Paichai baseball team to visit Gwangju for apology over controversial chants

The Paichai High School baseball players who drew criticism for their controversial chants during a game against a Gwangju school will visit the city next week to apologize in person, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Friday.

An 80-member delegation from Paichai High School, including members of the baseball team, school officials, teachers and parents, is scheduled to visit Gwangju Jeil High School on Monday to apologize and take part in a reconciliation program.

Paichai student athletes shouted inappropriate chants during a first-round game against Gwangju Jeil High School at the Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship on June 29. The “Let’s go to Starbucks” and “tank day” chants were widely criticized online as mocking Gwangju and the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

The criticism ultimately led to the school forfeiting its remaining games and being handed a six-month competition ban from the Korea Baseball Softball Association.

The Paichai delegation is also expected to visit the National Cemetery for the May 18 Democratic Uprising to pay respects and participate in education programs on history, human rights and anti-discrimination.

The education superintendents of Seoul and Gwangju will join the students during the cemetery visit, the Seoul education office said.

Following the backlash, Paichai High School suspended team activities and forfeited its next game in the tournament slated for Thursday. It sent an official notice to the KBSA before the association’s ethics committee reached its decision, according to the education office.

The Seoul education office said Paichai has since provided human rights sensitivity and ethics education to all baseball team members, halted training and posted an apology on its website.

The school has also decided to refer two students — the athletes who allegedly started the chant — to its student guidance committee for possible disciplinary action. It is reviewing whether to refer other students involved.

The Seoul education office said the principal of Paichai High School had reached out several times to his counterpart at Gwangju Jeil High School to apologize and coordinate an in-person visit.

The two schools had initially discussed holding the visit on Wednesday, but Gwangju Jeil asked to postpone it, citing final exams.

Gwangju Jeil held an assembly on campus Friday, attended by students and faculty, where school officials explained the situation and shared plans for the Paichai visit.

Seoul education officials visited Paichai a day after the incident to verify the facts and provide emergency guidance. The office said it instructed the school to ensure student safety, prevent further conflict and handle the matter carefully in consultation with parents and school officials.

The education office also sent official letters to sports departments in other schools, urging them to eliminate discriminatory expressions and foster a healthier cheering culture.

It also asked related organizations, including the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, the KBSA and the Sports Fair Committee, to prepare measures to prohibit discriminatory and hateful expressions at sporting venues.

The Seoul education office said student athletes are often left out of democratic citizenship education programs because they are frequently away from campus for training and competitions.

The office said it is working with the School Education Promotion Association to develop educational materials aimed at preventing hateful and discriminatory expressions among student athletes and supplementing missed learning opportunities.

The Seoul education office said it will continue inspections of school athletic departments through Aug. 21, focusing on human rights education, students’ right to learn and transparent management.

Meanwhile, the office said it has received more than 950 complaints since the controversy erupted Monday.

Asked about concerns that public backlash could harm students, including those at Paichai who were not involved in the incident, the education office said it remains cautious.

It noted that the school has asked police to help protect students and has worked with the Gangdong-gu District Office to remove condolence wreaths sent to the school.

“From our standpoint, what matters most is what is best for the children — how to protect them and how to properly educate them,” said Kim Heo-jung, director of sports, health and art education at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.