This study employed a multilevel modeling approach to examine the factors affecting elementary school teachers’ job satisfaction. Specifically, by using data from the 2023 Gyeonggi Education Reality Survey, it examined the relative effects of teacher- and school-level factors, with focus on teachers’ experiences of human rights violations. The findings indicated that, at the teacher level, morale had the most significant positive impact on job satisfaction, while older age, gender (male), and position (a non-homeroom teacher) were also associated with higher job satisfaction. However, experiences of parental human rights violations were found to be a key factor lowering job satisfaction, followed by experiences of student human rights violations. At the school level, a democratic school culture and community engagement were identified as factors increasing job satisfaction. Conversely, relationships with students, the leadership of school principals, and efforts to create a safer school environment did not have a significant impact. Moreover, the school-level average of parental human rights violations had a negative impact on job sat isfaction, whereas this average among the students had no significant effect. Finally, there was no significant variation in the impact of teachers’ experiences of human rights violations on job satisfaction between schools. Overall, these results suggest that human rights violations are not isolated issues within specific schools, but represent structural issues across the education system. In this regard, addressing these challenges requires more comprehensive national, legal, and sociocultural interventions.