Recently, cybersex crimes like N's room have taken place. In addition, large and small sexual violence continues to occur around us. The problem is that most of the perpetrators are not aware of what sexual violence is and why it is a big issue. Because many crimes are being committed out of ignorance, sex education in Korean society must be re-examined.
A teacher tried to provide sex education by using bananas to represent male genitals. This received strong opposition from parents. They felt that it was inappropriate and that it promotes sexual behavior. But overseas, lots of countries aim to cover the use of condoms. They also use bananas instead of teaching ware. And in Canada, sex education is being conducted by using bananas to demonstrate how to apply condoms as part of sex education.
Parents have a strong desire to protect their children against premature sex, so they remain resistant to sex education. However, for those who have the responsibility to protect their children, the issue of sex is bound to be sensitive. Parents are concerned about the well being of their children and raise questions about the way schools to deliver sex education to students.
This is how sex education in Korea works. There are mandatory 15-hour sex education courses each year from elementary school to high school. However, in these courses, students only learn basic lessons such as the change of the embryonic 10-month period, and the process of eggs and sperm meeting. Korean sex education only tells children that when the eggs and the sperm meet, they have children, but it does not tell students how eggs and sperm meet.
According to the '14th Youth Health Behavior Survey Statistics' conducted by the Ministry of Education, a survey of 60,040 teenagers in 2018 indicated that the average age of sexual intercourse in Korea was 13.6 years old. As such, children are much more exposed to sex than we think which is why it is more important for them to have a more thorough understanding of sex.
Therefore, more accurate and deeper sex education is needed, not more basics. People’s perception is changing rapidly in Korea. Our sex education should also be changed accordingly.
