Decadent capitalists.

In Best Korea all students score in the top 1% without trying. Except for Kim Jong Il, who performed even better.

What a police escort might look like:

Lego_Addict: I'm actually impressed. This country really cares about the future of their children.

since the pressure of these exams had led many of them to suicide, I would disagree.

mantidor: Lego_Addict: I'm actually impressed. This country really cares about the future of their children.

since the pressure of these exams had led many of them to suicide, I would disagree.

Why you get B and not A? You Asian, not B-sian!

/old joke is old and terrible

Call me crazy, but they might be taking education a bit too seriously.
There is more to growing up then just book learnin'.

Don't get me wrong, I have your standard high school-to-college American education. But there is no way I'd do the crap they make their kids do. I was out having fun playing sports, drinking beer, having fun with girls, and working. Education was important in my family, but never at the sacrifice of living life.

HellRaisingHoosier: Call me crazy, but they might be taking education a bit too seriously.
There is more to growing up then just book learnin'.

Don't get me wrong, I have your standard high school-to-college American education. But there is no way I'd do the crap they make their kids do. I was out having fun playing sports, drinking beer, having fun with girls, and working. Education was important in my family, but never at the sacrifice of living life.

Economic freedom and property rights has a lot more to do with prosperity than education. If education was all that mattered, Russia would have crushed the United States in the Cold War.

/for crying out loud, Chess is a SPECTATOR sport there

Lego_Addict: I'm actually impressed. This country really cares about the future of their children.


FTFA
With high levels of youth unemployment and a growing informal employment sector that doesn't bring the same benefits as working for huge South Korean conglomerates that offer a steady job and pension, anxious prayers from parents don't always stop when the exams are finished.

Sounds to me like they need a little redistribution of the wealth

PghThermal: Lego_Addict: I'm actually impressed. This country really cares about the future of their children.


FTFA
With high levels of youth unemployment and a growing informal employment sector that doesn't bring the same benefits as working for huge South Korean conglomerates that offer a steady job and pension, anxious prayers from parents don't always stop when the exams are finished.

Sounds to me like they need a little redistribution of the wealth

What they are basically saying is there are essentially 2 paths to employment. You get a really good score on this test and get into the top school, graduate and find a job with one of the large companies, you are set litterally for life. Or you do not get a good score or into a top school and you work for a small company or start a business and while you may make a fair living, you wont have health or retirement benifits.

Without the top school degree chances are slim to none of getting into a congomerate.

I'm of Korean descent born in America and I thank god that I was born here. Those people are crazy.

My father has really mellowed with age but I literally got whipped in elementary school if my report cards did not have straight A+s all across the board. I'm not kidding when I say he was unhappy with just an A. He backed off after I consistently got straight As in middle/high school.

On the other hand, he worked 12 -14 hours, 7 days a week operating a corner grocery store so he could pay my tuition kindergarten through 12 grade. I made damn sure I got a college scholarship. Now I do very well for myself and actually help him out from time to time.

I'm not sure I have a point here, other than Koreans are crazy.

Lego_Addict: I'm actually impressed. This country really cares about the future of their children.

Then you would really think that instead of all of the toffee-eating, porridge fearing, stock market shutting down, superstitious nonsense, there would be some mention of, oh, I don't know, STUDYING.