So, this made it to my Facebook feed a month or so back. It's a video made by a Korean-American student...he's young...maybe middle-school aged....and he (rather harshly) criticized the Korean education system. Of course, this went viral with all the foreign teachers I know, because they all seem to think that this kid is spot-on. So, some things he mentions are absolutely correct...the girl that only gets 4 hours of sleep a night is definitely being abused. But, to say that Korean students have all individualism and creativity squashed out of them, is not entirely correct. This is a point a lot of foreign teachers seem to agree on, but I am in the minority on this one. I feel (in my case at any rate) that my students are extremely clever and creative....they don't have quite the individualism that us Westerners are used to, which, in my opinion, leads to the misconception that Korean students are not creative and individuals, but robots churned out by the Korean education system. I think that this is entirely an ethnocentric perspective on what "creativity" and "individualism" are supposed to be.
The link to the video:
http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/12/16/student-creates-youtube-takedown-of-south-korean-education-system/
As hard as the video is to swallow...whether you agree or disagree. The system appears to work. Korea consistently tops in international testing standards. The BBC, wrote on it a while back:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30510758
So, it's hard to balance the two perspectives. A lot of foreign teachers point out the negative statistics and cite their students being tired/unhappy/etc. It's something that is talked about nearly constantly (and, I'm sorry to say, it's hard for me to take seriously...few fundamental education students WANT to be there and WANT to study...let's face it 5 to 18 year olds are notoriously self-indulgent. How many of you WANTED to go to school as a child?) Even some Korean teachers tell me they feel sorry for students having to be in school so long. So, let's look at that.
It's a well-known fact that students go to school all day...then after school until 10 pm or later...then have to complete homework. The basic school day (for me, and for this blog we will assume that it's the normal schedule) runs from 8:30 to 4:30...not too much longer than American schools. Let's throw in that they get a 10 minute break between classes and an hour for lunch. In my (American) high school it was 5 minutes between classes and 25 minutes for lunch. So, right there they could take at least an hour off of their school day.
So, hagwons and after school classes. Well, those are extra...and not every student participates. I think the statistic was 75% of Korean students attend after school or hagwon classes. I'll say it again: They are extra....they are extra time, money, and work. Yes. And honestly, I can't say that they give students an edge.
I know it sucks if you are a student who goes to school all day and then your parents decide you need to attend after school classes as well. And 75% of the student population is a startling high percentage of students that have to endure...and those that don't make the student suicide rate seem shockingly high. But for me, I would like to look at these statistics in terms of other things: like, rate of juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, drug usage, etc. I just don't think we can make a true assessment of the merits and deficiencies of the Korean education system until there is true, in-depth research done on ALL related elements.
All of that to say this: Let's lay off judgement of the Korean education system without a FULL analysis of both the system and its results. But more importantly, let's not make a judgement if the system because it is not the Western system and that students don't seem to fit Western standards (of whatever you are judging, be it individualism, creativity, happiness, etc.)
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