By Choi Tae-hwan

``Memorize the vocabulary list perfectly! Rote memorization is everything in English! Train yourself to pick the correct answer as fast as possible through speed reading and comprehension!"

``Train yourself in mathematical calculations through hours of practice! Mechanical practice in picking the correct answer will help you earn higher scores!"

The popular drama ``God of Study," based on Japanese cartoon ``The Last Student to Enter Tokyo University," is captivating Korean viewers, particularly students and parents, as it portrays the terrible reality of the Korean educational situation and environment ― rote learning and the pursuit of high scores without any regard to developing creativity and critical thinking skills.

What a great shame it was for a few tutors from well-known private institutes to leak SAT questions and illegally use them to promote themselves and help their students enter U.S. universities. The actions of many parents fanatical about their children's education only helps to promote this kind of unlawful and unethical behavior. It seems as though the concepts of trust, process, humanity, creativity, and thought truly have disappeared from Korean society.

What, how and for what purpose should students study? These are hard questions that have eluded many. What is the essential goal of education ― for humanity, creativity, reasoning, judgment, competitiveness, survival or expediency?

A few weeks ago, various video clips surfaced showing middle school graduates naked during a graduation ceremony. The videos rocked Korean society because such bizarre behavior has been found to be customary at secondary schools for years. What is even worse is that students have come to think of such indecencies as normal, as one of many ways to get rid of the stress from their competition-oriented schooling. But what has made them so stressed out?

What is the core of the Korean government's education policy? It goes without saying that the Korean government has put a great deal of importance on the necessity for a competition-oriented society and elite education, which has greatly influenced the secondary school environment. It is not too much to say that a competition-based educational environment will be sure to have a terrible impact on our students and children.

It will have the effect of driving our children and students into a highly competitive environment ― the so-called exam-hell ― at the cost of their creativity and individuality, not to speak of their humanity. They will survive the competition by making use of all means possible, even if unfair or illegal.

Therefore, I dare to say that there is no humanity-based interaction between teachers and students, or among students, due to the large class sizes (often more than 40 students in a class). This is sure to keep students and teachers from interacting with each other, one of the most essential factors in humanity-based education.

In addition, it is said that the pursuit for elite education will be polarized along class lines, a result of the unequal distribution of wealth created by the business-friendly economic policy of the incumbent Korean government.

In ``God of Study," five students at the bottom of class are chosen for a special class aimed at cramming, getting high scores, and entering Cheonha University (a.k.a. Seoul National University), which is thought of as the top university in Korea. These students, by cramming, train themselves to be excellent exam machines so that they can move up to the top and achieve elite social status. All they have to do is learn by rote memorization, regardless of their interest or motivation, which fittingly portrays the stark educational reality in Korea.

But what can we do for our children and students to help them become more unselfish and humane? What will help us to eliminate bullying from our classrooms?

How can teachers achieve a more humanity-based interaction with students, and the same among classmates? I hope my students will choose to help and support each other rather than compete with each other during the upcoming new semester. I also look forward to having more meaningful interactions with my students in a smaller class of roughly 20 students.

I want my students to possess an ``if-I-were-in-the other's shoes" mentality rather than an ``I-centered" mentality, in accordance with individuality, fairness, trust, and humanity. Therefore, the motto in my homeroom will be "Think of us first, then you, and me last."

The writer is an English teacher at Jeonnam Middle School in Gwangju. He can be reached at cth0707@hanmail.net.