My friend and I recorded a conversation about each other’s favorite Korean dramas and movies. Since I was talking to someone with proficient hangul skills, I was able to advance immediately to the subject at hand.
I started the conversation by asking her about her favorite Korean drama. She answered hesitantly because she had an extensive list of shows that she watched. I told her that she used to love this Korean drama called “Sky Castle”, and she agreed. She said that she likes the drama because it sheds light on the rigid education system in Korea.
“Sky Castle” is a satirical soap opera about a community of wealthy doctors, professors, and lawyers that ruthlessly secure the success of their families by making their children attend the top universities in Korea. While the drama exaggerates the culture of education in Korea, it sheds some light about the difficulties of entering some of the top universities. In order to even enroll in the top universities, students must achieve excellent grades at school and high scores for Suneung, which is a national graduation test that asks all the contents students learned in high school. This is no easy feat.
Students prepare for Suneung during their early years of high school, attending additional study sessions on top of their regular school hours. From an early age, they are conditioned to believe that exams are both objective and reliable for assessing a person’s capabilities. This belief stems from Korea’s commitment to education during its developmental period. One of the main reasons that Korea was able to rise and compete globally is because highly educated individuals were at the forefront of economic development and innovation. However, overemphasis on education and examinations has their drawbacks. First, students’ social lives and mental health are affected due to extreme pressures from society to pass the Suneung. Second, students are conditioned to believe that examinations are the center of their lives. According to an article I read online, most young Koreans are disillusioned when they realize that the real world is not a multiple-choice exam and that most of the problems in the world are morally, financially, and technologically ambiguous.
This conversation compelled me to research further about Suneung and create possible solutions for the future. First, Korea has to reduce their emphasis on standardized testing as this will relieve pressure from the youth. This will allow them to allocate their time into extracurricular activities that build their leadership skills and other technical capabilities that involve activities such as sports. Second, the country should allow students to change their majors in college. This will relieve the burden of committing to an area of study that students are no longer motivated to succeed.
Comments
This is great, Jae Wan! Thanks for posting.