Twilight News Edition 531
Edition 531, 5 September 2023
SOUTH KOREAN TEACHERS HOLD PROTEST
By Fiona Jhaveri
Hundreds of thousands of teachers in South Korea are currently engaged in protests following the suspected suicide of a teacher, an incident widely attributed to the excessive pressures within the country's well-known high-stress education system.
Frustrated teachers are alleging that they confront demanding expectations, including harassment from disgruntled parents, and are advocating for legal changes and increased safeguards.
According to the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations, event organizers reported that as many as 200,000 demonstrators participated in a rally on Saturday. Additionally, on Monday, an estimated 50,000 teachers ceased work and gathered in the capital city to honor the teacher who had passed away, despite initial warnings from authorities that such actions would be considered "illegal."
The teacher in question was responsible for teaching first-grade students in the homeroom class at Seoi Elementary School in Seoul. Her tragic passing occurred on the school premises on July 18, as reported in an announcement made by the Education Ministry of the country and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in August. However, the teacher's identity was not disclosed in the announcement.
Just two days following her demise, Cho Hee-yeon, the superintendent of the metropolitan education office, characterized the teacher's actions as "the unfortunate decision to take an extreme choice," a commonly used euphemism in South Korea for suicide.
Cho also mentioned that the police were still conducting an investigation but acknowledged the stark reality that teachers' legitimate educational efforts lack adequate protection. He called for "special measures" to be put in place to grant teachers greater legal and institutional safeguards.
Following the initiation of an investigation, education authorities addressed several rumors that had been circulating on social media, including suggestions that a dispute between two students may have contributed to the teacher's tragic death.
In August, when authorities announced their findings, the education vice minister revealed that both parents of the students involved had attended a meeting with the teacher. Additionally, the teacher had received "multiple phone calls" from one of the parents, causing her to feel "uncomfortable and anxious about how the parent obtained her personal mobile number."
However, the vice minister noted that it was still uncertain whether the teacher had experienced any "verbal violence" from the concerned parent.
He further explained that, based on the teacher's diary and the results of interviews with her colleagues, the investigation determined that the teacher had been dealing with a challenging student and was experiencing difficulties in managing the homeroom. Additionally, the teacher had a substantial workload, particularly because it was the start of the semester.
Notably, authorities did not provide additional details, such as the specific cause of the teacher's death or the events leading up to it.
MASSIVE SEA CREATURE WITH 20 ARMS DISCOVERED
By Kabir Choudhuri-Khan
Scientists have recently discovered a species floating towards the bottom of the Antarctic Ocean, with 20 arms and a strawberry-like body shape, which is quite unique. It was found when these scientists were on a research boat, searching for a mysterious group of sea animals known as Promachocrinus.
Also known as Antarctic feather stars, these creatures are gigantic, and have the capability to roam the seas from 65 feet to as low a depth as 65,000 feet. Researchers have described them to look ‘otherwordly’ when they are swimming. This recent study was conducted to investigate Antarctic feather stars in general, and it was a pure chance that researchers happened to catch eight feather stars with distinctive features, which they named Promachocrinus fragarious (Antarctic strawberry feather star).
Along with reporting that this new species had 20 arms attached to the central body, they also observed that it has the ability to change its colour from purplish to dark reddish. The specific size is not given for this species, with the report stating that it is “large.” They were able to conclusively identify it as a new species with DNA analysis.