Allegations circulating online claim that some kindergartens and daycare centers failed to provide teachers with meals on field-trip days and instructed them to eat children’s leftovers — a revelation that has provoked public outrage.
In recent days, posts on online forums and social media have described teachers being left to fend for themselves on excursions and picnics because they weren’t given packed lunches. One post read, “There are no teachers’ lunches on field‑trip day. Either eat what the kids leave behind or walk around with only your chopsticks and take a bite of the children’s kimbap.”
According to those accounts, some center directors declined to prepare separate meals for staff, arguing that parents packed generously for the children and often left leftovers. Posters said directors instructed employees to use those leftovers to cut food costs and reduce waste.
Current and former childcare workers corroborated the reports in the comments. One commenter wrote, “When I was new, I didn’t even realize it was a problem—I used to pick up a piece of the kids’ kimbap and eat it.” They added that a director had told staff to prompt parents the day before a picnic by asking, “Who will pack a lunch for the teachers tomorrow?”
Another teacher reported, “Meals that parents thoughtfully packed for teachers were collected in the director’s office in the morning. The director would sit down and eat those lunches, while teachers tended to the children and had to ‘handle the leftovers’ themselves.”
As the story spread, parents reacted with disbelief. One parent wrote, “My child’s field trip is tomorrow — do I have to send kimbap for the teacher too? This is shocking.”
Another commenter said, “I can tolerate working late without a full meal, but not being denied a single roll of kimbap on a picnic. This industry really has no bounds.”
