The drama adaptation of the webcomic The Elementary School Student I Love has been canceled.
The announcement of the series immediately sparked controversy and backlash due to its subject matter. The story follows a 24-year-old elementary school teacher who falls in love with a fellow player she meets in an online game, only to discover he’s one of her students. The Korea Federation of Teachers’ Associations (KFTA) condemned the drama, calling it a “clear glamorization of grooming” and demanding an immediate halt to its production.
“Teachers are in a position where they must form trusting relationships with the students they teach and devote themselves to education with higher morality and professionalism than other professions,” the KFTA stated, according to machine translations. “Attempts to sexualize children in the name of creativity and artistic originality can never be justified.”
The statement also warned that the drama would damage the reputation of educators and erode the trust between teachers, students, and their parents.
Originally published between 2015 and 2020, The Elementary School Student I Love won an award at Lezhin Comics‘ 2014 World Comics Contest, though the series has faced criticism since its release.
Meta New Line initially planned to produce the adaptation, with Jung Sung-hyun directing and Jung Se-hyuk writing the script. However, in response to growing criticism, the production team canceled the project. Additionally, Naver, KakaoPage, and Ridibooks have pulled the webcomic from their platforms.
Source: Korea Herald and Naver
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