11/11/09: One and Done
Category: Korea
Posted by: LiteraryHero
Today is the day before the legendary Korean entrance exam. How legendary? Frigging legendary. Tomorrow business will open an hour late to allow children to get to the testing places without a hassle. Air traffic will be re-routed so that the students can take their exams in peace. Mothers will be in large prayer groups, praying to whoever they pray to that their son or daughter can make it into one of the big three (Seoul National U, Korea U, Yonsei U) and not be a miserable failure for the rest of their lives.
No test could be that important, could it? Oh, it could, and it is. It is so important that the mothers know the test schedule, so when they do their praying, they pray hard during the test periods and then take breaks at the same time their children do. Insane? Probably, but being that the college entrance exam is the only criteria used in determining which university you go to, maybe it is understandable.
But the test isn't the only problem. The problem also lies in the fact that if you don't go to one of the SKY (SNU, Korea U, Yonsei), your education is worthless. Is it true? I have no idea, but if people believe it, then it is true enough. If you don't go to one of these three universities, you will never get a job at Samsung, and if you don't get a job at Samsung, then you have wasted your life.
Crazy? To me it is. However, it is also awesome to me, because it means that I get a nice day and a half off work. All high schools are closed for the test day, which means I get to stay home and relax. I am going to enjoy my day unimpeded by air traffic and it is going to be awesome! Today I had to teach one class, and I just wrapped that up, so now I am just sitting in the office until I can go home. Not a bad situation at all.
And to top it all off, today is my favorite Korean holiday. That's right, it is the wonderful Pepero Day! The one day out of the year that people actually eat pepero (perhaps you call them pocky). What a wonderful day to be alive, unless you are a high school senior, in which case today is probably the most stressful day of your life.
No test could be that important, could it? Oh, it could, and it is. It is so important that the mothers know the test schedule, so when they do their praying, they pray hard during the test periods and then take breaks at the same time their children do. Insane? Probably, but being that the college entrance exam is the only criteria used in determining which university you go to, maybe it is understandable.
But the test isn't the only problem. The problem also lies in the fact that if you don't go to one of the SKY (SNU, Korea U, Yonsei), your education is worthless. Is it true? I have no idea, but if people believe it, then it is true enough. If you don't go to one of these three universities, you will never get a job at Samsung, and if you don't get a job at Samsung, then you have wasted your life.
Crazy? To me it is. However, it is also awesome to me, because it means that I get a nice day and a half off work. All high schools are closed for the test day, which means I get to stay home and relax. I am going to enjoy my day unimpeded by air traffic and it is going to be awesome! Today I had to teach one class, and I just wrapped that up, so now I am just sitting in the office until I can go home. Not a bad situation at all.
And to top it all off, today is my favorite Korean holiday. That's right, it is the wonderful Pepero Day! The one day out of the year that people actually eat pepero (perhaps you call them pocky). What a wonderful day to be alive, unless you are a high school senior, in which case today is probably the most stressful day of your life.
Tuttle wrote:
Except, it needs pictures ...