M is for the Motherland (559 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.25 on 26 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by saeki (View user info) at 2006-09-05 23:56:59 EDT
M is for the Motherland
The Korean education system is failing horribly.
Here in this upscale area, lawyers, doctors, and mothers think that "kids are just smarter today" to account for the difficulty of the New England college admissions process. The same pattern is in Korea's education system, but with a few differences.
From the earliest I can remember about school, learning has been a completely objective, factual process with no emphasis on discussion, creativity, debate, interpretation, et cetera. Everything that I know now is something I've memorized along the way; I'm not very good at spontaneously doing things.
Theres also the pressure of scoring perfect score on the university entrance exam.
In my junior year of high school, I saw four of my senior friends commit suicide at school- three of them during class and one at their graduation ceremony. The stress of being admitted to a college is immensely greater in South Korea than in the United States, according to my experience.
Adding to the stress is the fact that being accepted to anything less than the three top ranked universities means absolutely nothing.
I wonder how many of my friends (all are top students) still in Korea will work in construction and the sanitary division.
On the other hand, the students attending the best universities are almost guaranteed to become rich in their lifetimes, especially if they study the sciences, which grants them god-like status in our society. The rest will attain the most menial jobs.
And speaking of menial jobs, there was large issue on the news several years ago about Korean farmers who buy brides from the Philippines and some poor countries around Korea. Most Koreans hate the effects of globalization along with the disruption of the homogeneity of society (and are VERY open about it). Pakistanis also are beginning to immigrate into South Korea, and are severely discriminated against, at least as I saw it.
In a typical city/town, excluding the biggest cities, a foreigner will notice that there are very few houses and hundreds of apartment complexes. The largest house that you will find is shaped probably like an American townhouse.
Of course, there are some American style homes, but usually only actors and actresses live in them or are hotels for one family to rent for the night.
My grandfather, by some stroke of luck 50 some years ago, owns a considerable amount of land and arranged our family graveyard to be built on the top of a small mountain near his home.
You may have expected this but Korean graves are a bit different from their American counterparts. There is a headstone(s) of sorts with Chinese characters, but the clear difference is a small to enormous dirt mound (depending on the person's status), upon which grass eventually grows.
And a little about me: I grew up as an agnostic like many Koreans, harassing stray cats, and listening to bad K-technopop.
And something I thought funny: Last night, I was invited to my friend house for dinner and his mother asked me, "So what is Korean food like? Is it all mixed up like Chinese food or is all separated like Japanese food?" I didn't know how to respond.
User Reviews
Submitted by Saeki (user info) at 2006-09-18 22:53:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thats not an actual photograph of my family's graveyard, just a image I found on google.com
Submitted by Stabkill (user info) at 2006-09-18 14:00:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I have alter suspcions now...That grave area looks like the one on Camp Casey. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt...for now.
Submitted by UnderOathMeal (user info) at 2006-09-06 21:44:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I am not convinced that this isn't an alter.
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2006-09-06 19:12:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I love the question the mother asked
Submitted by Saeki (user info) at 2006-09-06 18:52:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2006-09-06 13:44:52 (#)
Ranking: 0
" I saw four of my senior friends commit suicide at school- three of them during class and one at their graduation ceremony."
- How do people kill themselves in class, or at graduation? I am not saying it is impossible but if the trend were common enough for 4 public suicides to happen in one class of Korean students i think it would get more attention.
"I wonder how many of my friends (all are top students) still in Korea will work in construction and the sanitary division."
- How do top students end up in sanitation? Are there only 5 enginnering/science positions available in South Korea?
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The three suicides in class happened at different times in different classrooms in a very large high school. I forgot to mention that this did get on the national news (am not sure about international) and afterwards students were searched for weapons- it was very easy to bring a concealed knife to school before this incident. As for the suicide at graduation, he made a statement, in which he said he ingested a potent chemical, in front of four thousand people and collapsed while he walked away from the podium. This received major publicity; I think it reached the U.S.
And the second question: Earning perfect grades and perfect score on the university entrance exam is not enough anymore. It's come down to how wealthy you are and luck. Of course there are more than five positions, but the percentage is still low.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-09-06 18:08:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by august_sobriquet (user info) at 2006-09-06 09:54:13 (#)
Ranking: 2
Amazing for a post in your second language. I found the bits of information about korea interesting and I would love to read more.
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2006-09-06 17:59:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
an amazing improvement in grammer and spelling!
keep posting
Submitted by Coleslaw_Murphy (user info) at 2006-09-06 14:24:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Much better than your first post. Keep this up.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2006-09-06 13:44:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
" I saw four of my senior friends commit suicide at school- three of them during class and one at their graduation ceremony."
- How do people kill themselves in class, or at graduation? I am not saying it is impossible but if the trend were common enough for 4 public suicides to happen in one class of Korean students i think it would get more attention.
"I wonder how many of my friends (all are top students) still in Korea will work in construction and the sanitary division."
- How do top students end up in sanitation? Are there only 5 enginnering/science positions available in South Korea?
Submitted by cuberat (user info) at 2006-09-06 13:18:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-09-06 11:59:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 for Asians receiving a warm welcome here.
Submitted by goferforhire (user info) at 2006-09-06 11:51:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Interested me
Submitted by HighVoltage900 (user info) at 2006-09-06 10:01:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Your english was good in this so I am being helpful, but you need to pin this down to a topic. You started talking about Korean education, then switched to other things. I understand you are talking about differences between Korean culture and American culture, but you did it in the wrong order. You START by talking about general differences (housing, food, etc.) and towards the end focus on a single topic (education) to finish the piece.
Submitted by Saeki (user info) at 2006-09-06 09:58:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-09-06 02:18:07 (#)
Ranking: 1
i find this "mound practice" interesting. If someone is an extremely affluent or well-respected member of the community, how big can these mounds get?
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I guess I didn't explain that well enough. Usually someone from the middle or upper class will be buried in a mound that is more spherical and larger than the one shown in the photograph. The largest I've seen is the size of large hill, maybe 30 feet high? It was the tomb of a king though.
Submitted by august_sobriquet (user info) at 2006-09-06 09:54:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Amazing for a post in your second language. I found the bits of information about korea interesting and I would love to read more.
Submitted by creep_firebombing (user info) at 2006-09-06 07:13:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
This was disjointed and lacked a solid direction. However, it was informative and you did, in fact, explain why you writing isn't exactly bursting with creativity. All in all, I think you deserve a "Worth Reading (0)", but I hope you stick around.
I think you'll be a much better writer than a lot of people on Uber right now as soon as you figure out how to express your thoughts in a manner that's more...well...story-like. So here's a +1 as a down payment on the writer I think you can be. Step it up and I'm sure you'll be getting +2s, at least from me, in no time.
Submitted by ICO (user info) at 2006-09-06 05:42:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I'm sorry for being rude, but if they actually committed suicide during class (I mean inside a classroom of some kind, among fellow students), it seems to me they're attentionwhoring their way out of life.
I wish people stopped trying to prove points by killing themselves.
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-09-06 02:18:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
i find this "mound practice" interesting. If someone is an extremely affluent or well-respected member of the community, how big can these mounds get?
Submitted by paint_it_black (user info) at 2006-09-06 02:06:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
ROcks, I like finding out about different cultures one one one
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2006-09-06 00:53:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Hi, I'm Eric from L.A. and I lost sixty two ugly pounds with Hydroxicut.
Submitted by moneyshotforyou (user info) at 2006-09-06 00:28:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Try something easier. Tell everyone how you feel about me. You can't go wrong there.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-09-06 00:25:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I kinda liked it. Perhaps a bit more detail or something, maybe it should've been longer.
Submitted by Saeki (user info) at 2006-09-06 00:23:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I forgot to post picture.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-09-06 00:23:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
What happed with repost?
Submitted by Saeki (user info) at 2006-09-06 00:19:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks for being honest. My writing will improve that way.
Submitted by moneyshotforyou (user info) at 2006-09-06 00:14:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
This was loose and way dissorganized.