Koreans don't deny that there is a problem with their education system. I think that the root of the issue is so deep that the Koreans don't know where to start to fix this. The Korean logic goes as follows.
In order to be happy, you must have a good, stable job.
Good, stable jobs are one of the following. A doctor (의사); a high-level governmental post (고위 공무원, where "고위" means "high level." "고" means "high" as in "고급 (high level/high quality)" or "고층 (high rise)," and the letter "위" means place as in "위치 (place)". I've explained "공무원" in a previous post.); or an employee of a large corporate such as Samsung or LG (Samsung, in particular, is so desired that there is a nickname for the people who work for Samsung: they are called 삼성맨, or Samsung-man.)
So, three possibilities here.
If you want to be a doctor, you must get into a medical school (in Korea, you get in straight out of high school.) Well, medical schools are THE hardest schools to get into (doesn't matter what university they're attached to.) You must more or less have a perfect score on the 대학수학능력시험 (수능 for short, College Scholastic Ability Test), which is the insanely difficult college entrance exam of Korea.
If you want to be a high-level government worker, the best way to achieve that is to get into the best law school (connections and good education help, you know), and pass the bar with a high score to become a prosecutor or a judge. Well, law schools at the best universities are also extremely competitive. Again, you must score very very well on the 수능.
If you want to get into a large corporate, the best thing you can have on your resume is the name of the most elite school of Korea with a reasonable major. These schools are usually 서울대학교 (Seoul National University), 연세대학교 (Yonsei University), 고려대학교 (Koryo University), 카이스트 (KAIST), and 포항공대 (Postech). Not surprisingly, the required scores in 수능 are fairly unrealistically high.
As an example, I took piano lessons when I lived in Korea. I would practice piano from 4-5pm when I came back home from school. But for one year, my mother, who was usually draconian about keeping my practice time, forbade me from playing the piano. That was the year when our next-door neighbour had a daughter who was a 고3. As she was studying all the time for the biggest test of her life, it just made sense that we were going to do everything that we can to help her out (in our case, being quiet.)
If they mess up the 수능, which happens exactly once a year, they must spend yet another year trying to take it again. They are then called a 재수생 ("재" means to repeat, as in "재방송 (re-run)"). The 재수생 are pretty common in Korea. If they fail again, though, then they are called 삼수생 ("삼" as in three, since they're taking the test for the third time). And the count goes on. At some point, they're just called n수생 (re-taking the 수능 for the n-th time), and that becomes a mild insult.
So anyway, this one test, and consequently the university that you are admitted to, largely determines your life trajectory. No wonder the Koreans would be sensitive about which university they go to, especially if they feel that they are attending a sub-par university. This university that you attend might predict the kind of life that you will live, to some degree (Of course, there are some exceptions, but for the large part, the system is set up in a way that the name of the university matters too much!)
Because the name of the university that you go to is such a sensitive topic, this provides a very good ammunition to the Korean internet users online. When you get into a battle with another user (often called a "keyboard battle" or 키보드 배틀 in Korean), basically assuming that the user goes to a "terrible" university and attacking the user from that angle is a good idea if you want to win the battle. I mean, statistically speaking, chances are, there are more people that attend "mediocre" universities than those that attend "elite" universities.
Or it's just a good way to 어그로 끌기 (i.e. anger a lot of people at once.) Post a picture that looks like the following, and you will suddenly find yourself surrounded by hundreds of angry Korean internet users. If you're the kind of person who likes that kind of attention, it could be fun.
The red lines often are called "넘사벽." And it's used in the most derisive nuance possible, of course, because the whole point of posting one of these is to insult a lot of other users.
There are names that denote each classes of these universities. As you move down the list, the more derogatory it becomes.
The top tier universities consisting of Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Koryo University, KAIST, and Postech often go by the names 스카이 (SKY: Seoul, Koryo, and Yonsei, this is particularly brilliant because getting into one of these schools is as hard as reaching for the sky), 서연고 (서울, 연세, 고려), or 서카포 (서울, 카이스트, 포항공대). If you're more of a humanities person, you want to go to SKY, if you're more of a STEM person, you want to go to 서카포, so you never refer to all five at the same time, I guess. (This explains "누가봐도 명문대" comment in the picture; it means "you can't argue that these are elite universities.")
The next tier universities are often called 서성한 중경외시 (서강대, 성균관대, 한양대, 중앙대, 경희대, 외국어대, 시립대), by just taking the first letters of the universites on the list. This is a phrase that all Koreans know, weirdly enough. Up to here, the names of the universities are definitely compliments. (In the picture, they are referred to as "가끔씩은명문대." It means "sometimes considered as elite universities.")
The next tier of universities are called 지거국 (short for 지방 거점 국립대학교, provincially-located national universities). These universities, although not in Seoul, are nationally endorsed, and are still very good. The nuance is fairly neutral. (In the above picture, they are described as "그래도 공부 좀 했네," or "You were probably pretty smart in high school.")
Then the next tier is more or less nameless. Those that are located in Seoul, which are preferred since Seoul is more fun, are often called 인서울 which comes from the English compound word in-Seoul. This is because most universities in the next tier are located in Seoul. You could imagine that university students probably want to live in Seoul, so that they can have some fun! Up to here, the nuance of these words are fairly neutral. (The diagram describes these schools as "아주 놀진 않았네," or "You didn't let yourself go in high school.")
As for the universities that didn't make it to this list, the internet users often call these universities "지잡대." This is for "지방에 있는 잡스러운 대학." This is a really terrible insult. Most of the derogatory nuance comes from the word "잡스럽다." This has the same root as the word "잡종," which denotes the animals without any particular breed. For example, mutts are 잡종. The nuance here is that the universities not on the list are so without roots that it is not worth calling them by name. Here are some of the common insults:
Remember that the name of the universities largely determine the Koreans' futures (much like how your heritage and breed determined your future back in the olden days!) So hearing that you're nothing more than a mutt is not only just an insult, it's an insult based on truth. It really hurts. If you use this word against an internet user, chances are, he will be coming at your throat with all the insult he has in his verbal arsenal.
Not only that, if you release a diagram such as the above, the rest of the users will be chiming in, saying things like "University X doesn't belong in that tier, it should be in the tier above," or "What are you thinking putting University Y in that tier? Its quality has gone down since the 90s" etc.
Pretty much, if you ever bring up the topic of universities in a Korean internet forum, hell is sure to break loose (Amusingly, there's a version for foreign universities too. As a lot of Koreans study abroad, that also brings out the same reaction.)
It's a terrible situation that Korea has gotten itself into, but it will need a lot of time to figure out how to resolve this issue of extreme ranking of universities. Here's hoping that things improve one day!
Addendum: Per request, here is a chart comparing Korean universities to Foreign universities. It seems to have been made by someone not attending Korean universities, given that the Korean universities are ranked very low. Remember that these charts are made to anger, not to disseminate information, and enjoy! (you might have to download or open the chart in a separate window to be able to read it.)
As an example, I took piano lessons when I lived in Korea. I would practice piano from 4-5pm when I came back home from school. But for one year, my mother, who was usually draconian about keeping my practice time, forbade me from playing the piano. That was the year when our next-door neighbour had a daughter who was a 고3. As she was studying all the time for the biggest test of her life, it just made sense that we were going to do everything that we can to help her out (in our case, being quiet.)
 |
| The younger students often show up on the day of the 수능 to cheer on the 고3. The 고3 are truly treated like kings and queens for the one year! |
If they mess up the 수능, which happens exactly once a year, they must spend yet another year trying to take it again. They are then called a 재수생 ("재" means to repeat, as in "재방송 (re-run)"). The 재수생 are pretty common in Korea. If they fail again, though, then they are called 삼수생 ("삼" as in three, since they're taking the test for the third time). And the count goes on. At some point, they're just called n수생 (re-taking the 수능 for the n-th time), and that becomes a mild insult.
So anyway, this one test, and consequently the university that you are admitted to, largely determines your life trajectory. No wonder the Koreans would be sensitive about which university they go to, especially if they feel that they are attending a sub-par university. This university that you attend might predict the kind of life that you will live, to some degree (Of course, there are some exceptions, but for the large part, the system is set up in a way that the name of the university matters too much!)
Because the name of the university that you go to is such a sensitive topic, this provides a very good ammunition to the Korean internet users online. When you get into a battle with another user (often called a "keyboard battle" or 키보드 배틀 in Korean), basically assuming that the user goes to a "terrible" university and attacking the user from that angle is a good idea if you want to win the battle. I mean, statistically speaking, chances are, there are more people that attend "mediocre" universities than those that attend "elite" universities.
Or it's just a good way to 어그로 끌기 (i.e. anger a lot of people at once.) Post a picture that looks like the following, and you will suddenly find yourself surrounded by hundreds of angry Korean internet users. If you're the kind of person who likes that kind of attention, it could be fun.
The red lines often are called "넘사벽." And it's used in the most derisive nuance possible, of course, because the whole point of posting one of these is to insult a lot of other users.
There are names that denote each classes of these universities. As you move down the list, the more derogatory it becomes.
The top tier universities consisting of Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Koryo University, KAIST, and Postech often go by the names 스카이 (SKY: Seoul, Koryo, and Yonsei, this is particularly brilliant because getting into one of these schools is as hard as reaching for the sky), 서연고 (서울, 연세, 고려), or 서카포 (서울, 카이스트, 포항공대). If you're more of a humanities person, you want to go to SKY, if you're more of a STEM person, you want to go to 서카포, so you never refer to all five at the same time, I guess. (This explains "누가봐도 명문대" comment in the picture; it means "you can't argue that these are elite universities.")
The next tier universities are often called 서성한 중경외시 (서강대, 성균관대, 한양대, 중앙대, 경희대, 외국어대, 시립대), by just taking the first letters of the universites on the list. This is a phrase that all Koreans know, weirdly enough. Up to here, the names of the universities are definitely compliments. (In the picture, they are referred to as "가끔씩은명문대." It means "sometimes considered as elite universities.")
The next tier of universities are called 지거국 (short for 지방 거점 국립대학교, provincially-located national universities). These universities, although not in Seoul, are nationally endorsed, and are still very good. The nuance is fairly neutral. (In the above picture, they are described as "그래도 공부 좀 했네," or "You were probably pretty smart in high school.")
Then the next tier is more or less nameless. Those that are located in Seoul, which are preferred since Seoul is more fun, are often called 인서울 which comes from the English compound word in-Seoul. This is because most universities in the next tier are located in Seoul. You could imagine that university students probably want to live in Seoul, so that they can have some fun! Up to here, the nuance of these words are fairly neutral. (The diagram describes these schools as "아주 놀진 않았네," or "You didn't let yourself go in high school.")
As for the universities that didn't make it to this list, the internet users often call these universities "지잡대." This is for "지방에 있는 잡스러운 대학." This is a really terrible insult. Most of the derogatory nuance comes from the word "잡스럽다." This has the same root as the word "잡종," which denotes the animals without any particular breed. For example, mutts are 잡종. The nuance here is that the universities not on the list are so without roots that it is not worth calling them by name. Here are some of the common insults:
말하는걸 보니 넌 지잡대 다니는 듯 ㅋㅋ (Judging by how you speak, you must go to a mutt university.)
지잡대생이 뭘 안다고 잘난척이냐? (Why are you pretending to know things when you're nothing but a mutt university student?)Here, -생 suffix means the student of a particular school, in this case, a 지잡대. You can use this to say 서울대생 (student of Seoul National University), or 인서울생 (student of an in-Seoul university), etc.
Remember that the name of the universities largely determine the Koreans' futures (much like how your heritage and breed determined your future back in the olden days!) So hearing that you're nothing more than a mutt is not only just an insult, it's an insult based on truth. It really hurts. If you use this word against an internet user, chances are, he will be coming at your throat with all the insult he has in his verbal arsenal.
Not only that, if you release a diagram such as the above, the rest of the users will be chiming in, saying things like "University X doesn't belong in that tier, it should be in the tier above," or "What are you thinking putting University Y in that tier? Its quality has gone down since the 90s" etc.
Pretty much, if you ever bring up the topic of universities in a Korean internet forum, hell is sure to break loose (Amusingly, there's a version for foreign universities too. As a lot of Koreans study abroad, that also brings out the same reaction.)
It's a terrible situation that Korea has gotten itself into, but it will need a lot of time to figure out how to resolve this issue of extreme ranking of universities. Here's hoping that things improve one day!
Addendum: Per request, here is a chart comparing Korean universities to Foreign universities. It seems to have been made by someone not attending Korean universities, given that the Korean universities are ranked very low. Remember that these charts are made to anger, not to disseminate information, and enjoy! (you might have to download or open the chart in a separate window to be able to read it.)
Interested in seeing the list for foreign universities!
ReplyDeleteThe list is added! Just remember that if you get offended by it, then you have been trolled :)
DeleteThank you! Don't see my university on there for some reason (maybe I missed it, but our main rival school IS up there) so Ill just believe deep inside that we are at least on the same level :)
DeleteHahaha the schools are only listed if a significant portion of the Koreans go there, and even then, no one can be that thorough. We all know that your school is better than your rival school in any case ;)
Delete