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I remember as a child, I was terrified at that national exam that every high school student took to get into college. I don't know if this was a myth or exaggeration, but as I recall, if you did poorly, you didn't get to go to college at all. It was different than the SATs or ACTs... It wasn't an aptitude test but rather a nationwide entrance exam. Is that still the case in Korea?
Luckily, my sisters and I left before any of us had to take it! Also, I got out of the mandatory military service, which was another source of consternation...
That's because that's what all the parents told their kids! 😑 I came to the U.S. when I was very young, so I had no fear of school, because I didn't know any better.
From what I understand, how well you do on the 8-hour suneung (aka College Scholastic Ability Test) determines which university you will get into. 70% of Korean h.s. students will attend college. But only 2% get into a SKY school. So all the students who don't do well enough to get into a SKY school can still enroll in the less prestigious universities IF their test scores meet the requirements.
My second cousin (that I referenced in this newsletter) said that she was at a disadvantage. Her parents weren't wealthy, so they didn't send her overseas to learn to speak English without an accent. During exams (and later job interviews), they expect their elite to speak English like an American, Brit or Aussie. She still got into SNU (which she said was easy if you pick a less competitive major). I would say she was admitted because she is really quite brilliant.
I think it's easier for westerners to enroll in the SKY schools because they can charge us more than Koreans in Korea. We don't have to take the suneung — just have decent grades and parents who can pay the tuition.
It is interesting how entertainers fawn over celebrities who attended "elite" schools. On "Running Man," Kim Jong-kook was making fun of Korean American singer John Park, who went to Northwestern University. Jong-kook said that NW was probably easy to get into. The reality is, on a scale of world-ranked universities, Northwestern is recognized globally as a "better" and more prestigious school than SNU.
It was important to my parents that I attend a prestigious school and I think part of that was because they knew that it could make a difference in how I was treated. It's all silly to me as an American, but I get it now. When (fellow) ajummas try to intimidate me, I can usually shut them down by asking what school they went to, because even if they attended SNU, I know the school I went to is ranked globally higher than theirs and is also the most expensive university in the U.S. (which I find horrifying, but Koreans are impressed by that fact). But I also know that I didn't have to suffer or study nearly as hard to gain admittance. And for that I am truly thankful.
Okay, so now I know I was brainwashed! Lordy. It is quite depressing how Koreans fawn over education. I was recently rereading Catherine Chung's first novel, Forgotten Country, and her book reminded me just how obsessed Koreans are at "baksa"s! Just seeing that word reminded me how much status education confers upon a person (and, subsequently, their family). 😐
Great reviews as always- as for Extracurricular, I think the whole thing was made to be like watching a train wreck in slow-motion, on purpose. I didn't want the characters to come out healed or hopeful they needed to continue and any redemption wouldn't happen where we could see it- the final pull back out of the city scape was for me, telling. This series reminded me of the John Cusack movie "Grosse Point Blank" one really dumb mistake and you knew it wasn't going to end well but you just had to keep watch eyes riveted with horror.
Good points! As I wrote, "perhaps that was the point of this dark series. Sometimes, things get so out of hand that there is no way to neatly resolve it." While I would've liked some sense of closure, there really is none when things get this out of hand!
I remember as a child, I was terrified at that national exam that every high school student took to get into college. I don't know if this was a myth or exaggeration, but as I recall, if you did poorly, you didn't get to go to college at all. It was different than the SATs or ACTs... It wasn't an aptitude test but rather a nationwide entrance exam. Is that still the case in Korea?
Luckily, my sisters and I left before any of us had to take it! Also, I got out of the mandatory military service, which was another source of consternation...
That's because that's what all the parents told their kids! 😑 I came to the U.S. when I was very young, so I had no fear of school, because I didn't know any better.
From what I understand, how well you do on the 8-hour suneung (aka College Scholastic Ability Test) determines which university you will get into. 70% of Korean h.s. students will attend college. But only 2% get into a SKY school. So all the students who don't do well enough to get into a SKY school can still enroll in the less prestigious universities IF their test scores meet the requirements.
My second cousin (that I referenced in this newsletter) said that she was at a disadvantage. Her parents weren't wealthy, so they didn't send her overseas to learn to speak English without an accent. During exams (and later job interviews), they expect their elite to speak English like an American, Brit or Aussie. She still got into SNU (which she said was easy if you pick a less competitive major). I would say she was admitted because she is really quite brilliant.
I think it's easier for westerners to enroll in the SKY schools because they can charge us more than Koreans in Korea. We don't have to take the suneung — just have decent grades and parents who can pay the tuition.
It is interesting how entertainers fawn over celebrities who attended "elite" schools. On "Running Man," Kim Jong-kook was making fun of Korean American singer John Park, who went to Northwestern University. Jong-kook said that NW was probably easy to get into. The reality is, on a scale of world-ranked universities, Northwestern is recognized globally as a "better" and more prestigious school than SNU.
It was important to my parents that I attend a prestigious school and I think part of that was because they knew that it could make a difference in how I was treated. It's all silly to me as an American, but I get it now. When (fellow) ajummas try to intimidate me, I can usually shut them down by asking what school they went to, because even if they attended SNU, I know the school I went to is ranked globally higher than theirs and is also the most expensive university in the U.S. (which I find horrifying, but Koreans are impressed by that fact). But I also know that I didn't have to suffer or study nearly as hard to gain admittance. And for that I am truly thankful.
Finally, if I got any of this wrong, correct me!
Okay, so now I know I was brainwashed! Lordy. It is quite depressing how Koreans fawn over education. I was recently rereading Catherine Chung's first novel, Forgotten Country, and her book reminded me just how obsessed Koreans are at "baksa"s! Just seeing that word reminded me how much status education confers upon a person (and, subsequently, their family). 😐
Great reviews as always- as for Extracurricular, I think the whole thing was made to be like watching a train wreck in slow-motion, on purpose. I didn't want the characters to come out healed or hopeful they needed to continue and any redemption wouldn't happen where we could see it- the final pull back out of the city scape was for me, telling. This series reminded me of the John Cusack movie "Grosse Point Blank" one really dumb mistake and you knew it wasn't going to end well but you just had to keep watch eyes riveted with horror.
Good points! As I wrote, "perhaps that was the point of this dark series. Sometimes, things get so out of hand that there is no way to neatly resolve it." While I would've liked some sense of closure, there really is none when things get this out of hand!
Absolutely
And thank you for your kind compliment! I appreciate you taking the time to read these sometimes verrrryyyyy long posts. 😛