Abstract: Since the majority of high school graduates pursue higher education in South Korea, the competition is undoubtedly fierce among college bound students. It is the norm that students take 3-5 private lessons, ranging from those in mathematics to musical instruments, after school and on the weekends, in order to be ahead of the game. Consequently, few students go to school to gratify their intellectual curiosity, as they already know most of the materials covered in class. Students have become less dependent on public education, which has driven down the quality of its instruction. Then repeats a vicious cycle I examine in this article; as public education is perceived to be insufficient, students rely more on private lessons.

Thursday, November 13th: It is not a Friday, fortunately, because every high school senior in Korea will need every bit of luck. It is the day when the college examination for the year 2008 takes place. Students take College Scholastic Ability Test, or what Koreans call “Soo-neung,” which is offered only once a year. Since the majority of high school graduates pursue higher education, the competition is undoubtedly fierce. Moreover, if students fail to achieve the scores needed for their target schools, they can only re-take the exam in the next year. Many students take the exam twice, or even three to four times because they believe the name value of their desired colleges to be worth the additional years of grueling test prep at home or private institutions. According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook published by a Swiss business institution IMD, Korea’s tertiary education enrollment rate is evermore increasing, reaching 89% in the year 2007. It is even higher than the United States’ 82%, and well above Japan’s 54%.

Not surprisingly, students in Korea are taught to value education fairly early in their childhood. It is the norm that students take 3-5 private lessons, ranging from those in mathematics to musical instruments, after school and on the weekends, in order to be ahead of the game. According to Education at a Glance, a report on education of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries issued in 2008, people in Korea allocate 79% of their education spending to private education.¹ Consequently, few students go to school in order to gratify their intellectual curiosity, as they already know most of the materials covered in class. Students have become less dependent on public education, which has driven down the quality of its instruction. Then repeats a vicious cycle; as public education is perceived to be insufficient, students rely more on private lessons. Students invest much time and energy in private education, which they, or their parents to be more precise, believe is an essential means to perform well at school. Since everyone else is taking additional lessons for the same reason, it becomes a disadvantage if they do not follow the crowd.

The root of this phenomenon lies in the extremely selective college admission process. Colleges evaluate students mostly, if not solely, on their academic performances demonstrated by high school GPA’s and the college entrance examination. It may be a waste of words mentioning that students suffer from tremendous stress caused by the pressure from family members and teachers as well as peer competition. Not only high school students, but also middle school and even elementary school students dream of SKY, the acronym for the top three universities in Korea: Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University. On a side note, when the examination date approaches in November, the test takers are put in the spotlight by extensive media coverage on the examination; stores aggressively market to sell gift ideas; families pay extra attention to test takers’ needs. On exam day, people go to work late in order to prevent traffic jams for the test takers. It seems like the whole nation shares the emotional pain of the students on that particular day, which reveals much about the importance of the examination.

It is widely perceived that an admission ticket to a prestigious college is a prerequisite to a decent career. In fact, according to Korean Education Development Institute and the Ministry of Educational Science and Technology, the graduates of top tier colleges enjoy full-time employment rates 15% higher than the national average of 56.1%.² For students who had “made it,” it used to be the case that they could spend their college years “enjoying life” and compensating themselves for their past sacrifices. However, because of the 14% jump in the number of college graduates over the last 7 years, it has become increasingly difficult for them to find full-time employment. Studying abroad, taking a year or two off to gain work experience, and obtaining professional certificates are some of the common paths that Korean college students take in order to increase their competitiveness. Again, we see this trend of few students depending on resources offered at school and more students investing their time outside of their schools as they prepare for the job market.

Who is responsible for this never-ending competition and why is public education unable to cater to students’ demands and expectations? The society increasingly demands the highest standards possible, and the individuals are striving to outpace one another. It is hard to pinpoint who started this chicken-and-egg problem. Young and bright people waste their precious time under the premise of reaching the top, increasing their period of dependence on their parents. Soon enough, the increased burden of the middle-aged to support their adult children in addition to the elderly will emerge as a major issue in society. Before Korea boasts its level of higher education, she has many problems to solve.

Footnotes

1. Chile was ranked as the first, allocating 84% of their education spending in private education. The United States came as the third, spending 64.6%.
2. http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?year=2008&no=588684

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