The Korean Education System Needs to Focus on Entrepreneurship

South Korea is famous for educating its youth. However, this fame is not always positive. The Korean Education system is focused a lot on exam results and getting into the best universities in Seoul. This was the history in Korea where the only way to improve your life was through passing exams. Those that passed these exams were given land and social status. Therefore, the power of education and exams is deeply rooted in Korean culture.

Today, this deep focus on education and exams still exists. Everywhere in Seoul, you will find English Hagwons and self-study rooms. It is normal to hear stories of students staying all day at school and taking private classes. Therefore, while they improve their memorization skills, their social skills do not get developed. Moreover, Korean parents need to work extra hard to provide the education needed for their children to compete in an ultra-competitive environment. The amount of money spent on a child’s education has increased every year in Korea and stands at just over $9,000 a year per child. However, with the outbreak of the coronavirus, it is becoming clear that the future of education in Korea will change, probably for the good.

Entrepreneurship in Korea

The coronavirus pandemic has shown that businesses and the economy as a whole can easily be shut down. Jobs are harder to find than ever before. The clear solution to this problem is entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is important for many reasons. However, the biggest reason is that they create forward-thinking leaders that drive research, innovation, and change. This is what South Korea needs and this is why the Korean education system needs to start embracing Entrepreneurship early. If successful, future entrepreneurial minds in Korea can create innovative solutions that will improve the standard of living for Koreans while at the same time creating wealth/jobs for the country.

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Korean Education Still Focused on Getting Students into SKY

The goal of all this time spent studying by students in Korea is to get into one of the three prestigious Korean universities.

• Seoul National University
• Korea University
• Yonsei University

These three schools are referred to as SKY. They are the top three Universities in Seoul. They are comparable to getting into Harvard in the US or getting into Oxford in the UK. Graduating from one of these three schools almost guarantees a job, but more importantly, gains the respect and admiration of their family and friends. In order to enter SKY, one must take the day-long national test called Suneung. Suneung Prep is a big business in Seoul. Parents in Korea spend lots of money getting their children the best test prep tutors possible. Therefore those that have the funds to get their kids the tutors they need, have a huge advantage over low-income families.

Last year having a degree from one of the SKY University didn’t just get you the best job possible, it also got you the best marriage proposals. However, these three schools combined only enroll around 15,000 students per year. There are 3.5 million high school graduates per year. This means that a student has a .004% chance of getting into SKY.

Working for a Korean Conglomerate

For those that have graduated from SKY. There is a high likelihood they will end up working for a Korean conglomerate. 70% of CEOs from large Korean companies have graduated from SKY. The dream job for many young Koreans is to work for one of the top Korean conglomerates called Chaebols. Chaebols are basically “rich family clans”. They include big Korean corporations like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Lotte, SK, and KT. Working for these companies might earn your social status but most employees are overworked and have a hard time climbing the company ladder. Most have to stay late during the night until their higher-ups leave the office.

Productivity remains low because even if they don’t have work to do they must put in at times 80 hour weeks. Most of the Chaebols workers only care about keeping their job. Most follow orders and dare not think outside the box. They are company workers and will most likely stay company workers for life. The risks of starting a startup in Korea are too risky for most.

Working for the Korean Government

In order to get a job with the Korean government, one must pass the civil service exam. Working for the Korean government means you will have job security for the rest of your life. Studying for the exam takes at least 3 years and only 1 in 40 passes the exam. Of the more than 200,000 that take the test, only 5,000 will get hired. These are low to mid-paying jobs that they will have until they retire. Therefore pay is not the motivating factor for working for the Korean government but rather security. Working hours are just as brutal, however, in 2018 the Korean government lowered its maximum working hours from 68 hours a week to 52 hours.

The Korean Education System Needs Change

These two options do not sound great. But these are the kinds of jobs that Korean students are studying 80 hours a week for. There simply aren’t enough jobs to go around. Korea needs to nurture future entrepreneurs that will create the next Samsung or Hyundai. Entrepreneurship in Korea is the key to creating jobs.

If you ask a typical high-school student what they want to do when they grow up, most will say a government worker rather than a CEO. That is not a dream. Korea needs to focus more on innovation and entrepreneurship because this system of education can’t last. Instead of spending thousands of hours studying for a standardized test, they should be using their creativity and imagination to bring about new ideas and inventions. Entrepreneurial ventures will help generate new wealth in South Korea. This is the fastest way to increase employment and generate higher tax revenue for Korea.

The relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development is key. The goal should be to nurture startups in Korea which will lead to a stronger/healthier economy. More Korean startups mean a higher chance for one of those startups to become a unicorn. The future of Korea rests in their hands. A change has to come.