Korean teachers say there is a growing problem with hate speech among teenagers in the classroom that could be addressed by expanding educators' political rights, while experts stress that adults must model responsible language first. Concern has intensified following a series of controversies, including an incident last month when Paichai High School students chanted a phrase condemned as a direct reference denigrating the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju, prompting calls for a broader look at how schools address the issue. A survey by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union, released last week, found that 89.3 percent of 1,109 elementary, middle and high school teachers nationwide had witnessed or heard about students engaging in hate speech, discrimination, historical distortion or anti-democratic expressions in their remarks, assignments or presentations over the past year. The most commonly encountered expressions mocked politicians or historical figures, cited by 88.9 percent of teachers, with 58.2 percent saying they heard such remarks repeatedly and often. That rea