New interpersonal norms designed to counteract school bullying. The Character Education Promotion Act of 2015 in South Korea

This article focuses on the Character Education Promotion Act established in 2015 in South Korea, a topic rarely discussed at the international level. It examines how training and education on personality and character emerged within the national curriculum as a means to counteract school bullying.

It examines the law itself and explores its legislative process which provoked conflict and severe criticism in society beyond the exceptional result of the vote for its adoption which was unanimously passed at the National Assembly. Using ethnographic methods in 2016, the paper then demonstrates that character education programs, promoted by this law, are combined with careers guidance. The implications of using character education in practice do not align with the initial purpose of the law but relate to the development of certain neoliberal qualities as human resources, considered as essential in the era of globalization.