Enacted and promulgated by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education in May 2010, the Students’ Rights Charter came into force in March 2011. But the disputes and debates about the Charter are still raging one semester later. In the middle of this controversy, voters in Seoul have launched an initiative to enact their own charter, and this movement is spreading to other regions including Gangwon-do and Jeolla-do. This film traces one semester of a first-year class in Heungdeok High School in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do. In the morning, the principal greets students at the school gate. Classes are somewhat distracted but free at the same time – some students doze off to sleep at their desks or enjoy other distractions, but teachers do not scold them nor inflict corporal punishment. When teachers think that counseling is not enough to share their feelings with students, they climb Jiri Mountain with them. The idea that guaranteeing students’ rights would damage teachers’ authority and eventually inhibit the students’ right to learn is a huge obstacle to establishing the Students’ Rights Charter. Following the school life of students and teachers of Heungdeok High School for one semester, A New School shows that it is never easy for them to respect, understand and share feelings with each other. We end up wondering if teachers and students can interact as true subjects in education despite the centuries-old Confucian traditions. Anyway, the change has started. (PARK Hye-mi)

※ Funded by DMZ Docs Issue 2010​