Korean Job Discussion Forums

fakeplastiktree · Joined: 15 Oct 2007 Location: Northeast Seoul

I've only been in Korea for two months now. I cannot get over how seemingly cruel the education system is here. I'm not talking specifically about public education but rather education, in general. I work at a hagwon. My poor students go to school six to seven days a week, at 2-5 different academies. On Friday nights, they do homework. On Saturdays, they study. The director of my school tried to rope me into working on Buddha's Birthday. Why? They're going to give the students a "special treat": a two-hour test on a national holiday, a week after the students write their midterms at Korean school. I've been told to give my students oodles of homework but I just can't bring myself to do it. I feel sorry for them! It seems like their entire childhood is spent in the classroom.

tommy77 · Joined: 26 Mar 2008

Yes, I know how you feel. Obviously there is not much we can do about the students overall workload. All I do is to try and make my lessons as fun as possible and give little or no homework. I tend to make my tests really easy and we practice for them in advance.

I don't think Koreans appreciate the concept of diminishing returns. It's impossible to study efficiently for 10 or more hours a day.

Gamecock · Joined: 26 Nov 2003

Just wait until summer vacation and you see how much fun the kids have then!!!

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Don't feel too bad for them. Many aren't really studying that hard. I also think it's better than the alternative. A bunch of teenage kids bored and hanging around the streets/PC bang all night and weekend.

Scotticus · Joined: 18 Mar 2007

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

flummuxt · Joined: 15 Mar 2007

Sometimes I feel like Korea's educational system is turning out mindless automatons.

Other times I feel like it is a gilded baby sitting service to keep their kids out of the (working) parents' hair.

Either way, I don't think many of them know how to think creatively or think critically. They seem to just be shoving stuff into their heads.

tommy77 · Joined: 26 Mar 2008

First I have been told Korea has the highest suicide rate in Asia for young people. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Its clear that the quality of Korean education is horrific. Students are only asked to regurgitate what is supposedly learnt and not to apply it in any meaningful way.

flummuxt · Joined: 15 Mar 2007

I wouldn't go so far as to say it is "horrific."

And is attending a hagwon after school really necessary to do well? It seems to me that if a student applied himself, he could learn the material on his own, without having extra tutoring. Surely some kids do this?

But what I would really like to know is whether there are any public or private schools in Korea that take a different approach, what in the States would be called "alternative schools?"

Are there schools in Korea that use other approaches, and that encourage kids to ask questions, think critically, and pursue subjects and avenues they find of special interest?

fakeplastiktree · Joined: 15 Oct 2007 Location: Northeast Seoul

anyway · Joined: 22 Oct 2005

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

Broken families, abusive parents, schoolyard bullying, untreated mental illness, etc.
I imagine excessive study is pretty low on the list of things that push Korean young people over the edge.

teachteach · Joined: 26 Mar 2008

You guys are all wrong. The system is not cruel. They are actually lucky. They have their whole life, 2-18 years old, catered to them. Teachers cater to them, the buses cater to them, the hagwon teachers cater to them, parents cater to them.
When I was young, I really enjoyed studying, and it would have been nice to have a place to go after school and study some more.
When I was growing up in Africa before I moved to Canada, (not South Africa) there were many kids who couldn't get through elementary school because they had to pay school fees that their parents could make. Any one of them would have jumped through any hoop to have the chance that Korean kids have to study study and study some more.
If I could change one thing about the system it would be to make it more efficient, so that they can get double their education in the 15 hours without really 'feeling' it.
Unfortunally, sometimes I feel like I am alone in my views because I was one of the few Uni grads who actually did any work in Uni.

flummuxt · Joined: 15 Mar 2007

teachteach

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

What are you talking about? Most towns here do have public libraries. Maybe you live in one of the really small villages, then they might have to travel to the main town in their county to get access to a public library.