Teenage years are short, a degree lasts forever. Considering how people without a top-notch university degree are treated, I’d much prefer no childhood than such a degrading life in general. People visibly frown at you or change topics when you tell them which school you’re in, as if they heard about some tragic disaster.
If you’re going to university, you’ll be fine regardless of where it ranks.
It’s a country where almost everyone is a college graduate, and only a few are actually considered to be college-educated. Some people even hide their degrees to land a job at a sweatshop or something.
Yes, it’s messed up. But I jokingly tell my parents that they should’ve been way harder on me than they were because I only got into where I ended up, which I think was very lucky, but not the best either. Yes, I’m a big conformist, one of the qualities Korean culture requires that I’ve learned over the years.
Got_Bent@lemmy.world 5 months ago
So the American equivalent is pretty much going to the ivy League then going to work at FAANG or a law firm or finance firm that only hires from the ivies.
That stuff all exists in the US and it’s certainly something many Americans aspire to as evidenced by the whole college admissions coaching industry.
What you’re seeing out of Korea is presented as though ALL families are basically telling their kids that they’ll be disowned if they fail to achieve these lofty heights.
The reality is that there are a ton of more accessible universities throughout the Korean peninsula that kids attend and they end up with reasonable jobs living reasonable lives, current situation of unaffordable housing and rampant debt notwithstanding.
I would agree that many if not most Korean students spend significantly more time studying than their American counterparts. I will not agree that it’s universally effective to do so.
Source: Lived in Korea for four years in the nineties and eventually married into it. Though I will admit some of my experiences may be outdated as I haven’t been keeping up with latest trends.