Courtesy of Sean Kong

I'm meant to write something about how Korean education sucks. How it drains the life out of students. Creates robots incapable of independent thought. And how Korea would be so much better if only it followed the lessons and examples of western practice and culture. After all, why isn't Korea more like England? Why aren't the after-school academies filled with John Keatings instructing students to "stand on their desks and constantly look at things in a different way"? Where is Plato's cave in a world of Confucian rote learning and memorization?

And then I thought about my day-to-day life. Every day I walk into a different lecture hall filled with Korean students. They greet me warmly, some ask me about my day, and most shrug off their tiredness in preparation for the lesson. A few of them clutch tall vertical cans of Monster energy drinks, others have coffee. The majority of them have large tumblers of water. There are Tupperware cases of sweet potato and the occasional packet of Maltesers.

When trying to convey the challenging ideas of Han Byung Chul, Piere Bourdieu, or David Matsumoto, they sit quietly, their eyes focused on the front of the class. The theories are difficult and so I switch sporadically between English and Korean, hoping that one of the sentences makes sense. They nod. They take notes. They wait until the end to ask questions. And then when given the chance to discuss the ideas, they room erupts into noise. Admittedly they are not always talking about the finer points of Han's work or Bourdieu's theories, but they are awake. They are alive. And they are dealing with the ideas as best they can.

Openness

When I ask them to debate the various approaches to feminism and gender theory, they do so respectfully but with personal opinions regarding liberal, standpoint, and post-structural feminism. They disagree on LGBT issues. They debate policies directed toward North Korea and the current government. There is no admonishing of each other. No trying to cancel each other. And no privileging opinions based purely on identity, be it via skin color, or sexuality.

Curious whether I have a warped sense of reality, I turn to a few of my international students. I asked one from France, "What's it like being in a Korean university classroom?" They smiled and replied, "The thing that is most interesting is this. Listen to how silent it is. When the professor is talking, no one is using their phone. No one is talking. No one is making noise. It's actually really nice because, if you want, you can really concentrate on the class and study well." The Korean students raised their eyebrows. They didn't expect their education system to be praised by foreigners. So, I tried with an American student. "My grades have improved since I've been here. I like it. There's a nice respect that happens. I wish we could have more of that back home."

Now, to be clear, we aren't talking about Korean middle school or high school. We aren't talking about the many years of after-school academies and endless vocabulary lists. We are talking about university-level education. But I see the results of that long process. Hundreds of students across two universities every semester. And they are the reason I always remain confident about the future. I don't have to chase students for assignments. I don't have to discipline them. I don't feel threatened in the classroom or the pressures of self-censoring to avoid the ire of an angry progressive group. Students are not stoned or drunk in class.

Koreans are smart

I pulled up the latest PISA rankings. Obviously the idea of standardized testing is frowned upon by many. How do we truly measure intelligence? What is a fair test? Do we allow for essays rather than multiple choice? How do we ensure objectivity if answers are subjective? These are all valid questions and topics of discussion. Nevertheless, we have 15-year old students from all over the developed world take a standardized test to test their math, science, and reading skills to meet real-life challenges so we might as well look at the results. In 2023, out of 81 countries, Korea finished 5th. That's pretty impressive. By way of comparison, the U.S. finished 18th, the U.K. 20th , and France 26th. Students in Korea scored much higher than the OECD average in mathematics, reading and science.

I turned to some of my Korean students. "How do you feel about the idea that you guys are generally smarter than people from other countries?" There was nervous laughter. Koreans smarter than westerners? Surely not. They are the people we look up to. They are the people we have been trying to emulate for the past few decades in our post-colonial modernization. And now we are being told that we are smarter than them? A student bravely ventured an opinion: "Maybe we are smarter than them on average, but I don't think I am. I am not smart." Everyone laughed. Could the answer be any more Korean? And, of course, they said that in English, a second-language.

Korean education in the formative years is about discipline and obedience. It's about self-control and resilience. And this can be useful. The streets are safe to walk. The coffee shops are filled with unattended laptops and phones. The parks are free from drugs and graffiti. And the people are smart. We can also add how Korean education has liberated women from the shackles of traditional lifestyles, providing them with not only knowledge, but also self-respect and the chance for an independent life. I was heartbroken to read about Niger a few days ago. A country that has experienced little in the way of development, struggled to overthrow its military dictators, and offers minimal education. There, the fertility rate is around 7 children per women. An extreme contrast but not too far removed from Korea's own past.

So, yes, Korean education is challenging. It's hard. It puts a lot of pressure on both students and parents. A lot of money is wasted is on after-school programs. And suneung sucks. But, as a student remarked, "At least it sucks equally for everyone." Korea has achieved great things over the past few decades. Its society today, while no means perfect, is generally safe, clean, and in full working order. And, should you have the chance to interact with a young Korean in their 20s or 30s, one that has been through the education system recently, chances are they will be educated, respectful, and courteous. So, maybe the education system doesn't suck that much? At least not by the time they get to university.

David A. Tizzard has a doctorate in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He is a social-cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He is also the host of the "Korea Deconstructed" podcast, which can be found online. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr.