Korean Education: A Multifaceted Success Story | Mark Chung | TEDxDeerfield

Mark Chung shares perspective and analysis of the Korean education system. Mark Chung is from Seoul, South Korea, Mark grew up embracing his Asian identity, advocating for issues such as the Korean education crisis. Moving to the United States in 2017, Mark uses his experiences to bring underrepresented issues to light. Mark continues to pursue his passion for public speaking, and he leads an advocacy group addressing the North Korean refugee crisis. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@marxgarita01]

A great talk, I recommend watching a Korean drama called Sky Castle for those who want to have an insight on Korean education about the topic spoken. The drama shows the importance of social class and how parents want their children to go to the best university.

[@FelipeMondaini84]

An incredible talk. Congrats. As a brazilian professor i would love to see this discipline and respect to knowledge in my classes. We always use the South Korea education system as an example but is truly important to respect the student development in order to avoid such suicide levels.

[@rocambolli]

Professor, posso estar errado, mas não seria o alto nível competitivo que faz com que os estudantes coreanos sejam tão bons? Claro, não somente isso, mas esse não é um dos maiores motivos?

[@FelipeMondaini84]

@@rocambolli talvez, mas o que eu sempre observo é que quando uma família possui respeito ao conhecimento a tendência é que o aluno tenda a ser um bom aluno. Competitividade é importante e para isso é necessário um ambiente propício para tal.

[@rocambolli]

@@FelipeMondaini84 concordo com sua observação.

[@Patrick-cc3ub]

Sorry, I can only speak English, but I’ll give my two cents here. I’m not Korean, but Chinese, and I think it’s really hard to take away the things you see here and implement them in a classroom. A lot of this has to do not only with the competition previously mentioned, but the cultures the families adapt. From a young age, most of us Asians have the expectations hammered into us. For me, it was a pretty typical standard : All As, top Orchestra for violin, nothing else. Extracurricular math every day, and such like that (And to be honest, compared to the friends my Asian parents know, these were pretty modest expectations at the time) It’s not super easy to drill those standards and expectations into the classroom, and you can’t really yell at your students and tell them, “nothing below an A is good enough, and if you don’t get an A you were either sleeping in class or skipped class the entire week” (My parents would always ask me things like this when I got below an A as a kid, which for that reason, was rare). Basically, to sum up, a lot of this stuff is culture and expectations, which is hard to implement into a classroom.

[@WilliamFromPenn]

@@Patrick-cc3ub I agree, absolutely

[@acer7552]

If Korean dramas actually depict the educational system in Korea, I feel so bad for the students. I graduated college from another Asian country but I didn’t feel the same pressure that Koreans get. I didn’t have tutors or private classes or attended academies & I can say I did really well. I’m in the healthcare field. It is the same for my children who were educated in the USA. No tutors, private classes or academies.

[@erinlee928]

I living in the United States, but I've also had formal education in South Korea. I personally didn't feel that great of a pressure, considering that I lived in Busan, the second largest city, instead of Seoul, the capital. Korean dramas generally do depict the general classroom environment, but there is also a lot of fun. Staying at school for 16 hours isn't that bad... you mostly consider it a sleepover with your friends. Mostly, it is the people who are aiming to get to SKY schools that get the amount of pressure that you would see in, for example, the drama SKY Castle. My dad and mom both graduated from top colleges in Korea, and they found school not stressful and kind of fun, too. My cousins also have never considered their education to be particularly difficult. Going to academy is a basic part of life in Korea; it's not always super rigorous. Most people don't have tutors or private classes, but everybody really does go to academy (hagwon). It's kind of like going to club after school, though, honestly. OF COURSE, everybody's experience is probably different! My individual experiences made me feel this way, and everyone should have their own thoughts as well. :))

[@mysterious_miracle]

USA is fckd Bro

[@vettaj9752]

That was truly a beautiful speech!!!! I am learning Korean. It is very important to understand the culture as well as the language. To see the suicide numbers is a concern, but as he mentioned no education system is perfect. There does need to be a balance within one’s life to ensure mental stability. That is a person isn’t being pushed beyond their own expectations for another’s.

[@tigerjonn]

That English exam answer doesn't even make sense. How are you supposed to guess something like that, it's ridiculous.

[@mohannarayan4603]

Look among 10 questions 3 of them are like that rest are moderate and easy

[@kushagrapal8689]

Moreover it doesn't even help them actually speak English. Just mounts pressure on students to memorize a lot and pass the exam. The majority of south koreans even after passing this extremely difficult English test still can't speak English properly.

[@massiveidiot3587]

also the answer " as much as forgetting as remembering the past" is a leap too far beyond the fact but other answers are not contextually fit. I think Korean exam focus too much on context rather than its real meaning

[@EsquireR]

It's reasonable, but forcing that into one minute is inhumane. Ammount of material the system wants for a brain to churn over turns high scorers into machines. Emotions can't be sped up that much.

[@user-lo9vc5tr5z]

I agree with you Education in Korea has a very murderous schedule. It puts a lot of pressure on students, hoping that only scores will come out well on standardized exams.

[@irish8538]

South Korea was one of the poorest countries back then but because they emphasized the importance of education, after few decades of hard work and dedication it became one of the first world countries in the world.

[@yoonseo_ji]

I think so too 👍

[@Acid31337]

No, education is not the reason, its just collateral damage.

[@ishrendon6435]

South korea is now falling same with Taiwan and japan. Thats whay happend when yiu follow blindly the western order and ideas

[@lolorein3727]

thank you for the vid i'll use it for my assignment :)

[@myoungraepark758]

많은 문제가 있는 것도 사실이지만 그 치열하고 미친 교육열이 없었다면 지금의 한국은 존재하지 않았다는 사실이다. 한국은 모든면에서 이제 이륙해서 안정적 비행을 시작했고 앞으로는 좀 더 효율적,체계적이고 긍적적으로 바뀔 것으로 믿는다.

[@mysterious_miracle]

I love South Korea

[@flannelsone1159]

But at what cost? Without your mental health and personal happiness material gain means *nothing*.

[@arlinegeorge6967]

Beautiful mind courageous, amazing n impressive soul . Pray more n more amazing souls rise n shine awakening our society . Thank you, bless you. All your dreams come true.

[@THomasJPeel]

Excellent video!

[@S7ilgar]

Thank you, very interesting. But you haven't said your personal opinion about it: do you think, despite the compatibility between the SKR society and its educational system, that it worths it considering the cost (happiness, for the losers as much as for the winners, which is the purpose of any individual)?

[@mysterious_miracle]

Agree but it looks like he is criticizing

[@adityaprabhakar7368]

Thats the same scenario in india’s iit-jee😭

[@arvin3923]

We have the exact same education system in Iran. But no one talks about it.

[@savantianprince]

Very interesting. I herd that Korea has a Right to Rest law which lowers the work week form 68 hrs to 52hrs. Here in America, we have right to work laws. I think the US and Korea can learn from each other. We are yin and yang. America can learn from koreas edu system and try to implement some of the Korean edu system and Korea can learn how to enjoy life beyond work and school.

[@ishrendon6435]

@@josedavidsanchezsaldana5803 i disagree the finnish dont produce as much doctors or intellectuals like asia

[@ishrendon6435]

@@josedavidsanchezsaldana5803 you mustve seen that video of finnish school. Its bs. Asian schools are better and statistically produce more important workers

[@mr.electrolemon1574]

I am korean so piece!

[@60sTELECASTER]

8:55 I immediately related to SKY CASTLE.

[@ajrl268]

7:43 I didn't get there chance to answer it when it times up.

[@reiannaprisrivero1780]

Ooohh. Now I know why Sky Castle the kdrama was named as such- to stand for South Korea's Ivy League schools.

[@searchmeinyoutube]

I heard a rumor somewhere : "Education is what empowers".

[@ishrendon6435]

Yeah it doesnt empower. Its just bs to make someone feel special. A farmer who is uneducated and lives a good life with his family eating his own harvest and being free from institution is more empowered than any in an urban area

[@CHMichael]

I was hoping covid would have made us adopt the Korean way of delivering higher education. Get there seems counterintuitive to future teamworkers. Billionaire dropouts must be very disturbing for the Korean way of thinking.

[@shivamgarg5655]

And Mr Obama said Korean Education system is great.

[@oc7606]

Hmmm...yeah, there are pros and cons to the Korean Education System like any other education system. When you look at the data and the test scores, Korean students perform very well in standardized tests. They are also well prepared for future academic success if they pursue education abroad esp in the US. However, a huge issue is that depression and mental health issues are really taboo. I believe there's been some improvement and some more awareness about the issue, but it's slow.

[@hongjoshua6138]

Yeah they are I guess

[@massiveidiot3587]

In korean exam they are doing surrounding game while rest of the world doing chess

[@leenakaushik8973]

👏👏

[@TheTwil1]

At the cost of mental health.

[@elitesnips2197]

Lmao, 7:49, didn't even read the 'english exam' but guessed and got it correct

[@TechnologyImpossible]

Modestas Riabovas true

[@ycp101]

한국 교육의 장점은 무엇일까요? 열심히 공부해소 남들보다 더 좋은 점수를 받고.... 1%더 많은 정보로 좋은대학에 진출하는...... 그런게 한국 교육의 결과라고 생각하시나요? 물론 그런 사람들이 힘과 권력을 장악하고 성공하는 것은 현실입니다..... 그렇다고 그들이 한국의 성공을 이룬 주역이라고 할수 있을까요? 제가 아는 한국의 성공의 비결은..... " 홍익인간"입니다.... 모든 한국인들 가슴속에 어릴적부터 교육되었던..... 너를 다른 사람들을 위해 쓰라는 ..... 그 정신이... 우리 한국인을 지금까지 이끌었습니다

[@user-zg4on6iz6t]

멋지다

[@ShivaniVerma13333]

GAOKAO is ultra pro max lite beta version of korean suneung exam😅

[@jewelrybag4557]

wow! If the world followed the Korean educational system, I think we would already be a type 3 stellar civilization. Unfortunately, that is not the case because some human beings still think the earth is flat and evolution is a myth.

[@user-do8jl4wy4z]

Dude the world would be depressing

[@yanyu6791]

The current American education system is unavoidably leading the U.S. to a sharp downslope. The Asian education system, Singapore, Korean, Japan, China and India, is way more productive than the American system.

[@buriburi8354]

@@yanyu6791 It might be more productive, but, do you know what it's also productive on? Causing their students to commit suicide.

[@mohannarayan4603]

@@buriburi8354 how many of them , see Asia has high population so among one hundred thousand students 100 of them die so I think so it is not a big number , but it is worth the risk

[@user-do8jl4wy4z]

@Winner Takes Awll yeah but I'm korean and trust me. The world would be depressing

[@ashburnian]

You don't want to be a student in Korea.

[@alishanziro6011]

im so sorry, but this guy is so hot I'm distracted not even listening

[@ycp101]

Please do not speak out Korean society unless you have experienced! Your color is Koreans. However you look never experienced Koreans! Please be honesty!

[@Altiveda]

His experience is true to him, and he makes undeniable points even if he wasn't in korea.

[@ycp101]

@@Altiveda According to his speech, I don't see any of his experiences except his own words. It seems like that all information is from google.

[@ycp101]

@@Altiveda I watched again. It is probably more than five times. I cannot find any his own experiences in Korea. Everything is just information where everyone could find on internet. On top of that, there are some real experiences his father may had around 1990~2000.Korean people work so hard mostly because they were educated to sacrifice for others. By doing so, ones could be a real member of the society. Not to become a winner in the big competition. Getting a high score in Korean SAT is not the end. But it is just "A Stop By". There are still much more parents teaching kids to become a conscientious person before getting succeed or becoming rich. That is what makes Korea successful. Not the competitions. One's success could be very harmful to all if he were not conscientious. Unfortunately I see many bad succeed people today. There are also many bad Koreans. However I believe there are much less than others.

[@YSH669]

뭔 소리세요... 지역마다 다르긴 하지만 흔히 교육열 높다는 동네 가보면 다 저래요;; 눈가리고 아웅한다고 현실이 달라지지 않습니다.

[@Tyler-zo9kp]

영어도 ㅈ 같이 못하면서 아는척 하지마셈