Student and university culture in South Korea
Big-character posters, historically used to publicly demonstrate opposition to military dictatorship, are a lasting tradition that can be seen on university walls to this day.
A significant number of students live alone in studios near university campuses, or a communal form of housing called hasukjib, which has been featured in multiple K-dramas.
[5][6][7] In the wake of a series of alcohol-related accidents in the early 2010s, a national assemblyman proposed a bill that would ban possession of alcohol on university campuses but it never became law after having garnered both huge support and backlash from civil society.
[9][10] Universities in South Korea go as far back as 1398 ACE when Sungkyunkwan was founded as the highest educational institute of the Joseon dynasty.
The Korean people under the Japanese rule had attempted to erect universities independently but failed to obtain official status due to the Governor-General of Chōsen's refusal to issue permits.
The April Revolution in 1960 was the first successful student-led democratization movement in South Korea that ousted President Syngman Rhee, which catapulted university students to the drivers of social change.
Park's declaration of martial law and pushing through a constitutional amendment in 1972, which granted the president sweeping executive and legislative powers, sparked swift backlash within the student civil society.
After Park's assassination in 1979, Chun Doo-hwan, the then-army general, orchestrated yet another military coup, usurping power and quashing hopes of democratization.
After a series of failed protests led by university student union, the June Democratic Uprising, prompted by the death of Bak Jong-cheol, the then-president of Seoul National University's student council and a prodemocracy activist, forced Chun to step down and compelled party leaders, both ruling and opposition, to hold a referendum on a constitutional amendment, which vastly reduced presidential powers, codified direct presidential elections, and strengthened civil rights.
Big-character posters have been heavily deployed by university students throughout the modern history of South Korea as a means of railing against dictatorship and government censorship.
At times of economic and social distress, university walls near commonly used walking trails functioned as public agoras.
In the wake of 2014 capsizing of the Sewol ferry, Park's administration attempted to silence public outcry on social media by creating a task force charged with monitoring and prosecuting online critics using Korea's defamation law.
[12] Two months later in December 2015, Park struck a deal with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to resolve the comfort women issue "irreversibly," despite widespread public opposition in South Korea.
[14][15] Ewha Womans University, where Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, attended, was accused of changing the admission rules to give Chung an unfair advantage, a favor Park returned by showering a professor at Ewha Womans University with research grant of approximately ₩5.5 billion (about $4.4 million) in total.
Enduring oppressive rule in the 1970s and the 1980s, student councils developed tactics to circumvent government censorship and surveillance, and cultivate the next generation of prodemocracy activists.
University students in South Korea are able to meet a variety of people from different backgrounds in these extracurricular settings as club membership is not limited to a single academic department.
South Korea has seen a fourfold increase in the number of college graduates over the past two decades as education is viewed as the ticket to higher socioeconomic status.
[18] Exacerbated by slowing economic growth and aging population, university students are increasingly shunning extracurricular activities unrelated to employment competitiveness.
University residential life consists of roughly four categories: one rooms (Korean: 원룸), which are equivalent to studios, hasukjib, gosiwon, and dormitories.
In a 2014 poll, 82.3 percent of university students responded they commute via public transportation, including Seoul buses and the metropolitan subway system.
The monthly rent for Seoul studios off campus exceeded ₩500,000 (around US$400) in March 2022 for 33 m2 net leasable area with a security deposit of ₩10 million (or a little over US$8,000).
Designed as a welcoming event for freshmen, student orientation serves as a place to provide information about university life and opportunity to make friends.
During the orientation, upperclassmen and new students introduce themselves, exchange phone numbers, and make plans to get to know each other by having lunch together between classes, drinking in groups, or both.
[28] In the 1980s, communal and cultural events like traditional performances, mask dance and tug-of-war were held at the festival called Daedongje which means 'become all-together'.
These festivals usually take place in the spring, and include an array of events such as student-run makeshift pubs set up as booths in an open area on campus, quiz games, and photo exhibitions.
[31] Preparation for study abroad programs include taking TOEFL or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for admission, some American universities even require SAT.
Rote memorization plays a large role in language learning in Korea, but Output based skills i.e. speaking, have increased with the end goal of conversational English fluency.
