How 'Teach You a Lesson' inspired a real teachers' rights unit in Gyeonggi

What happened

On 13 July 2026 a teachers’ rights protection unit (교권보호단), reporting directly to the superintendent, was set up at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education. Hankook Ilbo reported that day that “the Bureau for the Protection of Teaching Authority, the fictional organisation that appears in the Netflix drama ‘Teach You a Lesson’, has become real”. The same article said that “Gyeonggi superintendent Ahn Min-seok signed the operating plan for the teachers’ rights protection unit on 13 July, during the memorial week (13-19 July) marking the third anniversary of the death in service of the Seoi Elementary School teacher”.

Ahn Min-seok is the superintendent of education for Gyeonggi Province, the province surrounding Seoul. In June 2026, while still superintendent-elect, he wrote on Facebook that he had watched Teach You a Lesson and proposed a public debate on whether the provincial office should create a Bureau for the Protection of Teaching Authority of its own. According to Hankook Ilbo, a month later, as superintendent, he signed the operating plan for the unit, and the superintendent also serves as its head.

Hankook Ilbo and The Kyunghyang Shinmun described the shape of the unit as follows.

• It is made up of a teachers’ rights 119 team and an integrated legal support team, with the superintendent as its head.
• Hankook Ilbo described it as an organisation that brings together, under direct supervision, the investigation of infringements on teachers’ rights, legal support, counselling and recovery work that had been spread across separate departments, along with direction of policy on protecting teaching activity.
• The teachers’ rights 119 team is staffed by 50 dedicated teachers’ rights protection officers (교권보호전담관) chosen through an open public call for applicants.
• The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education was the first in the country to create the dedicated officer post, and described the role as one that supports an affected teacher one to one from the start of a case through to its conclusion. Specialists such as lawyers and psychiatrists are the priority group in the call for applicants.

Why is it trending?

The show’s numbers and the administrative step arrived within two months of each other.

On 7 May 2026 Newsis reported that Teach You a Lesson would be released on 5 June, noting that “‘Teach You a Lesson’ introduces a new premise, a fictional government body called the Bureau for the Protection of Teaching Authority”. Ten days after the release, on 15 June, Hankook Ilbo reported that Ahn Min-seok, then superintendent-elect for Gyeonggi, had written on Facebook that he had “watched all 10 episodes of Netflix’s ‘Teach You a Lesson’” and said: “As superintendent-elect for Gyeonggi Province, I propose a public debate on whether the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education should create a ‘Bureau for the Protection of Teaching Authority’.” In the same article he said, “There must be a reason why so many teachers and parents are watching ‘Teach You a Lesson’,” describing the purpose as “restoring the school community so that going to school is something to look forward to, teachers are respected and parents feel at ease”, and added that he would “wait for opinions for and against”.

About a month later, on 13 July, the unit was launched.

The viewing record built up alongside it. On 29 July 2026 Herald Business reported that “‘Teach You a Lesson’ recorded a total of 60.2 million views (viewing hours divided by the title’s total runtime) in the eight weeks after its release, entering Netflix’s top 10 most popular series of all time”. The same article said it was the fourth Korean series to do so after Squid Game seasons one, two and three, which means four Korean titles now sit among the 10 most-watched non-English series on Netflix. It also reported that the show held the global number one spot for four weeks from its first week of release and swept the top 10 in 91 countries from its second week. On Netflix’s own most popular titles page, Teach You a Lesson stands at number 10 in the non-English TV category, with 65.8 million views in its first 91 days. The top three on that list are Squid Game seasons one, two and three.

What you need to know

• Teach You a Lesson is a Netflix limited series. Newsis reported the release date as 5 June 2026; an official episode count is not confirmed in the evidence. Ahn Min-seok wrote on Facebook that he had “watched all 10 episodes”.
• On 20 March 2025 Netflix announced the production and casting, describing the show as “the story of the Bureau for the Protection of Teaching Authority, created to defend teachers’ authority and the education front line in Korea from students, teachers and parents who cross the line, and of the satisfying lessons it teaches”.
• According to the same announcement, Kim Mu-yeol plays Na Hwa-jin, an inspector at the Bureau for the Protection of Teaching Authority. Lee Sung-min plays education minister Choi Kang-seok, Jin Ki-joo plays Im Han-lim, an inspector with a special forces background, and Pyo Ji-hoon plays official Bong Geun-dae. Netflix’s title page lists Kim Mu-yeol, Lee Sung-min and Jin Ki-joo in the cast.
• Netflix said the series is directed by Hong Jong-chan and written by Lee Nam-kyu. Both were named in the announcement as the production team members responsible for the show’s direction and script.
• Newsis reported that the source material is the webtoon of the same name, serialised on Naver from 2020 by 채용택 and 한가람. The two are the original creators of that webtoon, a Korean digital comic published in vertical-scroll format. Netflix said the series is “a work newly adapted and developed by borrowing the premise of the webtoon of the same name”.
• The real unit is made up of a teachers’ rights 119 team and an integrated legal support team, and the 119 team is staffed by 50 dedicated teachers’ rights protection officers chosen through an open public call for applicants.
• The Kyunghyang Shinmun described the dedicated officer role as one that supports an affected teacher one to one from the start of a case through to its conclusion, and reported that specialists such as lawyers and psychiatrists are the priority group in the call for applicants.