The culture of learning

In Amanda Ripley’s book, she discusses the so called “pressure-cooker” school system of South Korea. On my first trip to Korea back in summer of 2015, I was able to notice this culture of learning a lot more because my friend I was visiting was experiencing it first-hand as she was studying daily while we were hanging out for an entrance examination for an architecture school in Edinburgh (she made it!!). But coming to Korea this time and being able to experience the college life in Korea, I find it a bit different. Even the college students say their college life is different from the pressure cooker system they faced in high school. They said that in high school, the colleges many students want to attend are very competitive, so they must study in that fashion in order to compete with their peers and achieve high test scores. In college, they still have to work hard, yes, but when they explained it to me, it was as if getting into college was their freedom...from everything; their parents, their home life, and most importantly, their stressful study habits. The lecture about Korean education emphasized this. Once students come to college, especially SNUE, they are pretty much guaranteed a job through the government, as long as they continue to be decent students (which they all have proven to be with their admission to the university). I still think that the educational system of Korea needs some work, but I am at the very least glad they have somewhat of an escape from it once they pursue a higher education!