Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nicam]

So, I know the American vision of education as the way to a better life is a bit contrived, but it's a huge part of the culture no matter how disillusioned its proponents may be. My father, a European immigrant, sent me to college so I would never have to work 12 hour days, or work when I was ill, or be without ample vacation time, or benefits and/or respect (unless, of course, all this would yield a fortune of Trump-esque proportions). You know, all that good stuff a professional career is supposed to afford one (above all, humanity and the option to work from home when necessary).

But Koreans don't seem to reap any of those same benefits (or even cling sadly to the illusion of freedom from brutal peasantry) from a college degree. They work the 12 hour days for no extra pay, bringing down their hourly salary to peanuts. They get so little vacation that most of them have never left the country, let alone the continent. They are forced to work when they are extremely ill, and forced to do many other things that make their work schedule resemble that of a Laotian sweat shop girl.

So, what does an education mean to Koreans? Is it purely a status symbol? Is it just so they don't have to work physical jobs? Is it all about titles?

[Gillian57]

A college degree is required if one is to hold their head up in public. Worse than that, it is required if their parents want to hold their heads up in public.

It is also required if one wants to marry anyone who is not a dirt-poor farmer, and even some farmers would be out of bounds without a college degree.

[Juregen]

Exactly!


That is why there are so many shitty universities around, being used as a paper mill.

[sarbonn]

The really sad thing is how much importance they place on graduating from a specific university. There's this one guy in Korea who graduated from Harvard. He has a lecture circuit throughout Korea where he charges mothers to tell them how he got into Harvard. He graduated Harvard 15 years ago, and all he has done since then is charge people to tell them how he got into Harvard. I'd say this is genius if he was doing well, but he keeps running away from wherever he's lecturing and not paying his staff, hiring a brand new staff and then doing it all over again until he has no money to pay that next group of staff. I had a very short conversation with him, where he started it with "I graduate Harvard" and I responded, "Cool, I graduated from West Point. What have you done since you graduated?" And then he had to excuse himself to go put on some makeup.

[PRagic]

LOL. My dad worked in a factory right next to a Harvard grad, which is probably why we were raised to focus more on a major and a viable career path than where we took a degree.

There has been a major change in Korea along these lines, too, over the past 10 years or so, as Koreans have readjusted their perceptions of value vis-a-vis one's major.

More later? Gotta get off this computer.

[pkang0202]

In Korea, only 4 degrees matter:

Seoul University
KAIST
Korea Univeristy
Yonsei University

Everything else is just extra paper to wipe with.

[GreenlightmeansGO]

Party.
Plagiarise.
Party.
Plagiarise.
Pass.

[saw6436]

It usually means being able to spell "university" properly.

[nicam]

Yeah, my boyfriend worked with a Korean guy that graduated from U Penn (totally Ivy League) at least 10 years ago with a degree in biochemical engineering. My boyfriend worked at a small hagwon in the middle of nowhere, as did this guy.

The guy seemed seriously depressed, insecure, and pissed off at the world. He used to torture my boyfriend with random pedantic questions and incessant questioning. He even went so far as to accuse my boyfriend of falsifying his documentation from England. The conversations would go something like this:

Man: So, what type of grass do they use on the lawn at Wimbledon?
My Boyfriend: I don't know.
Man: I see, well what do you know about the Indian education system?
My Boyfriend: Nothing
Man: Well, they were a colony of yours.
My Boyfriend: Um, yeah in 1942
Man: Are you sure you are English and didn't forge your documents?
My Boyfriend: Huh?

[pkang0202]

I have a serious disdain for Ivy Leaguers, no matter their nationality.

Maybe its because I grew up in public school, and I went to a public University.

[Xuanzang]

Drinking with the unnies and oppas. A brief exam period. Kissing up for more marks then a long vacation. Rinse and repeat.

[extra_drops]

[quote="nicam"
So, what does an education mean to Koreans? Is it purely a status symbol? Is it just so they don't have to work physical jobs? Is it all about titles?[/quote]

I think it's about all of those mentioned... just as anywhere else.

Status symbol? Probably. Higher education -> better contribution to society -> more respect, hopefully. Like generally, does a garbage collector get the same amount of respect as a doctor? Probably not, unless you're in Denmark.

For non physical job? -Probably?

About titles? -yes... "I went to Harvard" is better than "I went to a community college."

But all these are important for the further advancement of South Korea, especially when it's got neighbours of similar mindset. It's not coincidence that it's gone from one of the poorest nation to richest in such a short time. It's from hard work and sacrifice.

[digsydinner]

[digsydinner]

[digsydinner]