to be a hidden form of violence unlike systemic have to be consequences. The distinction Tattum made violence like shootings and fighting although school bullying between this approach and punishment-based response is that in some ways is similar to systemic violence. The hidden consequences should be educative rather than punitive forms of violence are not always noticed, and sometimes the (Sullivan, 2000). In other words, rather than just listening to least discussed in conversations about violence. the circumstances surrounding a bullying incident and then It should be noted, however, that the hidden forms of punishing the bully, the intention is to let the bully know that violence like wang-tta or bullying is the forerunner of there will be consequences if the bullying does not stop. systemic violence (Randall, 1991). Much research reveals a A third way of dealing with bullying can be termed the strong correlation between bullying other students during the feeling response. According to Sullivan (2000), the philosophy school years and experiencing legal or criminal troubles as is that, rather than punishing or providing consequences for adults (Olweus, 1993). For instance, Olweus (1993) claims that bullying, it is more effective to appeal to the better nature of 60% of those characterized as bullies in grades 6-9 had at least the bullies and to alter the bullying system. One of the one criminal conviction by age 24. Other researches (e.g., characteristics of bullying is that those who bully usually see Oliver et al, 1994) reveal that chronic bullies seem to maintain their victims as worthless, as non-people, a picture that the their behaviours into adulthood, negatively influencing their victims, in their despair, probably share. With a feeling approach, ability to develop and maintain positive relationships. a major concern is to ‘rehumanise’ the situation. This means not only stopping the bullying but also aiming to change the Three Ways of Dealing with Bullying behavior of the perpetrator so that he or she empathizes with the victim, feels what it is like to be bullied, has a sense of Schools have to do much to improve the school climate, remorse, and comes to the realization that it is wrong to bully student discipline policies, teaching relevant subject matter in (Sullivan, 2000). courses to reduce school violence and disruption. In fact, The punishment approach, which may be used by many schools may be the only effective avenue for change for some Korean schools, relies on an authoritarian figure upbraiding a children where their parents feel helpless and unskilled in bully and providing a punishment for the crime of bullying. dealing with their situation. Many schools in Korea have However, it could be argued that this approach is essentially the attempted to solve bullying problems without success. There same as the act of bullying itself: it involves a person in power are few schools that have a culture: that develop a policy in in some way hurting a person with less power. The consequences place to make it clear that bullying is inappropriate; that approach is less authoritarian than the punitive approach, but is support the victimized student; or that there is a designated similarly static. Programs that use a feeling approach are grounded person to whom the student could turn to in his time of need. in an understanding that bullying is a dynamic situation, that One of the solutions they are trying is focusing on adequate there is room for maneuver, and that if the dynamics can be supervision of the problematic student. Adequate supervision, by changed then it may be possible for the bullying to stop. itself, however, cannot be relied upon to deliver substantial Undoubtedly, the feelings approach must be basically reductions in the level of bullying. chosen as an appropriate approach in terms of Catholic Essentially, three distinctive ways of dealing with educational philosophy, although only one approach should bullying have been developed in recent years. Firstly, the not be necessarily chosen. The two approaches, punishment punishment approach as a response to bullying reflects the and consequences, deal with only the symptom of the bullying criminal justice system. That is, if an offence is committed rather than the bullying itself. This type of response also and the person is found to be guilty, he or she is punished by exposes bullied children to retaliation and revenge. The feeling doing community service, paying a fine, or going to jail. The approach is more humane and problem-solving, and regards equivalent punishments in a school context are detention, bullying as a dynamic that can be changed. An important extra homework, tasks around the school and, if the behavior thing is that the feeling approach is essentially a systems persists, suspension and expulsion. However, many (e.g., approach. The underlying intention is to change the dynamics Lawrance, 1998) argue that suspending or expelling disruptive of the situation, to raise awareness of the participants about students without referral to an alternative program simply puts bullying, and to support the peer group in taking responsibility them out on the street with nothing to do. for the bullying. 79 Kwan-Chun Lee Anti-Bullying Approach from a Christian Sullivan (2000) suggests these four stages of anti- Educational Philosophy bullying approach (Figure 1). I will discuss this model in terms of a Christian educational philosophy. Most researchers suggest that a systems approach, like the feeling approach, must be introduced to tackle effectively STEP I. Identifying the Christian Educational Philosophy the bullying problem in schools. For the systems approach, the school first has to clarify the school ethos or philosophy, The first and most important thing to solve the bullying leading to determine the school’s bullying policy. With the problem is creating an anti-bullying culture in schools. Many bullying policy, then, school anti-bullying programs could be studies (e.g., Rigby, 1996) reveal that bullying is reduced in developed in order to create a bullying-free school environment. schools which have an anti-bullying ethos. From the viewpoint of a Christian educational philosophy, the The first step to create an anti-bullying school culture is systems approach is considered very useful in that it highly to clarify its educational philosophy: the values or beliefs of emphasizes educational philosophy as the most important step the school, its academic and educational aspirations, the to create an anti-bullying school culture. Christian educational nature of the personal relationships it fosters, and the philosophy is fundamentally based on human dignity, which societal attitudes and responsibilities modeled and taught at is greatly emphasized in the systems approach. the school. School environment The school is a safe place. It is OK to tell. The peer group and teachers share responsibility for solving the bullying problem. School anti-bullying programs A selection of preventative and responsive programs is chosen and an anti-bullying team is established. is based upon leads to School anti-bullying policy A well-considered policy that relates to other policies is written. It involves full participation. It is clear and relevant. is based upon leads to is based upon Christian School philosophy leads to The school is a safe and happy place to learn. Figure1. Christian Educational Approach to Anti-Bullying Source: Modified from Sullivan (2000) 80 Christian Approach to School Bullying Every Christian school is fortunate in having a clear is the belief that we, as a creature of God, are all different and educational philosophy inherent in the Gospel, embodied in we should value what makes each of us unique and special. the person of Jesus Christ. However, it often is implied rather “Unique and special” means we have to respect and accept the than stated. Thus, it is crucial to bring important philosophical ‘differences’ of man other than myself, in terms of appearance, issues to the surface and to encourage debate and make the sex, religion, ability and so on. In other words, all the students philosophy explicit (Sullivan, 2000). Many studies, for have to learn that ‘being different’ is not ‘being wrong’. example Sheffield project, suggest that the successful schools Christian education also aims at developing the whole in terms of violence including bullying are those that have a person: the physical, intellectual, social, emotional, aesthetic, well-developed anti-bullying ethos and do not support a vocational, moral and religious nature of students. This view culture of bullying. Then, what is the school’s philosophy of education is reflected in the document, The Christian from the Christian perspective? School: Christian School Ethos: Human dignity and Whole Person …The purpose of …education is the development of man Development from within, freeing him from that conditioning which would prevent him from becoming a fully integrated School ethos in a Christian educational system or a human being. The school must begin from the principle Christian educational philosophy is much clearer and better that its educational program is intentionally directed to the developed than that in other schools. Christian education is growth of the whole person. (paragraph 29) based on the belief of human dignity, for example, the spiritual nature of persons (Flynn, 1985). The Christian belief in the dignity Undoubtedly, school violence including bullying of each human person finds its foundation in the Scriptures. undermines the intrinsic dignity of the individual person and The Biblical notion of a person is that one who has been the development of the whole person. Furthermore, bullying created in the image and likeness of God.: God created Man creates an intimidating and hostile school environment, in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, which adversely affects the work performance of individuals male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) Called by and diminishes the effectiveness of schools in their mission name and precious in his sight, each person is loved by God of Christian education. The Christian education system thus with an unconditional love and called to be his son or daughter. should clearly claim that all types of school bullying are Jesus revealed the dignity of persons in the eyes of God and unacceptable forms of behavior and will not be tolerated. gave them his commandment of love: That is my commandment. Love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12) STEP II. Developing an Anti-bullying Policy – A Whole Therefore, because the Christian schools are founded School Approach on the person of Jesus Christ and enlivened by the Gospel, Christian educators should be committed to the development The nature of this Christian educational philosophy of Christian schools which: determines the school’s attitude towards bullying and general disruptive behavior. It is, as Sullivan (2000) mentioned, made • embrace the example of Jesus and the teaching of explicit most clearly in the adoption of a whole school policy. the Gospel, especially in relation to faith, hope, love, It is because the most effective action on bullying, as much forgiveness, justice and freedom; research has indicated, is that which is understood and • their care for those within the school community, supported by all parts of the school community. especially those experiencing disadvantage; School’s attitude or policies towards bullying should be • promote the dignity of the human person and the written, clearly mentioning that it is the responsibility of all value of human life; members of the school community to respect the rights of • encourage students to contribute to the sacredness of others, to never tolerate any sort of violence and to contribute the human story by promoting justice, peace, positively to the formation of harmonious relationships. In harmony with creation, and service to the community. addition to the statement of the school’s stand against bullying, Rigby (2000) suggests the following features: (a) a Especially, dignity of person should be a major principle succinct definition of bullying with illustrations; (b) a in creating a school ethos in Christian educational system. This declaration of the rights of individuals in the school 81 Kwan-Chun Lee community to be free of bullying; (c) a statement of the teasing and exclusion, threats or violence, intended to cause responsibilities of all those who see bullying going on to seek fear and distress. The literature review in the study indicates to stop it; (d) a general description of what the school will do that one in four primary and secondary students is being to deal with incidents of bullying; (e) an undertaking to bullied in Korea. evaluate the policy in the near and specified future Boys and girls engage in different forms of bullying. Boys are more direct, more violent and more destructive in STEP III. Implementing School Anti-bullying Programs their bullying, using physical aggression or threats. Girls favor the more indirect modes of exclusion and malicious Next step is the school develops and chooses a set of gossip. The literature review on wang-tta in this paper, preventative and intervention strategies to implement. These although not a comprehensive description of all factors related programs should reflect the values and beliefs of the to bullying, shows that bullying is a serious problem that can Christian school community and the policies of the school. give rise to serious suffering and can dramatically affect the One good example is a pastoral care program, in ability of students to progress academically and socially. conjunction with Peer Support Foundation, which is carried Many factors are blamed for bullying behavior. What the out in Catholic schools in Sydney, Australia. The Catholic researcher emphasizes in terms of the causes of bullying and Education Office in Sydney currently develops pastoral care of tackling this problematic behavior is the problem of guidelines for students in Catholic primary and secondary positive attitudes towards aggression and violence in Korean schools in the archdiocese of Sydney. Pastoral care aims to society, believing that bullying is a natural process of growing create a harmonious school culture based on mutual trust and up. Even school personnel may view wang-tta as a harmless respect which assists people to recognize and develop their right of passage that is best ignored unless verbal and personal capabilities. That is, it is based on a Catholic psychological intimidation crosses the line into physical educational philosophy or vision. assault or theft. However, the study stresses that bullying is a malign STEP IV. Safe School Environment violence directed by more powerful individuals or groups against those who are less powerful. This behavior is not only As a result of having a carefully prepared and non-Christian but also inhumane. Also, it is not the same implemented policy, the school will be safe from bullying. thing as fighting or quarreling between people of about the The teaching staff and pupils will know what is happening same strength, which often ends in ‘once-off’ incidents of and what action is being taken and will not be afraid either to conflict. It is typically repeated, often enjoyed by the bully or intervene or to get help when bullying occurs. The schools bullies, never justified. Furthermore, this sort of behavior now can have a culture that places a high value upon the leads to later violence as bullies move into adulthood. As a rights and responsibilities of all its members, that all have a Scandinavian study suggests, bullies were three times more right to feel safe at all times, that the school is a non-violent likely than other children to graduate to adult crime. That is, place and that nothing is so awful that we can’t talk to bullying is the forerunner of adult violence. someone about it. Therefore, the researcher claims that it a good starting In a real sense, this kind of school climate by itself is the point would be to attempt to alter the positive attitude towards Christian message to most students. Also, this school violence in Korean society in order to tackle the bullying environment, as many claims, is the key to good teaching and problems in schools. Simultaneously, the author recommends learning in the school. that the school adopts a policy which promotes such values as respect, caring, tolerance, and responsibility for others. In Discussion other words, schools have to return to the basics of value education, for example, teaching students to respect the This paper is mainly concerned with seeking out an dignity of individuals. This involves, I believe, accepting the alternative approach to the challenges posed by bullying in ‘uniqueness’ of others, followed by the ‘difference’ of others Korea, wang-tta, from a Christian educational perspective. from myself. Korean schools thus need to teach that ‘being Bullying behavior in schools, as elsewhere, has emerged as different’ is not ‘being wrong’. one of the serious social problems in Korean society. Simply A comprehensive intervention plan, from the Christian stated, wang-tta is any action or implied action, such as educational philosophic perspective, that involves all students, 82 Christian Approach to School Bullying parents, and school staff is required to ensure that all students Olweus, D. (1980). Familial and temperamental determinants of can learn in a safe and fear-free environment. For the whole aggressive behaviour in adolescent boys: A causal school approach, the Christian school first has to clarify the analysis, Developmental Psychology, 16, 644-660. school ethos or philosophy, leading to a determination as to Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and the school’s bullying policy. With the bullying policy in place, what we can do. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. school anti-bullying programs could be developed in order to O’Moore, A. (1989). Bullying in Britain and Ireland: An overview. create a bullying-free school environment. In E. Munthe & E. Roland (Eds.), Bullying: An international In creating the school’s bullying policy, pastoral care perspective (pp. 3-21), London: David Fulton Publishers. programs as used in Catholic schools is an important example. Park, K. S. (1998). 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