Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea every year. That’s no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy.” President Obama said recently (“Obama Lauds Korea’s Education of Children” Korea Times, 3/11/09). He may not know that South Korea has thousands of academies, after-school academic programs. Actually Korean students study many more hours per day than American students. The Korean education system is completely different from the American system. Almost every student goes to a private academy after school, beating is allowed, test scores and national exams are the only things that the colleges look at for admission, and memorization is the main form of learning. In the United States, students have a lot of freedom, beating is not allowed, schools make students more creative, there are fewer tests, and no national exams. Compared to the Korean system, the American system is more flexible, creative, and less strict. Some Americans, including President Obama, think that American students should follow the Korean education system, which forces students to study much more and makes the test scores the most important thing in their lives The American education is better, however, since it makes the students think creatively and gives them more freedom to learn.
Korea has many national exams and the most important one is called ‘Su-Neung’, the college entrance exam. This exam is only given once a year, so high school students only sleep 4 hours a day and spend most of their time studying for it. “College entrance exams determine seventy to eighty percent of a person’s future. It’s a sad reality. But you have to acknowledge it; otherwise you hurt your children’s future,” one of the Korean parents said (Choe, Sang-Hun, “A Taste of Failure Fuels on appetite or Success” New York Times, 8/13/08). In Korea, if you don’t go to one of the top five or ten colleges, your life will be miserable. Colleges only look at the students test scores and school grades for admission. Since the exams and the tests scores are the most important things in a student’s life the academies were created. There are thousands of after-school academic programs that make the students study more and make them prepare for the tests and national exams like “Sue Neung.” Also they teach students advanced math, English, Korean language arts, science and much more than the schools. Ninety percent of Korean students go to academies. If they don’t go they will fall behind and their test scores will be lower than their peers. The average student goes to about four to five different academies after school and returns home at ten or eleven at night. Then they have to study for tests and do homework, which leads to lack of sleep. The Korean education system is based on memorizing the right answers; there are no creative projects or writing. The schools and the academies force the students to memorize and memorize. To get a high score in school tests you only have to memorize the answers to the questions. In academies they force the students to memorize about two hundred English words a day. The cruelest thing about the Korean education system is that the teachers are allowed to beat the students. It is not like just hitting a student; the teachers actually beat up the students by punching, kicking, and sometimes hitting them with bamboo swords. Students are often hospitalized as a result. I have experienced these situations in Korea and they are no fun at all. We are like slaves memorizing words and studying for tests only to get into a good college.
Korea has many national exams and the most important one is called ‘Su-Neung’, the college entrance exam. This exam is only given once a year, so high school students only sleep 4 hours a day and spend most of their time studying for it. “College entrance exams determine seventy to eighty percent of a person’s future. It’s a sad reality. But you have to acknowledge it; otherwise you hurt your children’s future,” one of the Korean parents said (Choe, Sang-Hun, “A Taste of Failure Fuels on appetite or Success” New York Times, 8/13/08). In Korea, if you don’t go to one of the top five or ten colleges, your life will be miserable. Colleges only look at the students test scores and school grades for admission. Since the exams and the tests scores are the most important things in a student’s life the academies were created. There are thousands of after-school academic programs that make the students study more and make them prepare for the tests and national exams like “Sue Neung.” Also they teach students advanced math, English, Korean language arts, science and much more than the schools. Ninety percent of Korean students go to academies. If they don’t go they will fall behind and their test scores will be lower than their peers. The average student goes to about four to five different academies after school and returns home at ten or eleven at night. Then they have to study for tests and do homework, which leads to lack of sleep. The Korean education system is based on memorizing the right answers; there are no creative projects or writing. The schools and the academies force the students to memorize and memorize. To get a high score in school tests you only have to memorize the answers to the questions. In academies they force the students to memorize about two hundred English words a day. The cruelest thing about the Korean education system is that the teachers are allowed to beat the students. It is not like just hitting a student; the teachers actually beat up the students by punching, kicking, and sometimes hitting them with bamboo swords. Students are often hospitalized as a result. I have experienced these situations in Korea and they are no fun at all. We are like slaves memorizing words and studying for tests only to get into a good college.
The United States does not have such a thing as national exams that the government makes that every student has to take. There may be some exams that every student has to take in a particular state, but not as important as exams in Korea. Students in America don’t get huge tests that count for fifty-percent of their grades. They might have some quizzes and a few tests rarely. There is one huge exam called the SAT. It is almost the same as ‘Sue-Neung’ but, many people don’t have to take it and it’s much shorter and easier. Also the SAT is just a part of the requirements for most college admission, because every American college looks at the students’ talents other than test scores and grades. Many colleges look at the students’ athletic abilities and other interests. An article from ‘The Boston Globe’ says, “So the committee often goes beyond the numbers and takes an in-depth look at personal qualities and talents” (Peter Schworm, “Looking Beyond Grades and Scores” The Boston Globe, March 22, 2009: 1-3). So students don’t get into a good college simply because they have a high SAT score. Also students can take the SAT more than six times in a year so they have many chances to get a good score. The schools think the creativity of the students is one of the most important things. They don’t make the students just memorize the answers but make them think more about problems and questions, form their own opinions, and make them think creatively. Also the teachers give them creative projects that require drawings and creative writings. The students in America have a lot of free time. They don’t have much homework or many tests compared to Koreans, so they can do sports, music, part-time jobs, have enough sleeping time and time with friends. So the American kids are more relaxed and have little stress. There’s not any kind of beating allowed in schools or families in America. If a teacher even gives a small physical punishment, they would lose their job. The American students are not afraid of the teachers. The worst thing that a teacher can do to a student is to send him or her to the office. If the parents beat their children, the government can take the kids away from the parents. So there is a very low chance to get beaten up because of test scores or homework. I have experienced the American education system too, and I had more time to hang out with my friends and play sports. The American education system taught me that the numbers on our tests are not all, and thinking more and stating our opinions are much more important than just memorizing the words and answers.
I have lived in both Korea and the United States, so I have experienced the education system of both countries. There are many differences between their education systems but the biggest difference is the way of teaching the students. In Korea, the teachers make the students memorize and memorize again. I memorized a hundred English words each day once because it was the academy’s homework. But, after one month I forgot them all, so it was useless and a waste of time. In the United States I had to memorize a few words but mostly the teachers made us read, write, and discuss more than memorizing. While I was reading books, I began to know the words in the book automatically. Also I used the words while I talk to my American friends so they stayed in my brain for a long time. Every Korean learns English by memorizing thousands and thousands of words, but they can’t have a conversation with an American because they don’t practice speaking. So they only know a lot of words but can’t use them properly. The Korean students study much more than the American students not only because they have longer school days but they go to academies after-school for about five hours. Also the Korean students study harder because they have much more homework and exams than the American students. But the strange thing is when the students from Korea and America go to college; they are all in the same level somehow. Sometimes the Korean students know less than the American students even though they spent much more time studying than them. It is much easier for the American students to get into a good college because they have a lot of chances to improve their score on the SAT. But the Korean students have only one chance to take ‘Su-Neung’. Some kids have a mental breakdown or commit suicide when they can’t go to the right college. “Among young people ten to nineteen, suicide is the second most common cause of death, after traffic accidents” (Choe, Sang-Hun, “A Taste of Failure Fuels on appetite or Success” New York Times, 8/13/08). Also beating is allowed in Korea but it is illegal in America. Often the parents and teachers beat the kids if they get a bad score on their tests or forget their homework in Korea. The beating makes students very anxious and nervous about the tests and some kids try to get good test scores only to avoid beating. I had been beaten by my mom and my teacher and it makes me feel really bad. Sometimes I don’t even know the reason why I was beaten. I was one of the kids who tried to get good scores on the tests to avoid beating. When I came to America no one beat me and it made me free myself and expose my feelings. I learn more in America than when I was in Korea because I read more books and do more creative work here. Also I get to talk with my American friends and have more chance to talk in English, my English gets better and better and I learn more words. Also there are a lot of chances to have your recreation time with your friends and play sports. In Korea you can’t have these chances and the ways of learning English because you can’t change the education system that exists.
The students can learn more by following the American education system than the Korean education system even though the students who follow the Korean system spend much more time, and get beaten while they study. The American education system teaches the students to think creatively and gives them more freedom. In these ways, the students are able to express, share, and discuss their thinking and feelings freely. This leads them to be creative and makes them think more about the problems that they have. The only thing that the Korean education system does is make the students memorize. In this way, the students quickly forget what they learned because they are just studying for the test, not for themselves. Also the strict teaching makes the students close minded, and stops them from showing their thinking and feeling to others. They are not creative because they only have to memorize things, rather than thinking beyond the problems. The American system teaches the students more important things and the things that they need in their life, and the Korean education teaches the students only how to get good scores on tests. So the American education system is much better than the Korean education system.
The students can learn more by following the American education system than the Korean education system even though the students who follow the Korean system spend much more time, and get beaten while they study. The American education system teaches the students to think creatively and gives them more freedom. In these ways, the students are able to express, share, and discuss their thinking and feelings freely. This leads them to be creative and makes them think more about the problems that they have. The only thing that the Korean education system does is make the students memorize. In this way, the students quickly forget what they learned because they are just studying for the test, not for themselves. Also the strict teaching makes the students close minded, and stops them from showing their thinking and feeling to others. They are not creative because they only have to memorize things, rather than thinking beyond the problems. The American system teaches the students more important things and the things that they need in their life, and the Korean education teaches the students only how to get good scores on tests. So the American education system is much better than the Korean education system.
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