– Jeong Hwan and his not so easy life as a Korean student
I meet the smiling Jeong Hwan for a bite and a chat. I’m curious to know how old he is, here in Asia it’s always so difficult to guess the age of the people I meet. “I was born in Ilsan, one of the modern satellite cities around Seoul, 18 years ago for the international age … 19 for the Korean one” according to local tradition we are born with already 1 year of life, here in South Korea it is counted also the time spent in the maternal womb.
Let’s start talking a little about his life, which lately focuses mainly on studies “In Korea, we enter school around 6 years of age: 6 years of elementary school, 3 of middle school and 3 of high school. I am now in my last year of high school, a very important and decisive period as all students prepare for the university entrance test, a very difficult exam that creates a lot of stress.” From what I have been able to understand, speaking with several friends with children of his age, this test is truly a bone crusher and can heavily influence the fate of an entire life of a Korean citizen.
“I spend many hours on the books, I don’t have much time to do anything else. I chose the test for the faculty of engineering, I’m good at math, during middle school I discovered that I like programming, I find it very simple! Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about studying English … do you have any advice on how to improve my English?” He asks me, laughing. I think his level is quite good, but as often happens, especially here in Korea, people are not confident enough in their language skills.
“I go to school from 9 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, after which I continue to deepen my lessons until late at night. Usually, with friends, I go to a Study Cafe to continue my preparation. Here we can concentrate on the books and if we have any doubts we exchange information between students. Some choose to go to study in libraries, but I don’t like it because the environment is too quiet and you can’t talk. Other students go to private academies after school, but the costs are high. Some of these institutes publish video courses online, which are much cheaper than if you attend live classes. I paid for the subscription and I usually spend a lot of time watching the lectures of one of these academies on YouTube.”
“The test will be in December, in a couple of months, so it won’t be long now! It is a very difficult exam to pass, based on the score you decide which university to go to, there is a ranking and obviously, everyone wants to become part of the most important institutes, the competition is enormous! It lasts one day, from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, a written test. If you fail to pass the first year, you are deferred to the next. Usually, a student tries two or three times before giving up.” Passing the exam and joining one of the most famous universities is not only essential for the working life of a Korean, but it also determines his social position. Those who do not have a university education are often the victims of severe discrimination in the super-hierarchical Korean society. Which generates great stress and immense anxiety in both students and their families.
“Everyone wants to graduate from one of Korea’s most famous and prestigious universities, which we call SKY: Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. Unfortunately, the difference between one of these three faculties and the others is immense in our society. The companies that choose the students to hire are mainly focused on the name of the university from which they graduated. The entrance exam is really hard, you practically need to have a perfect test by answering almost 100% of the questions correctly to pass it. All this generates a great deal of stress in us, students.”
“There is often a big difference between richer students, who can afford a private academy, with teachers who prepare the best, following step by step, the children and those who cannot afford the expense. We call them the “Gangnam kids”, as this area has some of the most important and expensive of these kinds of institutes in the country where students take extra classes.” This can create some social differences based on wealth. But here it is so important to be the best and pass the entrance exam, especially with regard to the pride and prestige of a Korean family, based and focused on the name of the university attended by their children subjected to really heavy social pressures.
“I am studying a total of 8 subjects to be able to access the faculty that interests me: mathematics is very simple for me, but English creates several problems, especially when it comes to memorizing words” I understand the problem of my young friend, for me remembering the words of the Korean language creates the same difficulty.
I ask how he spends his time: “I like to relax, watching Youtube or listening and composing music. I like the EDM genre, it creates a good atmosphere that helps me to relax.
Sometimes I hang out with my friends from my area. I like to go sing in a norebang, but I don’t have much time for that lately.
I’m a happy person, but I’ve been feeling a little tired lately.” Once again I understand perfectly what you mean.
I would like to talk about his future projects, but I haven’t realized till now his young age. He smiles at me and says “It’s too early for that, I’ve never really thought about it.”
I am interested to know how he sees a better and less stressful school system “I think the difference between the various universities is too big, in my opinion, we need to level more this gap that creates this fierce competition.”
Despite the stress, Jeong Hwan is a happy boy. “I would like to study less or at least study in a more human way and not just memorize concepts for an exam. I find this type of learning does not make much sense, although I continue to commit myself I generally feel not too motivated. People are focused only on being the best and passing exams, they don’t think about what they are doing.”
I seem to feel his frustration on a human level: students are sacks to be stuffed, emptied of their soul and creativity, they become super programmed highly educated and dehumanized machines. An attempt to create the perfect citizen, the pride of a society rotten to the core. Not just in South Korea of course, but here…it’s on another level…
Welcome to the matrix!
Hoping that he doesn’t lose his smile, I wish good luck to young Jeong Hwan, a boy who is about to become a man!
