Webtoon’s most popular series, Get Schooled or True Education, written by Chae Yongtaek, has been banned in Webtoon US. While the series initially gathered attention due to its OP characters and interesting take on social situations, Get Schooled took things way too far in its recent chapters.
First seen in November 2020, Get Schooled or True Education revolves around a time in South Korea when inflicting any kind of punishment on students is considered illegal. An act was passed with good intentions in mind which hoped to protect student’s human rights.
However, with time, some students started bullying their teachers and showed all kinds of disobedience. An innocent teacher even loses her life to these rebels. The act was also making it hard to punish students who made other students’ lives a living hell by bullying them constantly.
That’s where Hwajin Na arrives. He works in the Teacher’s Rights Protection Agency which aims to protect innocent teachers and students from these heartless bullies. Needless to say, the plot does bring to light all kinds of issues seen in South Korean schools.
Its intriguing storyline paired with powerful characters made Get Schooled one of the top Webtoons on all platforms. Ever since it was first released, there have been many controversies around it, but after the recent Chapter 125, Webtoon didn’t waste any time removing it from their website on grounds of Racism.
TW: Racism 🚨 Erm… Get Schooled – Chap 125 is WILD?! Like I need to know what the author is thinking and how he is gonna finish this … because I am not impressed so far. #getschooled #racism #trueeducation #webtoon pic.twitter.com/m28zhv9ay4
— Leah (@C00ki3_96) September 12, 2023
Get Schooled Controversy: What Happens In The Webtoon?
When Get Schooled was first released in 2020, it had mixed reactions from readers from all over the world. While some loved the way Hwajin Na would show up and treat these bullies the way they deserved to be treated, others felt it was way too violent and showcased an adult hurting 14-year-olds instead of properly guiding them.
Bullying is a serious but common issue in South Korea and other parts of Asia, so most of the readers from these countries were desensitized to the violence that Get Schooled would portray in each of their episodes. Since these chapters would always end on a good note with a lesson, there weren’t many people who would look into the political or dark side of the webtoon.
Readers from countries where bullying isn’t as common would find Get Schooled a bit weird and violent, which it is if you consider the fact that these are just high schoolers and some teachers. Many arcs don’t sit right with some readers too, since they would focus on a topic and portray it in a propaganda-filled way.
However, it was when Get Schooled/ True Education’s Chapter 125’s translation was leaked in September 2023 that things became worse for the series. Get Schooled usually shows the problematic student or teacher doing their thing before Hwajin Na or others from his agency show up to correct the situation.
#racism Can't believe the author of #getschooled thought he was cooking with this pic.twitter.com/4ByDN1q9Z0
— Bluff (@startingtobluff) September 14, 2023
This time, the problem at hand revolved around a foreigner who would bully locals and say mean words all the time. To discipline him, one of the characters named Daniel Hyun uses a very racist slur as he advocates non-violence and chooses not to physically harm anyone.
Daniel straight-up calls him the N-word instead of using any other, more logical way of sorting things out. This concept of foreigners abusing locals is nothing new but Get Schooled could have just shown the foreigner’s bad attitude and then show a proper way to deal with it, instead of using racism to combat racism. The slur and other racial stuff were uncalled for.
Get Schooled: Author Issues An Apology
After Webtoon got ahold of chapter 125 earlier this month, translators rushed to convert it into English and distribute it online. Get Schooled Chapter 125 still hadn’t been released in South Korea. When readers from all over the world saw the panel where Daniel says the slur, most were left in disbelief.
Some started assuming that it could have been due to incorrect translations, but when the author, Chae Yongtaek, issued an apology, they knew it was intentional all along. The author of Get Schooled said that he was regretful over what happened and apologized for causing pain to many of his readers.
So that's the reason 'Get schooled' isn't showing up. #webtoon #getschooled pic.twitter.com/TPJ9dX2Jk4
— zukika Medorinkashi (@medorinkashi) September 19, 2023
They claimed that since Get Schooled focuses more on South Korea and its actual situation, their perspective can get narrow at times. They crafted chapter 125 with the hopes of spreading awareness about an issue that not many people are aware of in other parts of the world.
The creator said they grew up in a “homogenous” society, so they had very limited knowledge about racial discrimination. While the lesson could have been good, Get Schooled should have chosen to portray this arc in a much better way without any hurtful slurs or racist representations.
Moreover, Webtoon has also revealed that it has removed Get Schooled/ True Education from its US platform. The webtoon has also been suspended for an indefinite time in South Korea, so it’s not going to have any updates anytime soon.
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