Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lastat06513]

I have read countless articles this week about the National Police getting involved to prevent cheating during the CSAT next week.

I'm sorry, but to me, this sounds ridiculous!
I mean, doesn't the National Police have something better to do other than to stop a group of misfits from cheating and trying to get into universities that are not even on the TOP 100 International Universities list?

In the US, or for that matter any other country, where a single test has generated such hysteria that they have metal detectors at the doors of the test rooms and take away the cellphones during the test (But I must admit, that does sound reasonable)

A cheating scandal might make a school newspaper, in between the weekly lunch menu or an article about the knitting club. But I can't see it as a national concern, especially if the results are usually rigged so only a select group pass and get into the so-called "top schools" in this country, which do nothing for them at all except that when getting a job,
lil' Min-suk might have a better chance of getting the position because he slept and drank his way through Seoul National University.

I just don't get it.....

[Ya-ta Boy]

[fidel]

Are you bored?
I thought I read somewhere that you have lived in Korea for a while?

If you haven't figured yet why the KSAT's are so important for Koreans then I have to wonder whether you have a brain.

Well, do you?

Excuse my ill-manners but it such an obvious troll.

[lastat06513]

Hey Fidel~~

It is not about being a troll.

And yeah, I have been here a while (Though I think my brain stopped functioning during my fourth year in-country, which explains the dumb-founded look on my face sometimes.)

But I think recently the controls for this test are getting too stringent to the point that people are thinking that it is a "make you or break you" test that will decide your fate in society.
That is piss poor to the highest power!
The problem is that too much attention is put on a few schools while there are many equally (and some that exceed the big-5) as good as the so-called major universities in this country.
And what makes me scratch my head is how some parents try to send their children, sometimes at a very young age, outside the country to be educated in the hopes of getting the entry waiver to the big universities.
It is even so bad now that sometimes mothers accompany their children abroad while the father remains in Korea to support his family where ever they might be.
Is getting into these universities worth all this?

Whats wrong with going to Kyongbuk Dae or Chunnam Dae? I have found that the lower the university is, the faculty works much harder and the students study harder to compete with the big universities.
My assistant graduated from the college I work at and she is the hardest working and most dedicated worker I have encountered here in Korea.

Thats what I'm questioning.
And thats what I want the newbies to read if they come across this thread.
I want them to know why their students parents push them so hard to learn subjects like math, English and science to the point of breaking them.


As for rigging~~ I read in the Korean version of the Dong-a Ilbo that some teachers, who were appointed as test graders, were arrested for "fixing" the grades of some pupils they knew. That was part of the scandal several years ago.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Out of curiousity, it's not cheating to go over the vocabulary and idioms on a government listening test for twenty or thirty minutes before the actual listening test starts, is it?

[fidel]

I'm sorry but I don't understand where the confusion is.

Entry into one of the top Seoul universities goes a long way towards ensuring a brighter future for your children.

Is it right? Hell no but that's the way things are done here.

Should the cops be involved, hell yes! For the simple reason that this test is so important and cheating scams are periodically uncovered.
I don't know what your reference to the "TOP 100 International Universities list" has anything to do with your argument. Considering that there are numerous such lists each with different criteria for selecting 'top' universities not to mention tens of thousands of universities in the world.

Perhaps I could paraphrase your original post to read like this:
"Why do Koreans make such a fuss with their KSAT's when they are rigged and the universities they want to attend are crap anyways."

[Moldy Rutabaga]

[....]

[hogwonguy1979]

what floors me that I read they aren't going to the easiest thing to stop cheating. CHECK YOUR CELL PHONE AT THE DOOR!!! PHONE=NO TEST DEAL WITH IT!!!!!!

Korea Times today said they want cell phone companies to keep records of text messages so they know who's texting who during the test. Gee if they follow above, they wouldn't need that but that makes too much sense.

re the exam, don't look now but the US is headed that way with emphasising an exam. Just look at how worked up school districts get over their state-mandated test scores and the hours of prep kids there go through to do well on it. Sound familiar???

[lastat06513]

I totally agree, it is the social elite that keep the Big 5 in place because they are the ones sponsoring some of their events and so-called programs.
So, to change the national ranking would undermine their authority.

I have checked several lists of international colleges and universities and STILL found the top Korean universities on the bottom or toward the bottom of the list, if international ranking is concerned.
Why is it that a student from Hanyang or Koryo who transfers to MIT or Harvard have to take remedial math or prerequisite courses if they should have already studied them in Korea?
The answer is that they tend to score low on the entrance tests for these universities and are required to "refresh" themselves before attend any college-level courses in a truly IVY league institution.

[prairieboy]

Ever since the big cheating scandal of last year, I've wondered why bother trying to control cheating on the entrance exam if you aren't going to do the same after they've made it in.

The way cheating and plagarism are treated here is a joke so why even try to stop cheating on the entrance exam? Why go to the expense or assurance of quiet airspace or making sure the streets and subways are relatively clear of traffic? Why bother with the police giving rides to the students who are late? It's unecessary in light of what happens when they are actually in university here in Korea.

Cheers

[Hollywoodaction]

[Joseph Fitzgerald]

What day is the test?

[lastat06513]

Wednesday, I got a day off that day