Toxic kitchens, growing work-related illnesses made them walk out, workers say
School cooks and other nonregular school staff began a nationwide walkout last week, calling for improved wages, pay during school breaks and better welfare.
But the workers say these demands, while important, only skim the surface of what pushed thousands to walk out of Korea’s schools.
The school staff strike has been sparked by a deeper crisis, they say — one shaped by toxic working environments that treat the workers responsible for feeding Korea’s children as second-class citizens.
The workers say they have suffered years of breathing carcinogenic fumes, fainting in overheated kitchens, returning to work with lingering injuries and watching coworkers fall ill, sometimes fatally.
They cite the case of a Seoul school cafeteria worker in her 50s, who learned she had lung cancer in 2023 after a CT scan. Doctors suggested it was caused by cooking fumes generated during frying and high-heat food preparation.
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