South Korean parents are increasingly turning to "uncle service" providers to make sure their children don't have to put up with bullying in schools. Such services are apparently a pricey but efficient alternative to having schools handle the matter.
为了让孩子免受校园欺凌,越来越多的韩国父母选择给孩子租个“叔叔”。相对于让学校来解决校园欺凌问题,这种服务虽然价格不菲,但效率更高。
Earlier this month, Korean media reported on the growing business of leasing intimidating uncles to either protect children from bullies, gather evidence of bullying for filing an official complaint with the school, or even contacting the bully's parents at their workplace.
本月早些时候,韩国媒体报道称,出租剽悍叔叔的业务日渐增长,这些叔叔可以保护孩子不受同学欺凌、收集欺凌证据用来向学校投诉,甚至可以到欺凌者家长的工作单位去找他们。
Most companies offer different packages to meet clients' needs, and business is reportedly booming. But while many South Koreans view this type of service in a positive light, there are those who see it as simply answering bullying with another type of bullying.
大部分公司针对顾客的需求推出各种套餐,据说生意相当红火。尽管许多韩国人都对这种服务表示赞成,但也有一些人认为这只是另一种形式的欺凌,以暴制暴。
According to a recent report by South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, "uncle services" are becoming popular all over the Asian country.
韩国的《朝鲜日报》最近报道,“叔叔服务”在韩国各地越来越受欢迎。
For example, a company in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul is offering concerned parents the Uncle Package, which basically consists of hiring intimidating-looking men in their 30s and 40s to accompany their children to and from school every day for two weeks, pose as their uncle and give a stern warning to bullies to stop picking on them. This service is priced at 500,000 KRW per day.
首尔永登浦区的一家公司向忧心的家长提供的“叔叔套餐”中,包括雇佣三四十岁、长相彪悍的男性连续两周每天以叔叔的身份陪同孩子上下学,并严厉警告欺凌者不要再欺负人。这一服务的价格为每天50万韩元。
Another company in the Guro-gu district of Seoul offers a different solution to school bullying. It offers an "Evidence Package", where its employees will try their hardest to gather evidence of the bully's activities to be presented before the school board in a formal complaint.
位于首尔九老区的另一家公司针对校园欺凌提出了另一种解决方案。他们提供的是“证据套餐”,员工会尽力搜集欺凌活动的证据,然后以正式投诉信的形式提交给学校董事会。
The idea is that this evidence will help the parents demand a quick and smooth solution to the problem, without having to wait for a long internal investigation. This package reportedly costs 400,000 KRW.
他们认为,证据能帮助父母要求校方快速顺利地解决问题,而不用等待漫长的内部调查。据报道,这一套餐的定价为40万韩元。
Perhaps the most impressive and most expensive anti-bullying service is offered by a company in Anseong city. Their package involves contacting the bully's parents at their workplace, showing them photos of their child's victim, and asking them to ensure that the bullying stops.
安城市的这家公司提供的服务大概是最让人印象深刻也最贵的反欺凌服务。他们的套餐包括在欺凌者父母的工作单位与其见面,给他们看被欺凌孩子的照片,并请他们一定要制止自家孩子的欺凌行为。
If the parents choose not to cooperate, the hired "uncles" will stand in front of their workplace or in their company's lobby shouting "The parent of a bully works here".
如果欺凌者家长拒绝合作,那么被雇来的“叔叔”就会站在他们的工作单位大门前或大厅内,大喊“欺凌者的父母就在这里工作”。
The Anseong-based company admits that the victim's parents could confront the bully's parents themselves, but adds that such meeting often result in the parents fighting each other.
安城市的这家公司承认,受害者的家长也可以自己约见欺凌者的家长,但这种会面的结果通常是双方父母彼此争吵打斗。
To avoid this unnecessary violence, clients can just pay 2 million KRW for 4 visits by the anti-bullying company's employees.
为了避免这种不必要的暴力,客户花200万韩元就能聘请反欺凌公司的员工同欺凌者家长会面四次。
Parents reportedly argue that such anti-bullying services are better than waiting for schools to resolve bullying incidents. Because teachers, parents, lawyers and other outside experts must all coordinate in order to attend special school meetings in cases of alleged bullying, resolutions often take too long.
据报道,一些父母表示,这种反欺凌服务比等待学校解决欺凌事件更好。因为在发生校园欺凌事件时,老师、家长、律师和其他校外专家都要约齐了,才能召开特别的学校会议,所以问题通常要拖很久才能得到解决。
At the same time, some experts claim that parents taking matters into their own hands isn't ideal either.
与此同时,一些专家称,家长自己出手解决校园欺凌问题也不理想。
"Private sanction is just another form of violence. School violence needs to be resolved by improving the system," said Kim Yoon Tae, a professor at Korea University.
高丽大学的金允泰教授说:“私下制裁不过是另一种形式的暴力。校园暴力需要通过改进教育系统来解决。”