Education System in South Korea

When talking about Korea, I'm pretty sure 100% that the first thing coming up in mind is K-pop, s*msung, dramas, celebrities, plastic surgery, and aaanything, except education. I was also one of those with the same point of view. The Korean exposure in the world couldn't help but building that idea. Everybody knows how the Korean entertainment culture has made a whole new concept and the waves swept around the world, its technology company has now become one of the world's greatest duo that just can't stop competing, their celebrities' face are spreading all over the globe, and even the country has now claimed & considered as the plastic surgery capital where the latest knowledge and development of the field are mainly taking place.

But then I got the golden opportunity to open up my eyes and see from a whole new side. My campus gave me the chance to experience living and studying in South Korea, particularly in Seoul. It was only a short period, actually, merely around 1 month, but it was quite enough to change (or at least, shift) my perspective about the country. Yes, the education system in Korea is one thing that's truly impressive and yet totally 'forgotten' to be seen. In fact, there are so many things we can learn from the system applied in schools there. Prior disclaimer: the points here are according fully to my own experience (details about the school and period of study you can check out my previous post), each school could be different, but wouldn't be any extreme distinction, of course.
So, from the eyes of me, Wardah Nafisah, here are the things I found attractive about Korea's education.

• Punctuality

I know this sounds quite familiar, like, a lot of other countries are also known for this point. But yeah, as a person who lives in a country which still finds it hard on being timely, punctuality always impresses. Being on time doesn't only mean that we highly appreciate ourselves and other people, but also means that we are committed, Commitment and consistency speak up through this. During my study in Korea, there wasn't a single chance that my lecture starts late, or ends up late, without any prior notification. My class everyday started at 8 am, and mostly finished around 4 pm. I clearly remember there's one day when it was snowstorm in the morning. I ate my breakfast in the dorm canteen and at first I stayed quite a few minutes there waiting for the storm to 'calm down', but then I realized it's already late so I rushed my ass off to get to the class as soon as possible (till I slipped in the stairs heading to my faculty building, hahaa). When I reached class, first thing I saw was an announcement written in the board that class is rescheduled 30 minutes late due to the snow. It shows how the campus committed and paid full attention to our precious time, that even when there's something unexpected happened, we keeps get the certainty. That noticing and communicating is actually very simple, but affect much. And 'being late' definitely doesn't exist in the lecturers' mind.

• Break-time

Every students love break-time, that's inevitable. But (I personally think) Korea can make lecture time as beloved as break-time. Besides the normal break-time for lunch, there's also a 15-minutes break time in every 45 minutes of the class. I didn't really get what's that for, but soon I realized the very good purpose of that simple rule. It makes the students be more focused throughout the class. During the lecture, I personally felt that I didn't really want to check out my phone, or need to chitchat with friends, or sneak up to snacking, or the (normal) urge to go to the toilet (which obviously ruining concentration and the main cause of 'ignorance'), because I can definitely do all that on the 15-mins break. This also relates to how humans' brain work, which is said in several research that brain can effectively focus on one thing continuously, only for 45 minutes till 1 hour. What I love more about this 15-mins break, is how the lecturer always tries to blend in with the students, stopping by around the class chitchatting about daily life, how we're doing, our latest weekend vacation, and literally aaanything except the lesson (unless we, the students, asked). This is showing how professional the lecturers, appreciating our rights.

• High Spirit

If I could only say one thing about Korean students, I'd say; high spirited! In the campus, the only place that's 24 hours always on, fully active, is the library. At dorm, despite the fact there's a proper desk for each person in the bedroom, the only spot that's always bright with full of people is the study hall (includes private study cubicles, conference room, discussion chambers, IT desks) which is also the biggest space in the entire building. Even, there's a time when I came home late from a night out eating with friends, it was already around 11 pm, and I took a shortcut to go to the dorm, so I went through inside some faculty buildings. In the faculty of natural science, I went through the laboratory floor, and there are still some students doing experiments working on their research. I was kinda shocked but then it made me convinced that Korean students are indeed very highly motivated and high spirited. All those impressions I got was truly based on my very own observation, and... remember, I was there for winter short course. And on winter, schools are on holiday. Yes, all those I experienced, was on the holiday period of the university.

Even so, lately researched more about it, and figured out that this "high spirit" thingy could also lead to something else, which isn't always good. Surely we've heard the cases of suicide due to academic failure. What I've just found out, a surgeon specialist told that one of the main reasons Korean people getting plastic surgery is to pursue the career, because (he said) "everybody is good in academics, everyone has good grades, so there must be another 'plus' to get the job, and yes, by being good looking". The bitter and ugly truth that lies within the imperfect society, indeed..

• High Motivation (and, Nationalism)

I was once asking to a Korean friend of mine, "What is it that makes students here are so diligent, hardworking, and looks very well-spirited?". The answer later tremendously got me in awe, "Because we're the future. Our country needs us, this nation will only be developed by us. So it's unquestionably our responsibility to study well and work hard". By then, I couldn't stop wondering (and wishing).. how great it is to have this kind of marvelous mindset in every youths of Indonesia.. :") Same goes when I had a chance visiting the Hyundai company, Korean friends with sparks of fiery in the eyes explained how proud and highly motivated they're to learn in order to improve and develop the nation's company in the future.

Of course I'm not saying that the education system, students or lecturers in Korea are the best, nope. I'm trying to share this so that we, Indonesians, can take the good values and learn from what happened on the other side of the globe. Because I do believe,

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.   - Nelson Mandela

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. - Malcolm X