Many people say living in Korea as a high school student is quite tough, because they have to live around the clock under pressure to win admission to a university.
As one of those high school students, I also feel the pressure ― but it is not only a burden for high school students.
My younger brothers are third graders in middle school. They wake up early in the morning and go to school, where they study until 4 p.m.
Right after leaving the school, they attend after-school classes run by a private institute for hours.
They have no time to enjoy their hobbies that most students in foreign countries do. They hit the sack around 2 a.m. after finishing tons of assignments given by the institute.
I think it is almost the same for all elementary school students. I watched a TV program, saying that nine out of ten elementary school students take private lessons. The program also showed some stunning survey results. More than 50 percent of elementary school students wanted to leave their home and 27 percent have felt like committing suicide.
The studying of students in elementary and secondary schools here has been known as second to none in the world. But we have no Nobel Prize laureate in sciences such as physics and are still struggling to become an advanced country. I have thought of the reason.
I have heard that Seoul National University is far less competitive compared with the top 100 universities in the world. What is the reason that there are no Korean universities on the list?
Obviously, students educated well in English and mathematics are very competitive and could push up the country''s competitiveness in the future.
But without dreams, vision, a challenging mind and an abundant knowledge of culture, society cannot be competitive enough to outdo those of developed countries.
I think Bill Gates, founder of the computer software giant Microsoft, is a much more valuable individual than thousands of students in terms of creativeness and dedication to society.
So, what do we have to change? I do not know the answer. But cramming young students into a small classroom at a private institute and letting them study until 2 a.m. is not the answer.
I think the government and politicians as well as adults should come up with proper measures to tackle this problem. This is because it’s the only way to enable my friends and me, and my fatigue-stricken younger brothers to be freed from a life of study.
