Suicide in Korea - Page 2

Often, students are escorted by police, especially if students don't think they will arrive at the test centre on time. Since the test is almost a life-or-death exam for students, the preparation for it is so secure and strict that since its beginning from 1993, Suneung questions were never leaked. Questions are made by chosen professors and teachers, who are locked in a hotel with blacked windows, no communication and a full library of questions until the end of Suneung.

On May 24 2011 08:26 dreamsmasher wrote:


on average yes, when you compare the top with the top no. in fact i would argue at the top, westerners shine a bit more.

On May 24 2011 08:24 Irrational_Animal wrote:
@ imperator: does the Korean sýstem produce better students (at academic level)? Personally I`m not really convinced.

On May 24 2011 08:45 Irrational_Animal wrote:
@ Dreamasher: I think there might be a small difference between american asians and the typical Korean student though. From what I´ve seen, it`s very hard to enter a top notch Korean university but once you are in (given that you pay the tuition fees^^) it`s hard to drop out. So most Korean students neglect their hard working attitude and laissez faire takes over. At least until they reach their final year where they have to absolve language certificates for future jobs. What`s more importnt is that you are good at networking. Also critical thinking or good essay writing skills are not really required in the Korean system.

On May 24 2011 08:25 dreamsmasher wrote:
suicide is also one of the (most? not exactly sure but top 2) leading causes deaths amongst asian americans, males in particular.

On May 24 2011 08:26 dreamsmasher wrote:


on average yes, when you compare the top with the top no. in fact i would argue at the top, westerners shine a bit more.

asians take a very different stance on education from westerners at it reflects. asian americans have higher median income than whites, statistically score higher on standardized tests, and we have an overwhelming presence at any top school, this all within ONE generation.

i'm not going to list the negatives, there are many that I can list but I would go into them too much here.

i would say 95% of my friends who were asian who i grew up with went to either top state universities or ivy league caliber schools.

but i would say most of my white (er non asian) friends who were also strong academically were much stronger all around.

On May 24 2011 08:22 T0fuuu wrote:
And wow at Suhs program... it doesnt work because students are graded with the bell curve. So you are punishing the majority of students no matter what you do. Great scheme for making money though.

On May 24 2011 08:48 UFO wrote:
So what of all this that comes out of this studying, hard work, all those achievements, all of it, if there is no love ?

Its just my opinion but I think this culture is very aritificial.

Its like a mummy that is surrounded by the bandages of all those alleged achievements and succeses but if you strip it away and see where it comes from and what is behind it - you will see the frail, decayed skin beneath.

This heartless, sensless competition instead of benevolent cooperation and support.

The very foundation of this culture is fear and judgement. Most of it`s values, in my opinion, are artificial and unauthentic - for example, most often the "humility" or the desire to do 'good' or the desire to "contribute" comes out of fear of being judged - not from love and wisdom.

In my opinion, this is a slavery or almost a slavery, though well hidden behind the veils of alleged succes, achievements and cultural justification.

Of course this is a generalization but a relevant one.

On May 24 2011 08:51 T0fuuu wrote:


NO. Don't confuse the Korean Academic system with Korean culture. Korean universities and Asian universities in general are bad compared to the top US/European university. We all know it. That is why Asians study so hard to get there and why the OP puts such emphasis on students getting into the top 3 universities. The top 3 are nowhere near as good as Americas top 3 but top 3 in Korea is still better than average korean universities that dont even have an international presence.

If you are asking as to whether children raised that way are better academically then I wouldnt know. University's prove their strength by the research they have done and we know that the best universities arent from Korea. I don't know the ethnicity of the people that have done the research and even if they were all asian I wouldnt make a link to one race or culture being superior cos those Asians may have grown up in the country that they study.

On May 24 2011 08:44 OneOther wrote:

Hard to objectively measure what country produces "better students," but tests like these provide some light into international comparison of education systems. Korea has always been ranked around the top ever since these were conducted.

http://ourtimes.wordpress.com/pisa/