Alex Kwon
Jerome Bump
E603B
23 March 2010
Improving Education in South Korea
Six a.m., wake up. Seven a.m., get on the bus. Eight a.m., arrive in class. Ten p.m., leave school and go to a library or an after school academy. Two a.m., go home and sleep. This is the daily routine for an average senior in a Korean high school. Among these assiduous students, only the most gifted and talented students have the privilege to attend one of the top three universities in Korea. To give a broader perspective on this process, my cousin, who read and memorized encyclopedia articles for leisure, did not make it to the top three universities even though he is—in my opinion—a genius. If he is really talented and lucky, he will end up in one of the top three universities in Korea. This impossible battle to rise to the top is precisely why I fled to the United States early in my childhood. For one, I did not want to be enslaved by this rigorous and unreasonable high school education. More importantly, I now understand what my parents meant when they told me that I should not compete for the top in Korea. Tragically, after this bloody competition, the top Korean students only find themselves in underfunded and underdeveloped universities. I want to change the process and improve the level of education provided in the universities.
Besides Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), there are three renowned universities, Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei (S.K.Y), but they all rank relatively low in the world. KAIST, a university for mathematical geniuses, ranks highest at 179. The rest of the students, who are not geared for KAIST, struggle for a spot in SKY. To their dismay, it turns out
On the other hand, more than half of the top 100 universities in the world are in the United States. The “Webometrics Ranking of World Universities” website ranks University of Texas as twelve in the world. The top ten percent rule gives an illusion that it is as difficult to be accepted to U.T. as it is to get into SKY, but the two differs in competitiveness. I for one can honestly say that I did not study as hard as the students in Korea. I did stay up until two to three
In order to make a difference, I must become an influential figure with strong connections. I hate to admit it, but money talks. Especially in Korea where bribes are common, money screams for respect and authority. Next important thing to survive in Korea is personal connections. As it is also true in America, if one has the right connections, one can do anything by pulling some strings. Also important is education. Naturally, Koreans value and respect the level of education one receives. However, they have the misconception that East Coast schools, as in the Ivy League schools, are the only good schools when they do not even know which schools are included in the Ivy League. To sum it up, I must be wealthy, well connected, and/or well educated to be a powerful figure in Korea.
My years at the University of Texas will serve as the foundation for my success. Even though most Koreans do not recognize state universities as prestigious schools, many of them, including the University of Texas, rank higher than the best school in Korea. Besides its rank, UT offers many curriculum and opportunities to evolve academically. What I like about UT is the Plan II program, which is the reason I am here. Plan II program offers liberal arts education, and this unconstrained program allows me to play with numerous options. Above all, Plan II challenges students to find themselves. This world literature class embodies important Plan II ideals. We discuss ethics, passion, enlightenment, and other topics illustrated in literature to find out our view on each topic, which naturally provides an idea of who we are. I will continue pursuing a degree in Plan II, which in turn will help me in the competitive job market.
Plan II is an amazing program, but because it is such a broad program, Plan II alone is not useful right after graduation unless I am going straight to a graduate school. When I tell people that I am in Plan II, they ask me what my major is, and in a sense, they are right. Plan II gives an extensive view of the world but does not prepare me for a specific job market. Without specific skills, I cannot compete in today’s cutthroat market. This need for a specific talent is the reason I am applying to the business school. In fact, I am applying to both the Business Honors Program (BHP) and the business school. As long as I keep my grades up this semester, I will make the business school without a doubt, but I would like to get into the BHP because it appears to create more opportunities than a regular business degree. Furthermore, because language is the key to being a successful man in the future, I would like to polish my Spanish skills and learn Japanese as my fourth language. If I somehow manage to dodge draft in Korea, (all Korean males must go when they are legal) I want to study abroad either in Spain or Japan at the end of sophomore year to gather insight on foreign cultures. Junior year, I want to find an internship at a prestigious business firm, which will help me get a job after graduation. Meanwhile, I will regularly attend Korean churches on Sundays to make connections with the Koreans here at UT; I will also join Asian Business Student Association and other business organizations to make important connections with the future business leaders. Finally, I want to graduate with degrees in Finance and Plan II and with above 3.9 GPA. Hopefully, I can land a decent paying job when I graduate. I will work hard and get promoted. In about couple of years, I will apply for an MBA in International Business at a prestigious east coast school, such as Wharton and Harvard. Afterward, I will work overseas dealing with Asia or Europe. Once I make enough money, I would start my own business or take over a small business and conduct business in Korea. Once I am financially robust and stable, I will branch out and seek for other financial giants who share my ideologies.
Once I have gathered many people, I will seek for capable professors from overseas to invite for hefty sums. Instead of investing on already developed universities such as SKY, I want to focus on developing rather smaller universities. I will lead a movement that will provide more funding for the smaller universities, so that they can develop as well. To make sure that these smaller universities develop, I will be sure to monitor the funding. As mentioned earlier, bribery and misuse of funds infest South Korea, but I will be sure to purge all underhand transactions.
Once other universities reach and even surpass the SKY, the competition to get into the SKY should ease up. Achieving this goal will improve not only the level of education in Korea but also the lives of Korean teenagers.
