Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ThingsComeAround]

Hello. I have thought about these questions for some time but before putting it out there I'd like to ask all replies remain civil. This is not for entertainment but serious questions and I hope flamers/trolls/lames don't ruin the thread for everyone.


Korea has a good relationship with the hagwon industry, and although we see this industry coming up in Japan and Taiwan (possibly mainland China) I wonder what is their true purpose?

If Korea has the highest literacy rate, top ten in OCED countries for math and science, why don't children get the necessary education they need in public school? Is there a public school in Korea that teaches all the basics for the 수능(?) exam where children don't have to take a hagwon class? Or are hagwons necessary giving students all the education they need to succeed? If that is true, are we watching education become privatized in South Korea?

[winterfall]

I guess I'll take the first stab.

1. Koreans are highly competitive, even if their kid is a bona fide genius. They will spend whatever it takes to make sure hes awash in hagwons.

2. Public school problems in Korea aren't much different from the States. Rampant grade inflation by overworked teachers trying to hang onto their jobs. If not politicians will step in with some half brained idea on how to make it all right. Rarely do these plans ever work out.

But on a less negative tone. IMO No in general I don't think the public system prepares students for the University Test. The Unversity Test actually takes into account the highly competitive nature of Koreans. Even a kid who spent his entire life in cram schools and test prep schools will struggle on it. In a sense, the assessment bar in the University Test is supposed to be fair as possible.

In practice its not, because if its excruciatingly hard for a kid who spent his entire life in hagwon. It is truly impossible for someone who didn't.

You've also got to remember. The University Test score points are important but, Colleges also rely heavily on relative scores (High school ranking, what percentile the university test score is in, etc). When everyone looks the same like for the SKY Universities. They can also adjust their entrance exams and interviews to further weed out "Undesirables" so they only get the true cream of the crop.

So yea since society is so fiercely competitive and reliant on test scores, hagwons are the toxic by-product.

[Michaela]

From what I've heard from the older kids at my hagwon (middle school), the work they do at the hagwon is much more difficult than their regular school work. So I guess it does help them.

Other comments they've made give me the impression that Koreans seem to think the more a kid is in school - any school - the more they are studying, the harder they are working and the better they will do. Therefore some kids are in public school until 4 or 5pm and then at at least one hagwon in the evening. It doesn't necessarily work since many of the kids are just sitting in the schools, not doing much.

[eamo]

Hagwons exist on one level because Koreans basically see anyone who goes to one of the three SKY universities as a winner in the game of life.

So Korean parents will see it as their own personal duty to get little So-hee and Min-seok into Seoul, Korea or Yonsei university. This means getting test scores in the top 5% of the country. Hagwons get customers by kind of implying that you need their classes to make that top 5%.


They exist on another level because they are often very profitable!

[winterfall]

I forgot to mention. What school you go to makes or breaks your future. That's the 2nd reason SKY is so important.

At a certain point in your career. Usually by the time men hit their mid to late 30s. You get stuck on the corporate ladder. You just can't get promoted anymore unless you came out of a good school like SKY or a well recognized foreign school (In their mind is the same as SKY, go figure) or they've got a blood relation to one of the higher ups.

It's a type of patronage system. It's hard to explain. Talk to a Korean and ask them to explain to you why hometowns are so important. Whenever two strangers meet, its almost always mentioned in the first talk between them. Its much stronger among the older generation (30's and up) than it is amongst say 20 year olds. But its still noticeable

Here's a list of things In order of importance for establishing social relationships and remember it doesn't matter if you guys were in the same class or not.

A. Where you went to University
A 1. Where you went to High School
B. Hometown or Region
C. What Elementary or Middle School you went to
D. Where you were stationed (Army)
E. And a bunch of minor peripherals