Those retaking CSAT lead a life lost in limbo
Twenty percent of those who took the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) last year were students willing to retake the country’s most notorious exam to enter a higher-ranking university, according to the Korean Institute for Curriculum and Education.The following profile has been arranged from interviews conducted by JoongAng Ilbo with 10 students who are once again preparing the upcoming CSAT.
These young people, known as jaesusaeng - referring to those who retake the college entrance exam - have no clear identity: They are students, but neither in high school or college.
They often describe the period living as a jaesusaeng as being similar to a prison term. They leave their home for a hagwon, or private academy, in the early morning each day and return home around 10 p.m.
Tuition is expensive, and many students pay more than a million won ($890) on monthly fees and books. Those who come from cities outside Seoul need more financial support for housing and meals.
Jaesusaengs recognize themselves as being in the “13th grade,” because they think that taking the CSAT is an extension of high school. Some claim that taking the CSAT two times or more is necessary to attend Korea’s top three schools - Seoul National University, Yonsei University and Korea University.
There is no difference between 12th-grade students and jaesusaeng in routine. After breakfast at 6 a.m., they attend hagwon.
Following an English quiz, they spend the whole day taking classes, which often last until 4 p.m.
Only a lunch break is allowed.
Preparation is then followed by classes. Many hagwons have strict rules on prep. Some force students to spend at least five hours studying, even over the weekend.
The CSAT grade is the only valuable one in hagwon. In high school, art, music and physical education are mandatory, but they are meaningless here because a hagwon is merely a business aimed at helping its clients improve their test scores.
Just as high school and college students, some jaesusaengs have boyfriends or girlfriends. But most couples break up when one enters college and meets new people.
Jaesusaengs who are left single often feel betrayed and leave messages on their notebooks disparaging their ex-lovers.
For instance, “I’ll make you miss me after entering a better college!”
Many jaesusaeng compared entering any college without serious consideration as how the characters on the popular TV drama “Misaeng” (2014) live and work.
The program deals centers on the struggle of a contract worker who aspires to be part of the general staff at a trading company.
It means that they have to do their best to enter a good college, which will be preferable to securing a good job.
Their parents and teachers often tell them that being admitted into a good college is the way to success: a stable job and a suitable husband or wife.
Still, most jaesusaengs spend their days dreaming of entering a top college, failing to discover who they really want to be.
BY YUN JUNG-MIN [nam.yoonseo@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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