School, pressure & innovative education - Founders Valley (1/5) | DW Documentary

South Korea’s competitive, high-pressure education system has been blamed for the soaring suicide rate among young people. Can EdTech startups help bring about a change?

Within a few short decades, South Korea has evolved into a manufacturing powerhouse that has virtually eradicated poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy. The Asian country is famed for its strong education system, and educational success there is closely tied to socioeconomic status. While Western countries applaud South Korea’s academic achievements, the deeper reality reveals a system ruled by intense competition and an obsession with grades. Studying hard to be the best is profoundly ingrained in the Korean psyche. The pressure to perform hits Koreans at an early age, and later it’s very common for students to have 16-hour school days. For many, school is practically the only social outlet. German entrepreneur Sonja Jost travels to South Korea to find out which EdTech startups are shaking up Korea’s exhausted education system. The Founders' Valley host visits online cram schools, meets up with an EdTech founder who provides real-time educational content by using virtual and augmented reality technology, and checks out an AI startup. If robots eventually come to dominate daily life, will machine learning replace human learning? And how would that transform a society whose culture is based on hard work, diligence and educational success?

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[wnagase]

Now I understand why I don't like to watch netflix DW and Al Jazeera's docs are really superb and interesting.

[SoCalFreelance]

Singapore is also progressive in integrating classroom technology (look at National Geographic's latest documentary on their YT channel). Perhaps South Korea should consider the German model where not every child is expected to go through a University preparation pipeline. Many can be quite successful going through vocational training.

[bevascah]

How about being happy and being a good person, because that is what people are going to remember after you are gone.

[AlzaboHD]

Absolutely fantastic and artistic documentary here, great work DW!

[johnl.]

Somewhat surprising thing is that many of the successful/highly educated Asians (that live in East Asia)I know don’t want their children to go through the education system and stress that at least partially contributed to themselves being successful. One of the keys for western countries that is more laidback on education is to maintain an environment that is attractive to these immigrants who have many choices of where to go.

[JohnForbes]

That was very beautifully shot and composed. Thank you for the insight into this world and these people's stories.

[williamcutting]

I don't know what more people aren't hip to DW. The best documentaries out there. Founders valley series is so good. Thanks for sharing these.

[humanbeing]

I wish I was born in 2050 when education is not pressurising but enlightenment the soul of learner

[miragept]

I wish every doc shown was subtitled like this one, for me dubbed voices are "painful", but perhaps that is because i am portuguese were almost every media is subtitled.

[MrCronoleon]

Great Documentary!, very informative and with an excellent production.

[__-ejle]

Experts: Students need 8-10 hours of sleep;
My mathematical lyceum: 8-10= -2

[meta]

Korean education will not be a good future for foreign country when the system becomes stress, suicide, humiliation, and demented. I’m an Asian country from Cambodia, which most people have thought that Korean education is a great model, but I don’t follow that way. Let’s take a look of good model from European countries, such as Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland, which are the great example for Asian country

[alfredhitchcock]

SK has Kia, Samsung, Hyundai, LG and these factories run round-the-clock. They need laborers who will OT all the time to meet the world's needs for their manufacturing goods. Comparing them with the Scandinavian countries who have no factories to run is quite unfair comparison. Nokia already lost its world ranking. So Finland is no longer pressured to have round the clock workers.

[Corrade_]

Damn I felt like this documentary was very ambitious. It tapped into many facets and proposed an explanation for the status quo, which it saw as problematic, but I don't feel like there was a clear thread of reasoning. It was difficult to collate all the points raised about education, technology and more fundamental values - the 25 odd minutes struggled to serve such a complex angle.

[RandomNullpointer]

Studying too hard doesn't necessarily make you more comfortable in the future. And this is especially true when you live in a part of the world where other countries dictate your future and interfere with your life plans. South Korea is lucky to have relative stability. I hope things don't turn to the worse.

[Emilyincvqt]

In a globalized world today the pressure to succeed is everywhere not just in S. Korea or East Asia but in various places among the developed nations. For example, many wealthy American parents sends their kids to prestigious private boarding schools and spend enormous money on private education while the relatively poor Americans can't afford that. In S. Korea, private education, "Hak-won, " or tutoring "Gwa-Weh" is relatively affordable and available everywhere and even the lower-middle class can still send their kids to it.

[한한-le]

I am a korean student. Thats all true.
We have to bear every competition.
We are also limited leisures like computer game, hanging with friends, and even any activity except to study. We are not happy. Happiness is so worth to us. Sometimes i think i kill myself. Covid-19 is not died but schools will open 6th, April. In terms of Korean, education is just key that goes to succeed. Individuals thought is died by education system. But none of the political try to change this problem.

[seoyeon]

I don't know, I am korean, I'm not sure presure towards studying is only reason. Not only study, but everything is competitive in Korea.

Even tho high presure is really stressful but critical fact is teens only have their friends and family, and not a lot of family comunicate about everything or feel free to share negative issues.

Also the atmosphere of society that despise week people is big problem. Less repect to elderly, women, disabled. It exelate successism.

And your life quality only depends on you. Financial social support is hard to expected, even when you're getting some it only guarantees you minimum life quality.

So fundamentally making people feel safe when they failed, will be the way to decrease suiside rate.

[qpwoghqp]

Korean subtitle please!! I am a middle school teacher in South Korea, and I think more South Korean students should watch this.

[samileyyan]

wow powerful message, we all strive to earn a better social status in the society