"My Teaching Was Insufficient"—A Father’s Sincere Letter of Apology Resolves Noise Dispute Between Floors [Warm Moments]

[The Financial News] As conflicts over noise between floors continue to emerge as a social issue, the story of a father who resolved both his children’s education and the noise problem by writing a personal letter of apology has drawn attention.

Mr. A, the protagonist of the story, shared his experience on March 25 on the online community Bobaedream, writing, "I’ve seen many posts about noise between floors, so I’d like to share my own story from last year."
Mr. A, who described himself as a self-employed small business owner, explained that he was often away from home on weekends due to work.
On March 3 last year, while working at his store, Mr. A received a call from his children. At the time, his daughter was in fifth grade and his son was in first grade. They told him that the grandmother living downstairs had come up to complain about the noise.
Mr. A stated, "I tried to educate my children and had them wear noise-reducing slippers, but kids will be kids—they probably jumped on the sofa and made noise. While things might have been different when my wife and I were home, I realized that when the kids were alone, there was a good chance they were at fault, even if I didn’t see it myself."
Mr. A explained, "Teaching children is important, but I thought they would be more careful if they experienced the consequences themselves." After receiving the call, he rushed home and wrote a letter of apology in front of his children.
He said, "Since I failed to teach them properly, it was right for me to write the letter of apology. I also showed my children that their father was writing it because of their mistake. I had them write their own apologies by hand so they could understand their wrongdoing. Although I could have apologized to the neighbor alone, I believed it was important for the children to apologize themselves."

Afterward, Mr. A brought some food and the letter of apology written with his children to the neighbor downstairs. In the letter, he wrote, "I rushed home after receiving my children’s call, but you weren’t there, so I am expressing my apologies in writing. My wife and I work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, including holidays, so we have not been able to supervise our children closely. We have tried to teach them to be careful, but my guidance was insufficient. If this happens again, please contact me immediately," and included his business card. At the end of the letter, both children wrote, "We are sorry. We will be quiet."
Mr. A shared, "It’s been nearly two years since then, and we have had no major issues. The children are more careful now, and the grandmother downstairs even called to encourage us, saying, ‘Please don’t scold the children too much.’" He described the positive impact the letter of apology had.

bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter