korea's phenomenal education fever

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Koreas PhenomenalEducation FeverFocussing on Pressure on StudentsKim, Miyeon Kwak, Noh-kwonHeo, Jeong-eunKang, Bong-seokGroup 620141002201410452014106020131058

Education Fever is one of the best prides of Korea and at the same time, the most serious problem as well. How did this phenomenon start and what is the situation like?. 2Phenomenal Education Fever - Historical Backgrounds (1) Philosophy

(): Ip-Shin-Yang-Myeong - Rising in the World and Gaining Fame(): Geum-Eui-Hwan-Hyang - Returning Home with Honors

Dating back about a half century, during the Chosun Dynasty, when the society was divided into five distinct classes, an examination system was established to select qualified individuals for important governmental positions. Passing the examinations required a great depth of knowledge and consequently reflected prestige and status upon a person. For an individual and his family, passing Gwakeo, the exam for recruiting Royal Retainers was the most honorable way to a better social status. Once passing Gwakeo, the successful applicants came back home with glory and honor for the realization of the confucian ideals: Ip-shin-Yang-Myeong, which means making a successful career for oneself and Geum-Eui-Hwan-Hyang, which means making a glorious or honorable return to their hometown. Education was seen as the ladder that allowed one to move up in the public hierarchy. Such an integral system has influenced modern day education and still continues to be a mark of social mobility and honor, not only for the individual, but for the family as well. As a result, many South Koreans today correlate academic achievements with high societal standing and earned respect.Now, many Koreans think that only hard work and persistence yield success in school and in life.

[Reference : Sunny Rishi, Education Fever and Its Impact on South Korea : 1-2, Oakland University, Web.][Reference : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMUPP1opPZI, Web]

3Phenomenal Education Fever - Historical Backgrounds (2)

Despite numerous hardships from the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) to the Korean War (1950-1953), and scarce resources, this principle of educational zeal has not only endured, but has apparently intensified throughout recent years. The confucianism-based education fever seems never to have died,4Education - The Way Out -

In the middle of the Korean war, tent schools were set up around the nation to continue educating young generations. Right after the war, schools were built in the first place. By 1960, the Syngman Rhee government had increased primary school enrollment eight times and secondary school enrollment ten times. Up to 19 percent of the government's budget was spent on education. From then until the 1980s, South Koreans enjoyed greater access to education than did the people of any other country of a similar GDP level.

[Reference : Daniel Tudor(2012), Korea The Impossible Country , Tuttle Publishing, pp.101-106.]

5Educational Clichs Encourage to Study Hard!

45(): Saa-Dang-O-Raak - 4 Hours Pass 5 Hours Fail34(): Saam-Dang-Sah-Raak - 3 Hours Pass 4 Hours Fail - in the 1980s - since the 1990s

In fact, even after Korea successfully got out of poverty, this widespread lust for learning has taken the South Korean nation by storm and has even been given its own name: Education Fever. There are educational clichs in Korea. Correctly speaking, there is one, which changed as time went by.Koreans once said, Saa-Dang-O-Raak, which means, If you take a 4-hour-sleep a day, you will be able to enter a prestigious university, but 5-hour-sleep is a way to failure. It was a clich back in the 80s. In the 1990s, when a new system called hagwon came into fashion, the old clich gave in to its younger, Saam-Dang-Sa-Raak, Sleep 3 hours a day and study, or you will fail.6Hagwon : Korean Typical Private After-School Academy

Hagwon is the Korean word for a private for-profit institute, academy or cram school prevalent in South Korea. According to Korea Association of Hagwon( ), the number of private academies in Seoul is about 14,000, while nationwide, around 77,000. A total of 56 percent of them are providing English and math classes both on-line and off-line to teenaged students.

[Reference : http://www.kaoh.or.kr/135066 Korea Association of Hakwon, Web.]7STATISTICS

To everyones regret, we could find no exact number of private hagwons on the governmental Korean Statistical Information Service. Instead, they provide several rates of private education.

This is the average monthly private education expenditure per student.Middle school students pay about one hundred thousand won, approximately 96.2 dollars on average to get a month of English classes at a hakwon. For a monthly math class, they pay one hundred and five thousand won, which is about a hundred dollars.A middle school student, on average, pays 245 thousand won a month, which is 233.3 dollars for general subjects - Korean, English, Math, and social studies and science.

[Reference : http://www.kosis.kr - Korean Statistical Information Service, Web.]

8STATISTICS

This is the students participating rates on private education.47.8 percent of elementary school students and 54.8 percent of middle school students are receiving English classes at hagwon.In Math classes at hagwon, 46.8 percent of elementary school students and 57.9 percent of middle school students are participating.

[Reference : http://www.kosis.kr - Korean Statistical Information Service, Web.]9STATISTICS

This is another average monthly private education expenditure per student. This matrix shows various types of private education for general subjects. In the form of One-on-one tutoring, group tutoring, taking lessons at private institutes, studying textbooks with tutors visit, or paid Internet and correspondence lecture. About one hundred ninety one thousand won for one student, or one hundred and eighty two dollars are paid monthly.

[Reference : http://www.kosis.kr - Korean Statistical Information Service, Web.]10STATISTICS

Lets look at one more participating rates on private education.About 57.1 percent of students from 7 to 18-year-olds are taking private lessons for English, Mathematics, Korean, social and natural science.Interestingly, thirty two point one percent of students are joining artistic and physical activities for their hobbies and cultural experience, with the highest rate of fifty six point two percent of elementary school students.It shows us parents hope that their children can grow intellectually, as well as emotionally and physically, before they have become teenagers. [Reference : http://www.kosis.kr - Korean Statistical Information Service, Web.]11

Pressure on Teenagers in Korea

Turning to be teenagers, Korean students pilgrimage to hagwon is regularized. Literally, right after school, they move between hagwons to take their English and Math, or more subjects extra-curricular classes out of school. While a ban preventing hagwon from providing classes after 10 p.m. in Seoul and Busan was issued in April, 2008, a lot of large hagwons still secretly offer midnight lessons or offer all-day classes on weekends. As a result, students dont feel any change for better. Instead, theyve come to have a seven-day study week. 12Korean Students Jacks, Dull Boys ?

There is an English proverb saying, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. How are Korean students? They are worn out.13Korean Young Adults Causes of Death

According to Korean Statistical Information Service, Suicide is top-ranked as a major cause of death of Korean young adults. In 2009, 15.3 among a hundred thousand young adults killed themselves.


14Korean Sky-Fall

Pressure of study on Korean students comes from their parents, teachers, and all the other people around them. It often drives them to take extreme step. This matrix says, 37 percent of Koreans between 15 and 24 feel like committing suicide mostly when they feel frustrated about their grades and uncertainty about future job. They once dream of flying up to SKY, only to fall to abyss. Then. why are they so dedicated to studying and frustrated even to death?


15Wrap-up : Korean Parents Hopes

Even though Koreans have religious freedom, they still think highly of Confucious Values, specifically on education. Parents think they must provide their children with as good education as they can for varied reasons, and their children consider this natural and even necessary.In 1998, 98% of Korean parents wanted their children to obtain at least a college degree. Korean parents wanted to educate their children for the following reasons: Education provides access to obtaining a desirable job(37%); it is a method of cultivating a moral character(35%); it helps children to improve their natural talent and interests(14%); it increases their chances of finding a good marriage partner(9%); and it can compensate for their own low educational status(6%). - [Reference : Korean National Statistics Bureau, 2005.]The idea that good education can lead to good job and self-assuarance and self-realization is universal. However, saying that going to a top-ranking university and studying further and a lot more than others is the only way to success and happiness doesnt make sense. Korean students should find another way of their own and they deserve their own happiness.16

After School Activities & Extracurricular Activities

American Teenagers are also busy with those activities !

according to a new national survey which found that 79% of America's middle and high school students regularly participate in activities both after school and on weekends and 57% have some kind of non-school activity nearly every day.American young people believe that organized, structured out-of-school activities are enormously important to them, with 85% saying that kids who participate in such activities are better off than those who don't. They are also aware that sometimes they might need a parental push, with almost 9 out of 10 saying that even though they complain.

[Reference : http://www.publicagenda.org/press-releases/survey-sports-arts-clubs-volunteering-out-school-activities-play-crucial-positive-role-kids]

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Interestingly, while much of the policy debate on after school programs revolves around whether these programs improve academic achievement, for most families, academics aren't the first thing that comes to mind. Parents want activities that foster interests, values and growth, with relatively few parents (15%) or kids (12%) saying that academic achievement is the best reason for kids to be involved in organized activities.Given a choice of activities, 54% of young people would choose sports and 36% would choose an activity such as music or dance. Still, about 3 in 10 students say they would very much like an after school program that provides homework help (32%) or focuses mainly on academics (28%).[Reference : http://www.publicagenda.org/press-releases/survey-sports-arts-clubs-volunteering-out-school-activities-play-crucial-positive-role-kids]

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5 Tips to Approaching Extracurricular Activities in High School

1. Show Dedication2. Its About Quality, Not Quantity3. Dont Fake It4. Community Service & Leadership5. Choose Wisely

Extracurricular activities are a crucial part of the college application process that students need to think about well before their senior year of high school. Therefore, American teenagers spend quite a long time on it and they are often advised how to approach the activities to give better impression to the college.However, basically they voluntarily approach the extracurricular activities considering their strength, aptitude, and future career NOT JUST FOR college admission itself.It can be possible in the more indivisualism atmosphere, which can be less competitive by only minding their own business NOT others.

[Reference : http://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2013/09/5-tips-to-approaching-extracurricular-activities-in-high-school/]

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Study Hours

American high school students also spend quite a long time to study. They spend approximately 7 hours in school and spend more for homework.When you see the circle graph, they spend about 7.5 hours for educational activities while sleeping 8.1 hours. Therefore, study is their main daily activity spending the longest hours except sleeping hours.

[Reference : Visual Essay: High School Students Time Use]

Furthermore, most of students express their stress on doing homework.According to the study,published in the Journal of Experimental Education, 4,317 students in10 high-performing California high schools six private and four public had an average of 3.1 hours of homework a night.

[Reference : http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/13/homework-hurts-high-achieving-students-study-says/]20

Study Hours

When it comes to school stress, Hannah O'Brien has seen some extremes.The 17-year-old junior at a High School in California, has witnessed students crying in class after getting low test scores, she says, while others have gone without sleep a few nights in a row to keep up with homework."I personally have seen so many of my closest friends absolutely break -- emotionally, physically, mentally -- under stress, and I knew a lot of it was coming from school work," she says.School stress is serious business. A 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report suggests that for children and teens, too much work and too little play could backfire down the road. "Colleges are seeing a generation of students who appear to be manifesting increased signs of depression, anxiety, perfectionism and stress," the report says.

[Reference : http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/coping-school-stress]21

Stress Related Statistics

Factors Ranked Somewhat or Very StressfulThe Most Stressful Factors for Students

According to a study of James Madison University,Academic workload and time management were ranked by the most students as being somewhat or very stressful. These factors were followed, in decreasing prevalence, by the following: making future plans, obtaining adequate sleep, intimate relationships, finances, body image, overall health, extracurricular activities, social life, living conditions, and other.

Moreover, academics and time management were often mentioned together as factors causing stress and were marked by 42 percent of students as being one of the most stressful factors.

[Reference : http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/britz.html]22Suicide Statistics

According to the suicide statistic data of 2007 from National Institute of Mental Health, the number and rate of suicides were high for adults, age from 30 to 59.

[Reference : http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide/index.shtml]Therefore, even though American teenagers mainly suffer from academic stress, it doesnt seem that serious to turn into committing suicides.23

2014 National Universities Rankings

Prestigious Universities

A prestigious university offers high name recognition, and having an elite school's name on your resume might get you a job interview. Competitive schools also offer opportunities for networking. Your peers' parents may have connections that can help you, and networking with other elite graduates may help you get your foot in the door at some jobs. However, elite universities aren't the only ones with strong name recognition. If a potential employer graduated from the school you attended, you might end up with an advantage regardless of the school's prestige.Prestigious colleges are able to recruit highly qualified faculty members who may even be celebrities in their fields. This gives students the chance to work under experts, and may even help them get into graduate school if they can get a recommendation or do research under a prestigious instructor. However, students can only gain these benefits if their courses are taught by professors, and many schools rely on teacher's assistants and graduate research assistants to teach introductory classes. Similarly, there are highly qualified professors at most schools, and students don't have to have "celebrity" instructors to get excellent instruction.[Reference : http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/going-prestigious-university-matter-32438.html]24

Prestigious Universities

There are also some downsides of prestigious universities.Prestigious schools are generally more expensive, with Ivy Leagues being the most costly, averaging $55,000 a year in tuition and fees in 2011, according to "USA Today." According to the College Board, a public four-year college averages only $8,655 a year for in-state students and $21,706 for out-of-state students. The high costs of a prestigious university can saddle students with debt that they may struggle to pay, even if they land a high-paying job. And because prestigious schools are so competitive, admitted students are less likely to earn scholarships.Prestigious universities offer challenging, competitive classes, so students may have to work harder to maintain good grades. Graduating from a first-rate school with a 4.0 is impressive, but prestigious schools are notoriously challenging. Difficult courses can lower your GPA, so if you're not sure if you can tackle the work at a prestigious university, you might end up with a better GPA at a slightly less competitive school. Moreover, students don't necessarily think that prestigious schools are worth it. The National Survey of Student Engagement, for example, found in 2008 that 90 percent of variation in student assessments of educational quality was within a school, not between different schools.[Reference : http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/going-prestigious-university-matter-32438.html]

Yes. American students know there are benefits when they go to prestigious universities. However, they also understand the downsides of those universities. Even some insist of not going to college with convincible reasons.For American students, entering the university is not their ultimate goal. They consider their present status, future career and what they can achieve in the college for their future goals.25

Sports Talent Students

Recent evidence suggests that athletes may experience even greater levels of stress due to the dual demands of athletics and academics.The interaction of these multiple stressors presents a unique problem for the college student athlete, and evidence suggests that the combination of these stressors has a negative affect on their well-being.[Reference : http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol7Iss1/StressAthletesNonathletes.htm]Even though those dual demands cause more burdens for the student athletes, this environment can help them study with more balance and provide special support program so they can widen their future career goals.26Parenting StyleDetailsAuthoritarian parentattempts to shape, control, and evaluate the behavior and attitudes of the child in accordance with a set standard of conduct any deviations will result in forceful measures to curb self-will (Baumrind, 1968)physical coercion, verbal hostility, nonreasoning/punitivePermissive parentallows the child to regulate his own activities as much as possible (Baumrind, 1968)Authoritative parentdirects the childs activities in a rational, issue-oriented manner [and] encourages verbal give and take (Baumrind, 1968)warmth/acceptance, reasoning/induction, democratic participation

Parenting StyleMost of the students pressure comes from their education, which is mostly affected by their parents.No matter what culture they come from, all the parents can be categorized into those 3 styles.As there are more collectivism in Korea and high power distance between parents and children, Korean parents seem more authoritarian and controlling while American parents are more likely authoritative or permissive for their children in the more indivisualism and low power distance society.Differently from Korean parents, they tend to not to compare their children with others or not to put them into competition with others.This may help American students have higher self-esteem and self satisfaction.

[Reference : Cultural differences in parenting styles and their effects on teens' self-esteem, perceived parental relationship satisfaction, and self-satisfaction][Reference : http://repository.cmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1084&context=hsshonors]27

Parenting StyleIn this cartoon, we can understand what authoritarian parenting style looks.Control may produce reactance in that the teen is upset at his inability to control his own life and will react assertively through rebellion.28

Parenting StyleHere, authoritative parenting style.29Parenting Style

We can understand permissive parenting style.It is possible that teens may be satisfied with permissive parents since they feel that their parents are honoring their wishes and accepting the teen as an individual. However, by being too permissive, the teen may get out of control because there are no boundaries that set him back. It could be possible that these teens are the ones who get in trouble with the law because they are not receiving enough attention in their homes.30

Wrap up

American students also suffer from educational pressure by struggling with many academic activities.Teenagers in America report they are just as stressed out as adults, according to a new study by the American Psychological Assn. And during the school year, many teens report even higher stress levels than adults.However, this pressure seems to be an essential stage of their healthy growth process, which every teenager goes through to be an adult.American students tend to concentrate on themselves, their own future, success, or career, not comparing themselves with others.Therefore, they can be satisfied with not only outcome but also the process and their education environment can be less competitive than that in Korea.31

Career Education

The policy of the Ministry of Education is to reduce the pressures that students face from studying and to educate each student about the career path that best suits their abilities.

England, France, and America, like Korea, support career education. Career education in England happens at the university level. In France, the right to career education and counseling is regulated by the Education Act. Career guidance is offered at the middle and high school level. In the United States, career education is defined as a limited concept for students in vocational courses, and there is no independent organization for career education. Although career education is weak in United States, there are strong infrastructures for career education, like labor market information, occupational information of professional groups. The Ministry of Education of Korea categorizes careers education into 4 areas from elementary to high school. Elementary school students are focused on understanding ego and developing social competence; middle school students are focused on understanding different types of jobs; high school students are focused on exploring detailed jobs and choosing careers.32

Activities are about making students knowing that studying only math and English are not necessary for everyone and to find out each students talent.33

What gives you the most stressthese days.

Activity 1First activity is making students write about what gives them the most stress these dayson a post-it note and paste it on the board.34

Activity 2Korean Elementary school studentsStudy-related Stress - EBS Second activity is watching a video clip about the amount of stress that Korean elementary school students have.35

Activity 3Third activity is making each student know ones self. Start by asking students if it is important to study only Math and English. And tell the students if they know their own aptitude and talent, then they can prepare for their future by doing positive and interesting things. Then give students The Structure of my Brain worksheet about knowing ones self.36

In the brain of a 12-year-old GIRL

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In the brain of a 12-year-old GIRL

In the brain of a 12-year-old BOY

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Activity 4Last activity is Blank comics. Have students individually guess what the people in the comics are saying. Then have the students share their ideas with a partner. Next the pairs will share their thoughts with the class. Teacher will then give the answer.40