Many people are eager to seek various ways to study to improve themselves so it might be a good thing to hear that Korean students are willing to study hard. However, most students depend solely on private institutions after school. Likewise, most private institutes persuade and provide students with prerequisite learning and a large amount of work, which forces students in Korea to become less independent and tired of studying.

How many students really want to learn 2 ~3 or even 4~5 year senior subjects in advance?Do the majority of the students attend the institutes for prior learning from their parent’s pressure or their own will? These days, during school breaks, it is easy to find 10 to 12 year old students going to primary school or middle school studying for the SAT 2 subject tests or the SAT.

The SAT is a test for entering universities in U.S.A. that shows what the students have learned in their high school and demonstrates their readiness for college-level work. For such a reason, 12 year old students can’t apply to take the test. However, Many Korean parents drive their young children to prepare for the examination much earlier than other competitors.

Such excessive ardor and interest of Korean parents toward their children have, in a way, helped the country transform from agrarian society to one of the most advanced industrial societies in our history today. However, now the world has changed from industrial society to an information-based society. Now it is a society that urges creativity and being different as the most positive elements for success. It is important that education focuses on improving students’ curiosity, motivation, and passion toward their learning than before. Unlike the current situation and desire, Korean students lose their curiosity and self-motivation of their learning due to heavy stress of overloaded studies, which can prevent them from surviving in the information technology driven society.

According to “The Cho Seun Il Bo”, most Korean university graduates lack the skills of globalized economic environment due to having little experiences other than just studying. Similar knowledge and almost identical experience won’t be able to supply momentum and catch up with other developed countries in highly technology driven societies, rather than an industrial society. Therefore, Korean students also need to do other activities such as sports, music, art, or voluntary work instead of going to institutes for only studying after school.

Korean students need to get rid of the stress of “having” to study early in their lives. They would rather gain a variety of experiences and a power of thinking that can never be bought or earned only from text books or by solving problems from countless hours of reading. To educate children of our generation, the people of Korea must learn to accept the changes of our generation by promoting the right type of education to our future leaders.

Kyung Yoon Hwang
Grade 10
Korea International School