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I just finished watching President Obama’s second State of the Union address in which he mentioned South Korea four times. The only other country he mentioned as many times was China. This says to me that Mr. Obama takes South Korea very seriously. And why shouldn’t he? Not only are they a freshly minted economic powerhouse, but they got themselves to this point in just 60 years.
Seoul 1953
At the end of the Korean War, South Korea didn’t look terribly different from modern day Afghanistan. It was a mountainous, war torn place. Not just the Korean War’s effects but the recent Japanese occupancy left the country burnt, bombed, depopulated and undereducated.
In just three generations, they have picked themselves up and built what is arguably the best education system in the world. They have started companies like Samsung, Hyundai, and LG. They’ve taught an entire generation of students the English language. All this, while the North looms above making progress difficult.
The key to this success is South Korea’s diligent investment in education. The best educated students in the world are here in South Korea. These kids wake up, go to school, go to hagwons and then go home and do homework and then go to bed to repeat. They go to school every other Saturday and their summer vacation is one month long, a vacation that they spend at English or science camp. This is a people who do not mess around when it comes to school.
What a difference 57 years makes
If they can do all this, we can build a better America. South Korea is an example to the world for self improvement. They have a successful blue print of how to build a vibrant nation. America prides itself on a can do attitude. There is not a more can do nation on Earth than South Korea.
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I'm sure we can improve the state of education and that it would support America, but I'm very much against the way schooling is handled in Asia. When you have tracking and year-round schooling with long hours, you have a lot of teen suicide and I *refuse* to risk lives. I think school can be handled in a way that is more effective instead of just more.
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