A new term, “perfect attendance beggar,” has emerged in South Korea to derogatorily refer to elementary school students as ‘poor’ for consistently attending school without going on overseas trips during the semester. The term’s use among South Korean elementary students has sparked controversy, with foreign media highlighting the country’s “pressure culture.”

The father wrote, “Yesterday, my son cried, saying he was mocked by friends for being a ‘perfect attendance beggar.’ I didn’t realize it was so rare for families not to take advantage of the semester’s experiential learning opportunities.”