Today, something unsettling happened at our elementary school.
Our new principal walked through the building and removed every piece of student artwork, poster, and classroom decoration displayed on the doors and walls. Every trace of color and creativity — gone. He tore each piece down and threw it away.
I was told later that the only reason my students’ English artwork was spared was because I’m not Korean. The implication wasn’t comforting.
After hearing what happened, I quietly took down my own students’ work. I couldn’t bear to let them see something they created with pride get torn apart.
I understand that a new leader often wants to “set the tone” or “make things neat.” I understand the cultural preference for order and uniformity. But watching a school’s highest authority erase children’s creativity under the banner of “simplicity” — that’s deeply discouraging.
Next week, I heard, he plans to go into every classroom and do the same thing again.
Why is this kind of behavior so often tolerated — even accepted — in Korea? Perhaps it’s the weight of hierarchy, the reluctance to challenge authority, or the fear of standing out. But it’s painful to see a system where creativity is seen as clutter, and self-expression as disorder.
As a teacher, I believe that a classroom should reflect the students who fill it — their voices, their joy, their small but powerful marks on the world.
"Simple” shouldn’t mean stripping away life.
A school should breathe with the color and spirit of its students — not be reduced to walls of silence.
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