Should parents flaunt their children’s college achievements?

August 29, 2024

SEOUL – In South Korea, where getting into a top college is often seen as the golden ticket to success, a simple bumper sticker bearing an elite school’s logo has ignited a fiery debate.

The debate centers around the nation’s undisputed top school, Seoul National University, and its “proud parent” bumper stickers distributed to parents of its students.

An online post criticizing the SNU stickers as elitist quickly went viral, amassing millions of views and sparking heated discussions across social media platforms.

The backlash snowballed Monday when a civic group filed a formal complaint with the National Human Rights Commission. The group argued that the stickers exacerbate college-based discrimination, a longstanding issue in South Korea.

An official from the Seoul National University Foundation, the school’s fundraising arm behind the initiative, told The Korea Herald that the distribution began last December to promote donor relations and improve communication with parents. Free merchandise was handed out to parents who confirmed their credentials, with approximately 2,100 parents receiving the stickers ever since.

“Things quickly spiraled out of control,” the official said.

As of Aug. 20, following an internal review, the university had halted the distribution of the stickers.

“What’s all the fuss?”

Even amid the controversy, the allure of these stickers seems to live on for some parents. “Just today, we had parents calling in to ask if they could get the stickers after seeing it on the news,” the SNU official said.

This enthusiasm echoes deeply ingrained cultural values in South Korea, where a child’s academic achievements are often viewed as a collective effort, with parents making significant