ACADEMIC PRESSURE ON PRESCHOOLERS

Hello.

You're watching Press Perspective for this Tuesday March 11th here in Seoul.

I'm Min Sunhee.

The passion for education here in Korea has been frequently covered by both the local and foreign media but interest has been renewed in recent times as academic pressure now seems to target preschoolers.

For more on this phenomenon I have Steven Borowiec a staff writer for Japanese weekly news magazine Nikkei Asia.

Steven it's good to have you here.

I also have writer Colin Marshall with the pundit's take on today's topic.

Steven, a growing number of children here are being sent to private academic institutions even before entering school.

Some say it's fundamental; others claim it's foolish.

What have been your observations?

Colin, there appears to be renewed interest in the so-called "tiger moms" as themes of drama as well as entertainment content.

How do you explain this growing interest in recent times?

Steven, the foreign media has often covered the callous consequences of Korea's high academic pursuits.

Do walk us through some of the concerns.

Colin, according to Statistics Korea, Korea's participation in private academic initiatives stood at over 78% in 2023, and this level is almost two times higher than that of its global counterparts.

What do you suppose is the reason behind this reality?

And Steven, while the academic pressure for excellence continues to build, the sad reality is that there are fewer children enrolling into schools every year.

In fact, this year, some 180 schools nationwide saw not a single first grade student.

What are your thoughts?

Colin, the government, in response, has sought to redirect the academic focus back to public schools and away from cram schools, but it has not been very successful.

What are your thoughts regarding such efforts by the nation's education authorities?

Steven, also in the academic arena.

A Bloomberg article last year claimed most top students in Korea were seeking medical degrees.

Do share with us details of this coverage and your takeaways.

Colin, on the subject of medical schools.

The government here shared plans to reduce the medical school admission quota to 3-thousand-58 IF all protesting medical school students return to classrooms.

Do you suppose this was an inevitable move on the part of the government?

All right.