Current Events > S. Korea: outrage after kindergartners served spicy food for lunch

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https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2021/11/113_318592.html

A controversy has arisen over whether serving spicy foods as part of children's school lunches at kindergartens attached to elementary schools is in violation of their human rights.

Parents are showing mixed responses over the issue, after a civic group, Political Mamas, filed a complaint on Tuesday with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) against the Ministry of Education.

In Korea, some public kindergartens are attached to public elementary schools to share space and facilities of the schools. In most cases, children at such kindergartens also share the school cafeteria and are served the same food as elementary school students.

The civic group said kindergarteners, aged five to seven, and elementary students aged eight to 13 are served the same foods, regardless of being at different stages of physical development with quite a lot of foods containing spicy seasoning, including kimchi.

"As a result, many children at such kindergartens and some lower graders of elementary schools have difficulty eating meals because they are too spicy. This also leads to indigestion for some children," Jang Ha-na, a member of Political Mamas, said in a statement.

"Children not eating spicy food is not about being picky. Young children have more sensitive taste buds than adults, so they can feel pain. Excessive consumption of such food can also cause problems with their digestive system," Jang said.

The civic group pointed out that private kindergartens and public ones not attached to elementary schools provide meals suitable for young children's taste and nutrition.

"Not being able to eat spicy food is not about preference or bad habits the children have to break. Forcing them to eat such food is nothing but a human rights violation," the group said.

The petition has stirred debate among parents over whether spicy meals are a violation of children's rights.

Lee Ha-na, a mother of a second grader at a public elementary school in Nowon District in Seoul and a six-year-old attending a kindergarten attached to the school, said her children do not usually eat lunch at school. She always prepares snacks for them to eat after school.

"I was a bit surprised when spicy chicken was served at my six-year-old daughter's kindergarten a few days ago. I felt terrible when my daughter said she ate only rice because the other side dishes and soup were too spicy," Lee said.

"Some people say if parents decide to send their children to such kindergartens, it means they have to shoulder such minor problems because the tuition is free. But I don't agree with that. School meals are closely related to our children's rights."

Jo Jung-ran, a mother of a six-year-old boy, also said it is a violation of children's basic rights to prevent them from having a suitable meal by providing too many spicy foods.

"Is it really necessary to feed spicy food to young children in kindergartens or lower grades of elementary school? For upper graders of elementary school, they are used to spicy food because they usually eat the same food as adults anyway, but I don't know why they provide spicy food to young children who have not yet developed their sense of taste," Jo said.

However, some others say it is an overreaction from parents who are "too sensitive."

"It's a little surprising that some people say serving spicy food in schools can be a human rights violation," said Kim Seung-ho, a father of a nine-year-old son attending a public elementary school in Songpa District in southeastern Seoul.

"My son and his friends often say they like spicy food offered as school lunch and they enjoy trying new food. I'm actually satisfied that a variety of foods are being served at the school," Kim said.

A mother of a seven-year-old daughter in Nowon District, who wished to be identified only by her surname Kim, also said those parents who don't want their children to eat spicy food should not send their children to kindergartens attached to schools.

"Parents knew the meals would be provided like this, but they made a decision. It's not possible for a school cafeteria to prepare food separately only for kindergarteners and lower graders of elementary school. It's a matter of choice, and if they make a decision, the parents are responsible for making their children get used to such spicy food," Kim said.



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I love spicy foods

But I choose to eat them because I enjoy it. It should be a choice especially for kids at school lunch.

Itd be messed up if a kid couldnt eat lunch because the food is too spicy. Its hard to perform well academically on an empty stomach.

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Political Mama sounds like a terrible 3DS game.

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What isn't a violation of human rights these days

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It's dumb to not have the option, though maybe even better to not have spicy foods served to younger children at all through the school. I wouldn't mind having that for my lunch though.

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It sounds like kimchi is the major objection.

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Hmm, I never thought about it before but I dont remember having any spicy school meals in elementary school. Im fine with them having the option but only if theres also a non-spicy choice.

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It's really stupid not to have the Asian equivalent of a generic PB&J lunch on hand for picky kids in the first place, let alone on a day where they're serving something multiple children cannot stomach. I think introducing a variety of different tastes can be healthy for development, but you gotta be prepared for the picky ones.

isnt kimchi like air in korea


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Uh, I've never had kimchi that wasn't spicy. I didn't know it could be -not- spicy.

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"Parents knew the meals would be provided like this, but they made a decision. It's not possible for a school cafeteria to prepare food separately only for kindergarteners and lower graders of elementary school. It's a matter of choice, and if they make a decision, the parents are responsible for making their children get used to such spicy food," Kim said.

Thats why there needs to be non spicy options for everyone

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Everyone should be forced to eat spicy food tbh.
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I'm with the parents on this. Fuck that school and their excuses

Smashingpmkns posted...

Everyone should be forced to eat spicy food tbh.

Article cites scientific reasons for not feeding spicy stuff to like 6 year olds or whatever . I never thought about it before because I don't think my family ever ate that much spicy food. But if the science is true, they need to stop serving it to the little kids