The number of Korean schools conducting field trips and overnight excursions has been cut roughly in half as the burden surrounding experiential learning grows, a new survey shows.
The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) said Tuesday that only 53.4% of schools operated overnight experiential learning programs over the past year, according to its "2026 Field Experience Learning Survey" conducted in March on 789 union branch leaders nationwide.
Schools that held only non-overnight programs accounted for 25.9%, while 10.8% replaced trips with in-school activities. Another 7.2% of respondents said they had suspended all forms of experiential learning, reflecting a chilled atmosphere in schools.
Analysts attribute the shift to concerns over legal liability for safety accidents. The burden spread across the teaching community after a homeroom teacher was sentenced to imprisonment without labor in an appellate ruling related to a field trip accident in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, last year.
Anxiety among teachers is running high. Of the respondents, 89.6% said they felt burdened by the possibility of criminal liability in the event of an accident, and more than half described the burden as "very great." Experiential learning is being perceived not as an educational activity but as a high-risk task, observers said.
Operational burdens are also significant. Some 84.0% of respondents said administrative work — including contract signing, safety inspections and preparation of advance documents — was excessive. Teachers say they end up spending more time on administration than on teaching.
Many also feel pressured to participate. Of the survey respondents, 35.5% said they had been asked to push ahead with field trips regardless of their wishes or had experienced such pressure. While teachers' opinions are formally taken into account, their choices are limited in practice, the findings suggest.
This structure is ultimately leading to a reduction in experiential learning. Concerns are growing that students' opportunities for on-site experience are diminishing as schools avoid overnight programs or halt them altogether.
Teachers cited "strengthening criminal liability exemptions" as the most urgent task for improvement. Other priorities included reducing or suspending overnight programs, clarifying safety standards, expanding professional safety personnel and guaranteeing teachers' right to choose.
Cost issues have recently added to the controversy. A case in which a Gangwon Province school trip cost as much as 600,000 won ($440) spread on online communities, drawing criticism and eventually leading the school to cancel the trip.
In the education field, rising program costs amid high inflation, combined with safety management burdens and the potential for parental complaints, have created an atmosphere in which schools are reluctant to hold field trips at all. Some schools are increasingly shifting to class-level experiential activities instead of traditional school trips.
Teachers agree that normal educational activities are difficult without institutional reform. They argue that experiential learning will continue to shrink as long as a structure remains in place that imposes excessive criminal liability for accidents occurring during educational activities.
The KTU called on education authorities to exclude the application of professional negligence resulting in death or injury for accidents during educational activities, review operating standards for overnight experiential learning, and streamline administrative work.
