In South Korea, the annual college entrance exam weighs heavily on the shoulders of young people who see it as more than a rite of passage — it’s a make-or-break moment that defines whether they’ll have a successful life or not.

Korea has one of the best education systems in the world with high attendance and completion rates, but with that also comes a high psychological cost for students.

Earlier this month, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim spoke at a news conference in Seoul on the hyper-stressed, competitive levels characteristic of the South Korean education system that leaves students feeling worn and unhappy.

His advice? Cut down on private tutoring.

Dr. Kim sees private tutoring as a widespread and common practice that should be modified to improve education, especially since it could deepen inequality by creating an uneven playing field for the less wealthy.

According to The Wall Street Journal, South Korean parents paid $18 billion for private education last year to advance their children ahead in the college entrance exam.

More tutoring.  More expectations.  More pressure.

At the news conference, Dr. Kim pressed the issue of the psychological burden placed on students, suggesting that schools find a way to reduce the demands for tutoring and daylong study hours — even extending to private after-school institutions — to change the way parents and students approach education.

The pressure to succeed at school sets an unrealistic expectation that has pushed South Korean students to be at the top of global rankings for academic achievement.

A new global survey suggests that this academic pressure attributes to their low levels of happiness, ranking 75th out of 135 countries in wellbeing, which includes sense of purpose, social relationships and health.

According to BBC News, the most common form of death for those under 40 in South Korea is suicide. And while few would deem the country’s education system flawless, change is met with resistance.

The government is also aware of this pressing issue and is working to redress the balance.

“We still have a long way to go but we are doing some soul-searching in our society,” says the Education Minister Nam Soo Suh, “and our goals now are how to make our people happier.”

– Chelsee Yee

Sources: The Diplomat, BBC, Wall Street Journal 1, Wall Street Journal 2
Photo: SCMP