Population of Korean Immigrants
Korean migration to the United States began in the early 20th century and it was relatively small. However, the Immigration Act of 1965 removed restrictions on Asian migration, and the number of Korean immigrants in the United States grew rapidly. The population of Korean immigrants increased from 39,000 in 1970 to 290,000 in 1980. By the year 2008, Koreans constituted the fifth largest Asian immigrant group in the United States, and in 2015, Korean immigrants represented 2.4 percent of the U.S. immigrant population. Korean immigrants have been driven by different reasons including political and economic, but one of the most popular reasons was Korean educational system.
For years, many Korean students have left their country for better education. South Korean students represent the third largest group of international students. In the 2012-2013 school year, more than 70,600 South Koreans studied in the United States. Sunjay Lee is one of many Korean students who came to America for better education. American educational system is very different from that in Korea and it has attracted many Korean students. Educational system in Korea is much more competitive than it is in America. Koreans believe that higher education is the only method of achieving higher social status. It results in widespread preoccupation with few prestigious universities which leads the students believe their grades are most important. As a result, most teachers in Korea are not interested in finding the student’s talents. Sunjay often thought that her opinions were ignored in school. Her teachers didn’t bother to listen her opinions, but they only wanted Sunjay to do well on her exams.
“The schools in Korea were not geared towards the students who excel in other fields than tests. Rankings define who you are, and your scores define who you are.”
In Korean schools, the teachers hold a great power over the students. Sunjay remembers that all students followed the teacher’s words as it they were the laws. She was never allowed to talk back to her teachers even though they had wrong ideas. She had to hold whatever she wanted to say to herself so that she could seem polite in front of the teachers.
“I struggled to understand and comply with the unspoken rules of Korean culture that started to come to the surface upon starting school.”
Sunjay could never share her thoughts freely in school. In order to be considered as a good student by teachers, she always had to hide her extroverted personality and portray herself as a quiet person.
When Sunjay first came to America
Competitive Korean educational system also leads many families to spend a lot of money on private tutoring and after school test prep. It is a financial burden for the parents, and it takes away free time from the students. Sunjay’s school ended at 3:00pm and she headed to her prep right after. Her tutoring and prep ended at around 9:30pm, and this cycle repeated everyday. It was winter in 2009 when Sunjay’s parents decided to give her a short break from this cycle. Her parents signed up for a program in which Sunjay could take winter classes in an American elementary school for three weeks. During her winter break, which is a month in South Korea, Sunjay came to New York with her parents.
Sunjay was surprised at how the educational system in the United States was different from that in Korea. The teachers asked for her opinions first so that she could participate in discussions freely. Students in her class were very nice to each other and were open to making new friends. Therefore, she made friends very quickly and learned English fast. After three weeks in Long Island, she didn’t want to go back to Korea.
“I think that coming to America was what really allowed my personality to grow, something that would have never happened in Korea. I didn’t want to go back.”
Her parents also realized how much more happy Sunjay was in America, and they were convinced that education system in the United States would be more beneficial to Sunjay. They decided to permanently immigrate to America. Sunjay’s dad had to quit his job in Korea and find a job in new country. Her mom had to adapt in a very different environment. It took almost ten years for them to get citizenship in America. Without their sacrifice, Sunjay wouldn’t have had the opportunity to better education.
Students are taking Sooneung, national college entrance exam in Korea.
While students are taking Sooneung, their parents are praying at a Buddhist temple so that their children do well on Sooneung.
Among the differences between two countries’ educational system including classroom environment and students’ lifestyle, the college entrance exam is one of the most significant differences. While students in America can take SAT for several times, Korean students have only one chance to take the college entrance exam which called the Sooneung every year. Students have a lot of pressure on them because one day will decide their future. If they do badly on that day, they have to wait a whole year to take the Sooneung again. The Sooneung has been the greatest source of stress for Korean high school students. In addition, unlike Korean students who have only Sooneung, American students can choose between SAT and ACT. Sunjay found that having opportunities to take SAT for several times allowed her to have flexible lifestyle in her high school years. She never thought that one single test would decide her future, and therefore, her high school years weren’t stressful. She had opportunities to spend time with her friends, and she also tried many different things including volunteering and internship.
Sunjay now found her dream!
The United States has become a place where Korean students’ dreams could be acknowledged. Most students in Korea don’t have many opportunities to think about what their interests are and what they want to do in the future. Some of them also give up pursuing certain fields or careers because they don’t have the grades to get into colleges with those majors. Sunjay also never thought about her interests in Korea, but in America, she was always encouraged to find what she really wants to do in the future and the area she is interested in the most. As a result, she was able to decide on her major and she is currently studying Humanities and Sociology in USC.
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