The Unfair and Unjust South Korean Education

 South Korea is famous for its education. The passion for education is amazing, and this leads to students studying hard to achieve their goals. People say, “Studying is the easiest way to success” in Korea , saying that studying is one of the only fields where effort can triumph over talent . However, this is wrong. No matter how much effort you put into studying, a student in poverty triumphing over a student in a wealthy environment is like a giraffe winning against a lion. It isn’t impossible, but it may as well be. This brings us to the subject of inequality in education.

Students streaming out of academies at 10 o'clock.

Inequality is prominent in our society in many different forms. One of the broadest examples of it is education. 

Inequality Among Students

In Kangnam, the heart of education in Korea, an average family spends about 1020 dollars per month for their children’s education.  This money is about the monthly income of a low income  two person family. Therefore, it is obvious that there would be a big education cost gap between a wealthy student and a student in poverty. Money might not make talent, but it can give you education to hone the talent that you have. A raw jewel might be valuable, but there is no use for it if it isn’t found or incorporated into jewelry. No matter how amazing the student’s talent is, it needs to be found by educators and be taught by instructors to bloom. 

Students learning in academies

On top of the academies and private tutorings, even the school budget itself is different according to where you live. According to the Korea Times, the Gangnam District, the relatively richer area, had a $25 million budget; while the district Eunpyung, which is relatively a poorer area, had only $3 million. With its ample budget, Gangnam provides a greater budget to schools for the residents of that area. Whereas in the poorer area of Eunpyung, the quality of schools gets much lower. 

Inequality Among Subjects

Also, the bias towards some subjects is very serious in Korea’s education. This makes other subjects, such as music and art, be neglected. In most high schools, P.E., music, and art is evaluated in a different way then other subjects.

Unlike other subjects, which are relatively evacuated, subjects like P.E., music, and art are evaluated with a pass and a fail. Furthermore, those subjects are generally optional, and seen as less important in Korean education. 

In addition, this leads to a biased perception toward people who majored in subjects that are not thought as "studying", such as drama. Arts and sports seem to be inferior to other subjects in the view of people ridden with prejudice. Even if two students go to the same school, the subject they major in makes a difference in other people's thoughts. For example, if one student majors in dancing while the other majors math, the student majoring in math will seem more "worthy" to prejudiced people. To them, the student majoring in dancing seems less intelligent than the student majoring in math.

Therefore, Korean education is not only unfair to the poor, but also toward certain subjects. This leads to an overwhelming inequality in society. Korea’s educational passion might be one of the best in the world, but the education itself is far from perfect. 

-Celina Cho

Work cited

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2021/08/113_85160.html