The South Korean system post high school is inarguably flawed. From archaic practices such as forced military conscription for 2 years to a very patriarchal overarching system, there are many issues. To see a proper debate on the subjects see here. Despite post-secondary education being inherently flawed, South Korea still ranks at the top of the education system hierarchy along with Finland, but the systems are extremely different(Source).
The Korean public education structure is divided into three parts: six years of primary school, followed by three years of middle school and then three years of high school. The primary curriculum consists of nine principal subjects: moral education, Korean language, social studies, mathematics, science, physical education, music, fine arts, and practical arts. English-language instruction now in third grade, so that children can start learning English in a relaxed atmosphere through conversational exchange. The major objectives, as stated in a 1996 background report by the Ministry of Education, are “to improve basic abilities, skills and attitudes; to develop language ability and civic morality needed to live in society; to increase the spirit of cooperation; to foster basic arithmetic skills and scientific observation skills; and to promote the understanding of healthy life and the harmonious development of body and mind.”
In contrast too Finland, South Korea is very test heavy society, with lots of tutoring and emphasis on grades. It is a stressful society with a high suicide rate for students(source). Despite all of this South Korea still ranks high. Since the way the rankings are determined are not disclosed I will leave it up to your interpretation if this is bias for high test scores or a genuine ranking.
It is interesting to see how deep this culture for testing goes. The infamous Suneung, an abbreviation for College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in Korean, is an eight-hour marathon of back-to-back exams, which not only dictates whether the students will go to university, but can affect their job prospects, income, where they will live and even future relationships. Every year in November, Suneung brings the whole country to a standstill. Silence descends across the capital Seoul as shops are shut, banks close, even the stock market opens late. Most construction work halts, planes are grounded and military training ceases. Occasionally the stillness is broken by distant sirens – police motorbikes racing to deliver students running late to their exam.
The education culture in South Korea is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Finland but still ranks just as highly. Do you, the reader, think there is anything we can learn from the South Korean system? Is your impression positive or negative? It is certainly an extreme system, but it also produces results.
This is extremely interesting, especially how their society can function to such a high standard with those increasing social issues. In my opinion, the concept of test-taking as a major determinant of grades, university, and life is abhorrent as tests do not demonstrate mastery of a subject. The culture in South-Korea may have evolved to encompass the aspect of test-taking to be a major part of how you learn, but in the U.S., there is much backlash, especially about the mental health concerns. I think that the mental health aspect is very important and that the possible benefits of focusing on exam-preparedness should not outweigh the lives of students. I’m interested in taking a look at the required military conscription issue; I think Israel also requires this, for both men and women.
I can definitely see how the South Korean education system is much harsher than many other types of systems across the globe. I was interested to see how you noted the two year mandated military service, since I have a friend who is South Korean and does have to go into the army around his junior or senior year here at Penn State. I would hate to have my education stalled for military service, since I would graduate much later than my peers. And even if the education system ranks high in the world, with the amount of studying and overwhelming nature of tests, I am not surprised that the suicide rate is high. Personally, I would not really like this type of education, since it puts so much of a load on its students, but the level of discipline that students would have is admirable for making it through the system.
The South Korean system seems to parallel the conformist and collectivist culture of its overall society, while the Finnish systems seems to parallel the more individualistic nature of Western European society. The heavy emphasis on grades may just come down to a lack of resources (mainly funding and high-skilled jobs) and a plethora of qualified students. Overall, I don’t think we can really say whether it is good or bad; that’s something that South Koreans have to come to terms with.