Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cmxc]

For any ESL instructor working with young Koreans, you will understand how incomparably important the college entrance test is for young Korean high school students. One test, administered once per year, will determine a Korean student's entire future academic and career prospects.

Competition is so fierce that even a 1 point difference in score can keep a student from admission to the most prestigious universities in Korea, such as Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University. Not attending such universities can lead to a life time of social discrimination in employment, choice of spouse, promotion, etc, etc.

This year's Korean college entrance test contained a controversial question that asked the students to choose which had a higher GDP, North America under NAFTA or the EU. The map on the test had the year 2012 included in the caption.

The factual answer is that in the year 2012, North America had a larger GDP than EU. However, the text books from which the Korean college test questions are selected, asserted that the EU had a larger GDP than North America.

The question was worth 3 points! This question had a comparatively huge significance to the life of young Korean students and their future prospects. Students who answered the question according to their knowledge of the FACTS got the answer wrong! 3 points again is a huge scoring difference in such a competitive society.

Students attempted to sue the Ministry responsible for the test, but the Korean government defended the answer as based upon the text books even if the answer was not factually correct. Of course the courts upheld the Korean government and the students who were penalized for answering the question correctly are screwed for life!

If the Ministry is justified in claiming that the answer is based upon the text books with data from 2007-2010, how can they justify using the year 2012 in the caption for the test question??

You can see the exact question, including the map accompanying the question in the Korea Herald online article:
http://www.koreaherald.com/common_prog/newsprint.php?ud=20131204001013&dt=2

What does this incident highlight about Korea?
In Korea, truth and fact are irrelevant when they contradict authority and make authority look bad.
Again, it shows that Korea just cares about memorization of texts. They don't care about analysis, understanding, or right judgement.
Whoever made this test question is a moron for not fact checking and considering the possibility that in the year 2012, GDP rations might have changed as a result of the on-going global financial crisis!

If this is the definition of "education", then Koreans would all be better off ignorant.

Court dismisses demand to change answer to college exam question
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20131216001082

[Fox]

The drama around the answer aside, it is a pretty ridiculous test question anyway.

[atwood]

The students aren't screwed for life; they can take the test again.

That said, I agree that the government should have admitted the mistake rather than trying to whitewash it and that it does show one of the problems with "education" in Korea.

[Steelrails]

They were damned if they upheld it, damned if they corrected it as both students would have had a legitimate reason to back their answer and choosing one way or the other is going to make the other side upset.

They should have just canceled the question altogether and calculated scores without that question included. Or included any answer as correct. However, I'm not sure how logistically feasible that would be.

But yeah, they aren't screwed for life.

[Captain Corea]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Steelrails]

They aren't screwed, but it is a big deal and a big inconvenience. While there were probably no easy answers to this, there might have been a better solution.

[radcon]

Ask those students and parents who missed out on a SKY school by one point if they are "screwed for life." I bet you most would say they are.
This whole thing is farcical. How many of those students who got the test question wrong actually knew that North America had surpassed the EU in GDP for 2012. I'm surprised this question made it onto the test. Korean educators are usually very careful about this sort of thing because they know that a test question open for debate would create a dong-storm.

[jvalmer]

I highly doubt a kid who's really capable of entering one of the SKY universities will be concerned for a measles few points. And for the parents of kids who 'missed' out on a SKY school, well, that's life and your kid probably wasn't as bright as you thought they were.

The students who enter SKY, will have more than made up for a few points in other sections of the test. Those SKY students are probably some of the brightest kids I've encountered and won't get tripped up be a few questions.

Stop getting carried away with all the English news articles that claim that Koreans are a failure if they aren't a grad of one of the SKY universities. Plenty of Koreans who live very successful lives that didn't attend a SKY school. Most of my students know they aren't destined for SKY, but many are more than qualified to study at any of the public National Universities in the country. Which, btw are also well regarded and can very much lead to a very 'successful' life.

[atwood]

[radcon]

[jvalmer]

[Steelrails]

[Lucas]

[mayorhaggar]

It's a multiple choice question...probably most of the kids who picked the "wrong" answer just guessed, and vice versa.

As for why the government would insist a wrong answer from the book is the right answer, two words: rote learning. Another two words: saving face.

Korean education is based entirely on testing, and teaching to the test. It doesn't teach creativity or critical thinking anywhere as much. What's the point of being creative anyway, having a better idea than your boss makes you look bad.