[CARD NEWS: Opinion] Korean students, who study all year round

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[CARD NEWS: Opinion] Korean students, who study all year round

테스트

There are some people in Korea who don’t get any rest during the week — high school students often have to study seven days a week in order to prepare for university entrance exams. To protect students right to rest, lawmakers are about to introduce a bill to limit private education.

테스트



1) “Students who go to cram schools on Sunday” — 35 percent
Sourced from Seoul Education Research & Information Institute

All year round, students in Korea are harassed with overwhelming studying.
Studying becomes their inevitable vocation, and taking days off on holidays is considered to be a luxury. The students rarely rest to achieve their ultimate goal — college entrance.

2) What about the employers in Korea?
The current law guarantees workers rest on weekends. The working environment has improved a lot compared to the past.

3) Meanwhile, nothing has changed in the studying conditions of students. Being enslaved to the college entrance system, the students are usually marked as delinquents if they are found hanging around during weekends.

4) Recently, lawmakers in Korea have been discussing how to protect the “right to rest” for the students in Korea. More specifically, they are preparing a bill to enforce cram schools to shut their doors during weekends, at least.

5) ‘I agree that cram schools should be forced to close on weekends
Middle school students: 75.5 percent / high school students: 51.9 percent

6) The students are usually in favor of the bill that makes cram schools close on weekends.

7) Their opinions could not but be interpreted as they go to the cram schools because they have to, not because they want to.

8) But the bill also has to deal with substantial opponents. The opponents insist that the law, which poses limits only to private education, would make no difference at all as the highly competitive college admission system remains unchanged.

9) Another argument of the opponents is that the law limits the students’ freedom of choice. They suggest a compelling argument that the law would rather create a bubble effect, where the number of private tutors would increase as an alternative method for students who still choose to learn during the weekends.

10) In fact, making cram schools close on the weekends does not offer a fundamental solution. The current law is temporary and outdated, but, no one can find an appropriate measure to fix the situation.

11) An old-fashioned idea is still prevalent in Korean society; the college entrance is an opportunity to completely reverse one’s life. Even though the pressure may be slightly less than in the past, this is the sad reality for Korean students.

12) The education system was established when Korea was under Japanese rule. The surface of the system has been changed numerous times, but the internal elements remain the same. Even at this moment, the students are never given any time to take a rest but keep climbing the endless competitive ladder.



Directed by Lee Jeong-bong
Constructed by Kim Min-pyo
Designed by Bae Seok-yeong
Translated by Son Min-young
Edited by Jim Bulley
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