[NPR] The all-work, no-play culture of S. Korean education

Senior students of a girls’ high school in Seoul take a trial examination in preparation for November’s College Scholastic Ability Test on June 12, 2014. (Yonhap)

[NPR.ORG]

In South Korea, grim stories of teen suicide come at a regular clip. Recently, two 16-year-old girls in the city of Daejeon jumped to their deaths, leaving a note saying, “We hate school.”

It’s just one tragedy in a country where suicide is the leading cause of death among teens, and 11- to 15-year-olds report the highest amount of stress out of 30 developed nations.

A relentless focus on education and exams is often to blame. For a typical high school student, the official school day may end at 4 p.m., but can drag on for grueling hours at private cram institutes or in-school study hall, often not wrapping up until 11 p.m.

“Every high school, they do this,” high school juniors Han Jae-kyung and Yoon Seo-yoon tell NPR.

The 14-hour days in classrooms reflects South Korean society’s powerful focus on educational achievement.

[READ MORE]

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2 Comments

1. Edward

   April 17, 2015 at 7:54 AM

   The advantage is that Korean kids are too busy to engage in any shenanigans, contributing to Korea’s lowest in the OECD teen pregnancy rate. The U.S., England and Australia? The OECD’s highest pregnancy rates.

   Reply
2. assignment writing service

   December 20, 2017 at 5:21 AM

   The greater part of Koreans inspected for tests, in light of the way that by far most of the understudies’ conclusive destinations are path into exceptional school and finding an amazing position. In like manner, various Korean understudies don’t appreciate what they are incredible at what they should be. So when I was in optional school, I expected to go to class at a youthful hour toward the beginning of the day and retreat to home late amid the night.

   Reply