Explained: The Rigorous Educational System Of South Korea

South Korea¡¯ educational system is considered to be one of the best in the world. The Korean educational system however, is hard and rigorous to study in. the South Korean students perform the best in education among all the other countries.

The Korean public education structure is divided into 3 parts- 6 years of primary school, 3 years of middle school and then 3 years of high school. Coeducational system is not very common in Korea and only about 10% of the Korean high schools are coeducational. Even in coeducation schools, there is a strict divide between the two genders.

South Korea has a lot of high-achieving students and this is because of the very demanding educational system. The students spend most of their time in the schools studying (12-16 hours per day) and the teachers only focus on achieving good results so the curriculum is very test focused.

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This high demand that is required from the students make them very stressed and damages their mental health and self-confidence a lot. The high educational rate in Korea has subject to a very impressive growth in the country¡¯s economy but it has also sadly increased the suicide rates of the teenagers in Korea. Because of this pressure, every year there are hundreds of students who become suicidal.

The students in the South Korean educational system focus on studying only for the 15 hours spent in school. Even the extracurricular activities that they do is related to studying. They believe that good education is necessary to become successful in life.

Until recently, South Koreans had to go to schools even on Saturdays and they got only one day off per week. The fact that they spend every waking hour in school without any other thing to do can be extremely stressful.

The teaching profession is highly valued in Korea such that is one of the highest paying jobs in the country. The other countries do not value the teaching profession as much. On average, teachers earn between $2000-$3000 per month.

Discipline is the core principle that everyone should follow. The entire schooling system is built around discipline. This is because, to discipline the students, in ancient times, they used corporal punishment. This in itself shows how much discipline was important to the Koreans. The respect that the Koreans have for their elders is an example of discipline that is followed there. Also, to greet someone for the first time or someone older, the Koreans bow down 90 degrees to show their respect.

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The spending towards education in almost all the households in Korea was always high. This shows how much they prioritize education over everything else. The result of the strict educational system can be seen in the international educational events like the science Olympiad and the maths Olympiad.

There are always high expectations towards the students because of all the hours they put into studying. If a student is lacking in studies, the schools even put them in extra classes so that they can do better. So, the expectations are not baseless and these expectations also act as a driving force that help the students to get through the school year.

But, after K-pop has blown up in the recent years, while education is also given importance, the importance towards it has shifted towards K-pop. There are many students in the recent years who skip studying to focus on their training towards becoming a K-pop idol.