The Grip of Exams and College Entrance on Korean Education

Two articles in The Joongang Daily illustrate the strong grip that preparation for college and college entrance exams have on the entire education sector in South Korea.  The first of these reports that, beginning next year, students residing outside Gangnam school district may find it difficult to apply to high schools inside this largely favored district, known for its excellent education infrastructure. As it stands now, students residing in Seoul are able to apply to any high schools in the city, but from 2013 middle school graduates may be limited to applying to high schools located in their districts closer to the homes.The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on Monday that it will reform the current high school selection system so that students can only apply for high schools near their registered residence from the academic year starting 2013, which will affect current second graders of middle school. “The measure is to solve the problem of students crowding certain schools,” said Lee Gang-tae, an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. He added that a final decision would be made before year's end after collecting opinions from parents.
A second article in The Joongang Daily reported that classes in some Gangnam middle schools were languishing following the students' completion of applications for admission to private high schools. Even though it was mid-semester in a third-year middle school classroom located in Gangnam District, Seoul, students were watching an action movie instead of studying on Nov. 25. A third of the seats were empty and many of the students who were present, instead of wearing uniforms, were dressed down in gym clothes. The article went on to suggest that this day was not the exception but the norm, ever since students completed their private high school application process. Private schools start accepting applications nationwide as early as September and in Seoul, foreign language schools and private schools moved up application dates this year by ten days. Because application deadlines are earlier, some middle schools administer second semester final exams for third years as early as the end of October. Hence, the middle school third year classroom setting in the second semester degenerates into merely biding time until high school starts in spring.