Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Education in Korea, from the PBS News Hour

[I currently work at one of the 'cram schools' of the sort mentioned in this broadcast - although here in Daegu at least it's usually translated as 'academy.' The Korean word is 학원, which is pronounced hogwan.]

While I think that a large majority of parents in the US do not care nearly enough about their children's education, I also think the system here in Korea is insane. I shouldn't complain, as it's paying my salary, but these poor kids! My last class of the day is a middle school class, which ends at 10pm. When I was in middle school, my bed time was 9:30pm! Once they leave me, these kids still have to go home and do their public school and academy homework (and most kids go to more than one academy). Studying is important, but so is having a childhood!

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