By Choi Sung-jin
More than six out of 10 Korean students have regretted going to college at least once, a survey shows.
According to job portal Incruit’s survey of 1,969 students, 64.4 percent said they have regretted their decision.
As to reasons, 22.6 percent said they have failed (or will fail) to land a job, 20.5 percent said they chose the wrong majors and 19.8 percent replied they are not satisfied with the class content.
Asked why they entered college, job placement was the foremost reason cited by 36 percent, followed by 23.6 percent who said they wanted to realize, or find, their dreams, and 18.1 percent who said because people recommended it or they were conscious of others’ opinions.
As many as 66.1 percent of students expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of college education, citing poor curricula (29 percent), low employment rate (19.3 percent) and incapable teachers (18.3 percent).
To land jobs, 55.7 percent of respondents have spent less than 10 million won ($8,310), followed by those who spent from 10 million won to 30 million won (20.3 percent) and those spending 30 million won to 50 million won (10.7 percent).
“The result reflects the reality facing students who have to begin to prepare to get jobs as soon as they enter college,” said an official at the job portal. “It stings but both schools and students need to adjust to changed situations.”