Korean High School - Hyper-Intense, Insanely Competitive, But... It Works

The three years of high school in Korea are the most intense, Darwinian educational system I have witnessed anywhere in the world.

It is seems to me beyond the pale. Yet its economic results have proven themselves over the past 40 years (more later).

High school has two semesters each year: one starting mid-August and lasting until December 23 (4 months); the second semester starting January 15th and lasting until July 31 (6.5 months).

Students are in class 5 days a week beginning at 7am and lasting until 6:30pm, when school “officially” ends.

From 6:30pm, students stay for extra classes until midnight – working on areas where they are testing weak on the national college entrance exam.

From midnight until 2-3am there are additional homework halls, then the child drags themselves home for a nap, shower, breakfast and back to school by 7am.

Weekends are reserved for paid tutors and additional classes.

This grueling, harsh regime lasts for three full years, all in preparation for the College Entrance exam where seats are scarce.

By the second year of high school, students self-select to one of two academic tracks – Science & Math (40%) or Language & Art (60%).

The Science & Math students are the real grinds, all hoping to enter the Seoul National University, ranked the third university in the world behind Peking, Tsinghua and ahead of Berkeley.

From all appearances this is one three-year long cram session – designed not to help the child learn but to achieve a maximum score on one exam.

Having said that, this educational process has dramatically lifted the standard of living in formerly impoverished South Korea.

Beginning in the late 1960’s, as part of a series of 5 year plans, the Government determined to rebuild the school infrastructure and make a high-standard national education a top priority. Government, business and academic leaders saw the only way for South Korea to pull itself out of poverty and into the modern world was entirely through intense, superior education.

While one might argue the South Korean educational intensity is wildly excessive during the 3 years of high school, the results are certainly impressive when compared with other developing countries.

For example, Brazil - rich in natural resources, aided by developed country’s industries and blessed with large areas of fertile land, large oil reserves and numerous seaports - had a per capita GDP roughly twice that of South Korea in 1970.

Thirty-eight years later, South Korea’s per capita GDP is $26,000 compared to Brazil’s $10,100. South Korea’s economy was built largely on the strength of the increasing knowledge of its people – powered by a demanding K-12 education - and the dogged determination of Korean businesses to always move up the value-added ladder.

Packed between China (1.3 billion people) and Japan (127 million), Korea’s 49 million people have been able to successfully navigate from an impoverished Third World country to the 14th largest economy in the world at $1.3 trillion.

While the education system may look painful and excessive, it has worked to the overall benefit - and individual wealth -  of the Korean people.

Comments

[Krishna C ( Bangalore, India )]

I must say i am impressed with the work ethic and the rigor. But i am not sure if subjecting the young mind and body to this intense experience, is desirable and/or sustainable.

When i was in school in India, especially the all important 12th standard, i refused extra tuitions, reasoning that , i will score based on what i can learn by myself within reasonable hours. My wife did the same thing.

In any case, i have to admit that this extra preparation/classes can definitely add an edge in the intensive competitive school exams!. Not sure who is correct and who is not.

[Juliann Talkington]

Wow! I'm exhausted just reading the post. Impressive economic results. Wondering if the results would be similar or better (on the entrance exam and the economy) if academic study was limited to 7:00 am - 6:30 pm vs. 7:00 am - 2:00 am. At some point it seems like there would be diminishing returns.