'Yacha rules' in Korea: Students film, sell videos of forced fights amid record school violence

In Korea, school violence reported by elementary students reached a record 5.7 percent, while the overall rate across elementary, middle and high schools hit 2.9 percent, the highest since the survey began in 2013. The Ministry of Education and 16 regional education offices said serious forms such as forced fights and so-called yacha rules are becoming more common. The ministry also said it will tighten cooperation and response procedures after an August alert with the National Police Agency.

The 2026 first-round survey covered about 3.9 million students in the fourth through 12th grades, and about 3.19 million students, or 81.9 percent, took part.

The overall reported school violence rate rose by 0.4 percentage points from last year, and the rate has climbed for six consecutive years after falling to 0.9 percent in 2020 during the COVID-19 suspension of in-person classes.

Elementary school students reported the highest violence rate at 5.7 percent, followed by middle school students at 2.3 percent and high school students at 0.8 percent.

Verbal harassment was the most common form of abuse at 37.8 percent, followed by group bullying at 17.1 percent, physical violence at 15.7 percent and cyberviolence at 7 percent.

The share of students admitting to bullying others fell to 0.8 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from last year, and the top reason given was as a prank or for no particular reason at 30.6 percent.

Published Sep 10, 2026 3:51 pm KST

Authorities say students coercing weaker peers into violent altercations

An image generated by Grok

In Korea, the share of elementary school students reporting school violence reached a record 5.7 percent. The overall rate of reported school violence across elementary, middle and high schools hit 2.9 percent, the highest level since the survey began.

Educators are increasingly concerned as serious forms of school violence, such as the so-called "yacha rules" and forced fights, become more frequent.

The Ministry of Education and 16 regional education offices announced Wednesday the results of the 2026 first-round survey on school violence, which covered approximately 3.9 million students in the fourth through 12th grades. The ministry conducted the online survey covering all eligible students over four weeks starting in April, with approximately 3.19 million, or 81.9 percent, participating.

The overall share of students reporting school violence stood at 2.9 percent, up 0.4 percentage points from the first-round survey last year. This marks the highest level since the education ministry began surveying all eligible students in 2013. After dropping to 0.9 percent in 2020 due to the suspension of in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the reported rate has climbed for six consecutive years — 1.1 percent in 2021, 1.7 percent in 2022, 1.9 percent in 2023, 2.1 percent in 2024 and 2.5 percent in 2025.

Elementary school students reported the highest rate at 5.7 percent, followed by middle school students at 2.3 percent and high school students at 0.8 percent. Every school level recorded an increase of between 0.1 and 0.7 percentage points, with elementary school students reaching their highest level since 2013.

Verbal harassment was the most prevalent form of abuse at 37.8 percent. Group bullying followed at 17.1 percent, physical violence at 15.7 percent and cyberviolence at 7 percent. Verbal harassment accounted for the highest share at every school level.

A chart generated by Gemini

What are 'yacha rules'?

The education ministry highlighted emerging forms of school violence, noting that forced fights and so-called "yacha rules" are becoming more frequent.

So-called "yacha rules" originally referred to bare-knuckle fights conducted under a code of silence, an agreement not to involve police. Recently, physically stronger students have forced weaker peers into such fights at school, filming the altercations to post them online or sell them for money. An education ministry official said the conduct constitutes physical violence and can involve coercion, adding that distributing the footage qualifies as cyberviolence.

"We will strengthen cooperation with regional education offices to ensure that such cases are reviewed rigorously and appropriate action is taken," the official said.

The education ministry and the National Police Agency issued an alert in August over "yacha rules" as an emerging form of violence. The National Police Agency plans to provide prevention education through school police officers, while the education ministry will work with the Korea Media and Communications Commission to improve relevant procedures to respond quickly when school violence videos spread online.

Students holding signs with anti-school violence slogans greet classmates arriving at the gate of Aju Elementary School in Songpa District, Seoul, Aug. 25. Newsis

Pulling a 'prank' leading reason for bullying

In contrast to the rising share of students reporting abuse, the share of students who admitted to bullying others stood at 0.8 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from last year. When asked for the most common reason for committing school violence, "as a prank or for no particular reason" ranked first at 30.6 percent, followed by "because the other student picked on me first" at 21.7 percent and "because of a misunderstanding or disagreement with the other student" at 12.6 percent.

During a prior roundtable on school violence organized by the education ministry, participants said that incidents starting as pranks frequently escalate into violence. They added that victims and perpetrators often view the same conduct differently throughout this process.

Seong Yun-sook, a senior research fellow at the National Youth Policy Institute who analyzed the survey, said that as young people spend more time using digital devices in daily life, they lack adequate opportunities to build direct, face-to-face relationships, which may weaken their ability to empathize with others.

"The increase is the combined result of peer conflicts evolving into school violence due to this dynamic, and growing sensitivity toward the issue among students and parents," Seong said.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

在韩国，小学生报告的校园暴力事件比例达到创纪录的5.7%，而小学、初中和高中的总体暴力事件发生率也达到2.9%，为2013年该项调查开始以来的最高水平。韩国教育部和16个地方教育厅表示，强迫打架和所谓的“禁酒令”等严重形式的校园暴力事件正变得越来越普遍。教育部还表示，在8月份与国家警察厅发出警报后，将加强合作和应对措施。

2026 年第一轮调查涵盖了 390 万名四至十二年级的学生，其中约有 319 万名学生（占 81.9%）参与了调查。

总体报告的校园暴力发生率比去年上升了 0.4 个百分点，自 2020 年因 COVID-19 疫情暂停面授课程而降至 0.9% 以来，该比率已连续六年攀升。

小学生报告的暴力犯罪率最高，为 5.7%，其次是初中生，为 2.3%，高中生为 0.8%。

言语骚扰是最常见的虐待形式，占 37.8%，其次是群体欺凌，占 17.1%，身体暴力占 15.7%，网络暴力占 7%。

承认欺凌他人的学生比例下降至 0.8%，比去年下降了 0.3 个百分点，其中最常见的原因是出于恶作剧或没有特定原因，占比 30.6%。

发布于2026年9月10日下午3:51（韩国标准时间）

当局称，有学生胁迫弱势同伴发生暴力冲突。

由 Grok 生成的图像

在韩国，报告校园暴力事件的小学生比例达到创纪录的5.7%。小学、初中和高中校园暴力事件的总体报告率达到2.9%，为该调查开始以来的最高水平。

随着所谓的“yacha规则”和强迫打架等严重形式的校园暴力事件日益频繁，教育工作者越来越感到担忧。

教育部和16个地区教育局周三公布了2026年第一轮校园暴力调查结果，该调查涵盖了约390万名四至十二年级的学生。教育部于4月开始，历时四周，对所有符合条件的学生进行了在线调查，约有319万名学生参与，参与率达81.9%。

报告校园暴力事件的学生总体比例为2.9%，比去年第一轮调查结果上升了0.4个百分点。这是自教育部2013年开始对所有符合条件的学生进行调查以来的最高水平。由于新冠疫情期间暂停线下授课，该比例在2020年降至0.9%，但此后连续六年攀升——2021年为1.1%，2022年为1.7%，2023年为1.9%，2024年为2.1%，2025年为2.5%。

小学生感染率最高，为5.7%，其次是初中生，为2.3%，高中生为0.8%。各学段的感染率均上升了0.1至0.7个百分点，其中小学生感染率达到了自2013年以来的最高水平。

言语骚扰是最常见的欺凌形式，占比37.8%。其次是群体欺凌（17.1%）、肢体暴力（15.7%）和网络暴力（7%）。在所有学校阶段，言语骚扰所占比例都最高。

由 Gemini 生成的图表

什么是“yacha规则”？

教育部强调了校园暴力的新形式，指出强迫打架和所谓的“yacha规则”越来越频繁。

所谓的“雅查规则”最初指的是在不报警的默契下进行的赤手空拳的打架。最近，一些体格强壮的学生在学校里强迫体弱的同学进行此类打架，并将打斗过程拍摄下来上传到网上或出售牟利。一位教育部官员表示，这种行为构成肢体暴力，可能涉及胁迫，并补充说，传播这些视频属于网络暴力。

“我们将加强与地区教育部门的合作，以确保此类案件得到严格审查并采取适当行动，”该官员表示。

今年8月，韩国教育部和国家警察厅联合发布警报，指出“校园暴力规则”是一种新兴的暴力形式。国家警察厅计划通过学校警察开展预防教育，而教育部将与韩国媒体传播委员会合作，完善相关程序，以便在校园暴力视频在网上传播时能够迅速做出反应。

8月25日，在首尔松坡区阿州小学，学生们手持反校园暴力标语，在校门口迎接同学。（Newsis）

恶作剧是校园霸凌的主要原因之一

与报告遭受虐待的学生比例上升形成鲜明对比的是，承认欺凌他人的学生比例为0.8%，比去年下降了0.3个百分点。当被问及实施校园暴力的最常见原因时，“恶作剧或无缘无故”以30.6%的比例位居榜首，其次是“因为其他学生先欺负我”，占比21.7%，以及“因为与另一名学生存在误会或分歧”，占比12.6%。

在教育部此前组织的一次关于校园暴力的圆桌会议上，与会者指出，以恶作剧为开端的事件往往会升级为暴力事件。他们还补充说，在这个过程中，受害者和施暴者对同一行为的看法往往截然不同。

韩国国家青年政策研究所高级研究员成允淑分析了这项调查，她表示，随着年轻人日常生活中越来越多地使用电子设备，他们缺乏建立直接、面对面关系的足够机会，这可能会削弱他们与他人共情的能力。

Seong表示：“这种增长是同伴冲突演变为校园暴力，以及学生和家长对这一问题日益敏感的综合结果。”

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。