I grew up in South Korea. I spent my first 17 years in Seoul, completing up to my high school junior year in intense South Korean education system. Students are expected to put in 16 hour day 5 days a week to study. School curriculum work ends in late afternoon, but immediately following students head to after-school academies called 'hak-won' to continue studying. All these studying is driven by parents' zeal to see their children advance to prestigious universities in and out of country.
It's a system motivated by intense competition and fear of falling behind. Competition to get ahead gotten so bad that South Korea government had to institute a policy to outlaw hak-wons to close its door after 10 PM.
It's a system motivated by intense competition and fear of falling behind. Competition to get ahead gotten so bad that South Korea government had to institute a policy to outlaw hak-wons to close its door after 10 PM.
