The · Korean · Courier

Hello there--

It's been a while, but naturally as I get accustomed to this way of life, certain aspects don't seem that noteworthy... I forget that a simple walk through my neighborhood might interest some of you.

Anyway, I had a riveting and very educational discussion with some of my students the other day. They related to me the dilemma of education in Korea-- why the students spend as much as 14 hours a day in class, why they all go to private academies after their public schooling, why they also have piano class, and dance lessons, and not to mention, extra English class.

I had brought in an article about Happiness and asked my class-- a healthy mix of middle-aged business men, one 23 year-old girl, one kid who spends all day studying language, and a woman who's a casino dealer-- if they thought most people in Korea were happy. Their answer surprised me somewhat: Almost all of them agreed that Koreans were actually unhappy, on the whole.

Now, I'm not one of these teachers who brings in articles in order to open the students' eyes or help them view things in a different light. Perhaps I was when I first arrived, but now I just want some good, natural conversation. Therefore, I get uncomfortable when the discussion descends into a critique of the nation's societal problems, and though I thought about steering this particular discussion in another direction, the prospect of such rich information about how this society works kept me from doing so.

Here's the breakdown: Students, from age 4 or 5, go to private academies to learn. In fact, almost every child attends a private academy, even if the parents have trouble affording it. By the time the child is old enough to attend public school, they already have a basic knowledge of the Korean language and perhaps very low level math.

Therefore, public schools do not even teach the Korean language-- teachers expect their students to already know it. So, the teachers start teaching at a higher level than normal because the students have already attended school for a couple of years. But, even after the student starts attending public school, he/she will go to their private academy for 4 or 5 hours after regular school. Private academies focus on certain things like language (English and Korean), music, math, and science. They basically teach the same subjects as regular school, but go a little more in depth. So, the students go to public school for 7 hours, and then to private academy for 5 hours. The rest of their day is spent studying and doing homework.

This leaves very little time for hobbies or playing with friends, especially if the parents have the children signed up for music class and/or dance and/or extra English.

The students aren't happy because they have to study so much. The parents aren't happy because they have to pay so much for school, which means they have to work longer hours, which means they have no time to spend with their families, especially if they go out for drinks after work (which they are expected to do almost 3 or 4 days a week).

so the big question is, obviously, why are children in school so much of the time? The answer, obviously, is to get into a good university. And why do they want to get into a good university? Because they want a good job. A really good job.

You see, everybody in Korea, and I do mean EVERYBODY, is looking to work at a "good" company. And the number of companies that qualify as good is about 10. Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but compared to the number of people looking for jobs, the available good jobs are in low supply.

Therefore, the competition level keeps increasing. Low Supply = Large Demand = crazy competition. Parents are putting their children in more and more school in order to compete with everyone else's child. Tuition fees keep rising for schools as well. So, parents are spending more and more money, more and more time, and more and more stress trying to secure a good life for their children.

Added to that fact that Koreans really care about image. So, if your neighbor's child is taking piano lessons, your child has to take them as well. If your neighbor's child is getting good grades, your child has to get better.

Somewhere, happiness was forgotten. Take this graph, for example....

Studying-----> Good Grades-----> Good University------> Good Job-------> Money------> Happiness


Now, if we increase the studying ------------------->

Then the grades will be better-------------------->

You'll be more likely to get into a good university----------------------->

You'll have a better job -------------------------->

You'll earn more money --------------------------->

And you'll be happier, right? -----

NO. Sorry, just doesn't work that way. As well all know, happiness comes from within.

The ironic thing is that, even if the students study more, it doesn't mean they're learning more. They're just spending more and more time in class. Motivation, like happiness, also has to come from within.

And it turns out that the students who study the most say they're the least happy.

But I can't say I blame anyone. That's just the way Korean society is structured. It's hard to rise above it, and I think we're all products of our environment. A good university in Korea is sooo hard to get into, and getting a good job in Korea is more likely if you go to a good university. So, what do you expect? People are going to make their children study hard.

But a change is gonna come. It's got to. There are so many college graduates in Korea these days without jobs and living with their parents. They don't want an inferior job because they worked so hard all their life to insure that they would get a good one. And they don't. Sometime soon, people are just going to have to take the smaller job. And then they'll discover that it's really not that bad and that life is acceptable without tons of money and nice houses and fast cars.

who knows... perhaps they'll even be happy.