Midterms are this coming week. It's hard to believe that the semester is halfway through, once again time is speeding along. I have four midterm exams this week, just enough to keep me busy! After midterms I have a four day weekend, which is awesome considering it is Easter weekend and the blossoms are in full bloom! I will spend the weekend in Seoul celebrating Easter and touring around Seoul.
During midterms, the Korean students are extremely stressed to do well in their exams. I think being concerned about doing well is good, but to be absolutely paranoid about "failing" by receiving an 80% is not healthy. Korean students have an extreme perfectionism mentality that even puts my mild perfectionism to shame. I always try to put 100% into everything that I do, but if it doesn't result in a great grade, I am content that because I know that I did the best I could. For Korean students, doing your best isn't enough, perfection is expected. This is the mentality that is taught to them at a young age by parents, teachers, and society as a whole. This unhealthy pressure on students is creating several tragic consequences.
I saw an article the other day discussing Korean student suicide rates. It really struck me, especially since being here. Korea has the highest suicide rate among wealthy nations of the world. The suicide rate was 28 per 100,000 persons last year. The majority of these suicides are university students.
In the month of April, there were four suicides at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, which has caused the school to face a lot of scrutiny. This particular university is the highest university for Science and Tech majors. It is extremely difficult to get in and is one of the toughest universities in Korea. Not only that, but for every 0.01 drop in GPA, students are fined 60,000won ($55). It is a government school, so students who come to this school enter on full scholarships. They are punished for "bad" grades by being fined from their scholarship. I am not blaming the school for these suicides, but Korea as a whole needs to look at these tragedies and discuss what would cause such bright students to take their lives.
Korea is a society that has always placed education as the greatest priority and the defining factor of your identity. Throughout Korea's history, your intelligence delegated your position in society. In many ways, this remains the same. Your college entrance score determines what University you can attend. What school you graduate from is crucial in finding a job with a top company. This social stratification is determined by your education. The pressure to do well in school as a result, is huge. Failing to excel in school could destroy your future career prospects.
Parents place great expectations on their children. I think encouraging your child to do well is great, but to have unrealistic expectations is not healthy for the parent or the child. It has in some families created a fear on the students part of not being able to meet these expectations, which adds additional pressure on the student. Disappointing your parents is the what every student fears.
Sometimes, I think Korea creates a sort of censorship to eliminate imperfections of their society in order to create this artificial inaccurate image. For example, one of my friends here in Korea teaches English to special education students in the Southern region. Her students vary from mild autism to extreme learning disabilities. Many of her students live in the schools dormitories or with relatives while their parents live in Seoul. Some of these families do this because all the work is in Seoul, and her school is good in dealing with disabilities. However, there are some that place their children in her school away from their lives because they are ashamed that they have a child that is not ideal. I was shocked when she told me this. It is hard for me to imagine a parent sending their child away, a child that needs even more love than others.
This kind of censoring the imperfections of society is also evident when these student suicide occur. When a student suicide occurs in the USA, a great outcry by both the media and community usually follows. It is discussed openly and blatantly. When a suicide occurs in Korea, it is rarely reported by the media. If it is discussed on a news program, the conversation ends when the reporter finishes the story. Korean people don't like to talk about a student suicide beyond "Oh, that was terrible."
Last fall, there was a history teacher here at SCH that jumped from the tenth floor of the teachers apartments to her death. I didn't even know about it until my history teacher talked about how much she missed her. It wasn't reported by the school paper or discussed openly on campus. These kinds of things are tragic, but failing to create a discussion with students about these tragedies will only create more sorrow on Korean campuses.
I hope as midterms come this week for most Korean Universities that Korean students keep things in perspective. There is more to life beyond the Biology midterm or the final grade in Chemistry class. You should never let other people or a grade in class define who you are.
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