WARNING: Video below contains images some may find graphic and upsetting. Viewer discretion advised.
SEOUL – A video of a teacher abusing a child at daycare is causing an uproar in South Korea.
Police said this toddler in a South Korean nursery is being forced to eat Kimchi, a tradition dish of fermented cabbage.
But she is unable to eat it; she spits it out and the teacher then slaps her so hard she flies to the ground.
Staying still for a couple of seconds, the girl then picks up her spoon.
Other children seen in this surveillance video watch motionless.
The teacher was questioned by police and detained Thursday.
They told CNN they fear this is not an isolated case at this nursery one hour west of Seoul.
They said, since the investigation started Monday, they have found four more credible reports of violence.
Mothers in the area are taking it in turns to stand vigil outside the nursery with a sign saying “no to violence against children, no to child abuse.”
This mother said, “I don’t send my child to nursery but this is not someone else’s problem, we all have to fight together.”
A sign of apology is on the door of the now-closed nursery and tears from the head teacher.
She said, “We sincerely apologize to the children the parents and the people.”
Neither the teacher nor head have been officially identified but horrified citizens have outed them online, publishing their names, photos and mobile numbers.
Not surprisingly their phones are switched off.
A similar case in the same area was caught on camera in December according to South Korean media.
YTN reports a teacher threw a child onto the ground for not taking a nap at a nursery.
That incident is still under investigation.
Two cases in as many months have some parents worried although official figures show less than 3 percent of all child abuse cases happened within a nursery in 2013.
But shock and outrage online is growing with some asking how many more cases go unreported.
By Paula Hancocks for CNN
