Don’t let them eat cake: Teacher's Day traditions fade under anti-graft rules

An advisory posted on a local online teachers’ portal ahead of Teachers’ Day on Friday has sparked backlash in the teaching community, after it outlined situations in which gifts or gestures of appreciation could violate Korea’s anti-graft law.

The advisory by the Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education, titled “An Overview of the Confusing Anti-Graft Law,” explains what teachers may and may not receive on Teachers’ Day, an annual commemorative day when students express gratitude to teachers.

Notably, the guidelines said students may voluntarily hold parties to express gratitude to their teachers and bring cakes to the classroom, but teachers may not eat the cakes.

“It is permissible for students to voluntarily hold cake parties and share the cake among themselves,” the advisory read. “However, they may not share the cake with the teacher.”

The GBE’s advisory stated that carnations, traditionally given by students as a token of gratitude, may only be accepted when presented by a student representative in a public setting. The post states that teachers may not privately receive flowers from individual students.

After the advisory circulated on social media, online commenters criticized the guidance.

“Is it really Teachers’ Day if the teacher cannot even have a slice of cake?” one commenter wrote. Others said, “Are they really saying only the students should eat it?” and “It is absurd to treat sharing cake as a form of improper solicitation.”

Passed in 2016, the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act bans public officials, teachers, journalists and others from receiving gifts, meals or favors beyond legally permitted limits to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest.

In the past, parents and students often gave teachers small gifts to express gratitude. But such practices have changed significantly since the law took effect.

Even the custom of students pinning carnations to their teachers’ shirts on Teachers’ Day is slowly fading into history, amid stricter enforcement of anti-graft rules.

Under Articles 8-1 and 8-2 of the anti-graft law, public officials are banned from receiving more than 1 million won ($670) at one time or more than 3 million won in a year from the same person, regardless of whether the gift is related to their duties.

If the gift is related to their duties, they are not allowed to receive even smaller amounts.

Teachers currently responsible for evaluating or guiding students, such as homeroom teachers or subject teachers, are considered to have a direct interest in matters involving those students, meaning they may not receive even small gifts from them.

South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission has issued similar guidance.

In 2024, the anti-corruption body issued its own advisory on the anti-graft law, stating that “students are not allowed to give teachers carnations.”

However, the commission also said carnations or flowers presented publicly by student representatives on Teachers’ Day are allowed.

The commission explained that such gifts may fall under a legal exception which permits gifts deemed acceptable under social norms, depending on the timing, place, circumstances, content and value of the gift.

The body warned that parents could also face penalties if even small gifts, including flowers, are given to teachers.

“It feels like they are treating teachers as potential criminals,” one teacher said. “It does not reflect what classrooms are actually like.”

"Instead of a day to celebrate teachers' hard work, Teacher's Day has become a day when everyone in school must be on guard," another teacher said.

In a similar case last year, the Busan Metropolitan Education Office sent an announcement to schools within its jurisdiction saying that teachers should not receive anything, including "flowers and cookies."

The Busan Teachers' Union responded by calling for Teacher's Day to be abolished.

"Let's just abolish Teacher's Day. What use is the commemorative day if we can't even properly celebrate?" the union said last year. Some schools even gave their students the day off, citing "efforts to curb misunderstandings."