History of Korea's education fever on display

In this 1981 photo, exhibited at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, students wait in line to apply for admission to Yonsei University in Seoul.
/ Courtesy of National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

Reference book used during the Korean War (1950-1953)

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korea is known for its obsession with education. In Korea, which has the highest college entrance rate among OECD countries with over 70 percent, Kids are forced into fierce competition, being sent to different kinds of "hagwon" or private pram school in order to enter better college.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, located in downtown Seoul, holds an exhibition about the history of Korea's exam from late 19th century to present to shed light on this seemingly unusual phenomenon of Koreans, starting from Tuesday.

"We prepared this exhibition as we do recognize the problem that many Koreans are too much obsessed with education. We hope that seeing the history of examination system will give some idea of what we need to improve in current education system," said Kim Seong-jun, curator of the history museum, on Monday.

"Besides college entrance exams, there are many kinds of exams where many Koreans are experiencing fierce competitions like the civil service exam. However, we especially focused on the country's college entrance exam as many people share similar memory of the exam," he added.

In this 1952 file photo, a teacher teaches at a temporary school built at unidentified venue in Korea during the Korean War.
/ Courtesy of National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

Titled, "Seeing the Past in the Examinations," the exhibition is comprised of three parts per period, featuring some 230 materials related to examinations from 1894 to present.

The first section starts with the year of 1894 when the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), the last kingdom in the Korean Peninsula, went through "Gabo Reform."

In that year, the kingdom sought changes to modernize and thus brought changes in examination system as well.

"After 1984, the kingdom began adopting modernized exam system. Therefore, the students taking exam to enter higher educational institution were required to study domestic and overseas history, geography, mathematics, economy, law and politics as well as previous Confucian scriptures," Kim explained.

The competition became fiercer than before when Korea was under the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

"As we were under Japanese colonial rule, many Koreans tried to do well on the exam because it was the only way to be treated equally as ordinary Japanese in that period," the curator added. Textbooks, test sheets, graduation certificates are displayed.

The second part shows Koreans' relentless education fever during the Korean War (1950-1953). Even in the war period, parents sent their kids to the temporary schools and the government didn't stop administering school entrance exam.

The last part covers the period from postwar to present. After the war, the government implemented six-year compulsory education course in a bid to provide training opportunities to every citizen of the country.

Study materials in 1960s, 70s and 80s and a lottery wheel, which was used to determine the middle school students would enter, when the country abolished middle school entrance exam in 1969 and introduced the middle school lottery system, are on display.

The exhibition runs through Feb. 18, next year. Located near exit 2 of Gwanghwamun Station, subway line 5. Admission is free. For more information, call (02) 3703-9200 or visit www.much.go.kr.

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