I've written about education in Korea earlier, but because it's flabbergasting to me and because I'm a part of it, I'm writing about it again.
I have just started a debate class with my grade sixers and our first topic is whether or not the Korean government should control the cost of privately owned academies (hagwons).  One of the articles we read in researching this topic argues that the average Korean family cannot afford the cost of private education in Korea and this creates an unfair separation between the students who come from families who can afford it and those from families who can't.  It mentions one student who's family pays $280 per week for his academies.  It claims that Korean families spend more of their personal income on education than any county in the world and that the Korean government spends less money per pupil than other countries with similar economies.
A second article, against government regulations of hagwon tuition, argues that private education is a business and the business of hagwons give Korean families a choice of where to send their children and therefore should not be controlled by the government.
My hagwon fits right into this debate.  The families that send their children to Poly are all quite well off.  I don't know the tuition of our school, but I have heard that it is surprisingly high.  But what I find the most astounding about education in Korea is just how much it permeates students' lives.  The grade six students in this debate class come to Poly at 5:20 and stay until 7:20.  Then they go off to other hagwons.  I've heard many middle school and high school students don't finish taking classes until around 11:00pm.  And then they still have homework to do!  What's more, often families spend so much on their child's education that they don't have extra to spend on special trips during vacations.  So children spend their time off at home, probably studying.
What I've learned is that all of this educational craziness is driven by competition.  There is so much pressure in Korea for students to get into a good university and to get a high paying job.  So much that they spend their whole childhood trying to reach this dream.  If you ask any of my kindergarten students what they want to be when they grow up there's a good chance that the answer will be either a doctor or a dentist.  There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a doctor or a dentist.  I think my students are brilliant and could be doctors or dentists if they really want to be.  I just couldn't have imagined myself wanting to be a doctor when I was in kindergarten.  At that age, I wanted to be a garbage man.  I think it's sad that children are brought up with this competitive mindset at such an early age.
So what are the outcomes of this competitive, pressure filled education system?  Most likely a positive outcome is a well educated work force.  No doubt, Korean students know a lot.  But a negative correlation, if not outcome, is Korea's high suicide rate.  According to wikipedia, South Korea has the second highest suicide rate out of all countries.  I think the Korean government and the Korean people need to weigh the pros and cons.

Tonight I saw the final movie in the Harry Potter saga.  I liked it.

Thanks for reading.
Michael