Korean Schools

SoYoung and I met last year. She has recently finished her work at the University of South Alabama and has gone home to Korea. I have been able to ask her some questions about the schools in Korea and have learned a lot of interesting things.

For elementary school age children the school schedule is a bit lighter, but they are still kept really busy. She said they study Taekwondo, music, English conversational skills, and arithmetic.

I asked SoYoung what the classroom schedules were like, and she said that Korean students go to school from 8:00am to 10:00pm Monday through Saturday. No wonder they are so smart! From what she said, it seems like they study most of the same things we do. She said that middle school and high school students have to study hard and prepare for college scholastic tests. Competition is high to get into a college, so it is important for them to study.

SoYoung told me she felt like the students got worn out with the long hours they had to put into school. In their free time Korean students study. All of their schools are private schools, and they are expensive. There is a lot of pressure for the students to do well. She said that the average family often can not afford to send their kids to school because of the cost.