Cheating Scandal, Not Influence Peddling is What Has Driven Korean Youths to Protest President Park
I agree with this article that for the younger generation of Koreans the influence peddling scandal is to be expected, but the cheating to get Choi Soon-sil’s daughter into Ewha Women’s University is what really infuriates them:
A rigorously meritocratic education system lies at the heart of South Korea’s stellar rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The system is highly competitive and can take a distressing toll on young students who devote their teenage years to studying for the national college entrance exam.
Admission to one of a handful of elite universities — such as Ewha — is seen as vital to a student’s future prosperity, social standing and even marriage prospects.
But however cut-throat it might be, there is steadfast public faith and trust in the exam’s fairness, with every applicant sitting the same paper on the same day, and a formalised marking system.
That faith is summed up in a term popular for decades, “a dragon from a ditch” — a person of modest means who rose to success through education and hard work. (………..)
“But Chung and Choi shattered this faith and hope spectacularly,” it said.
Park’s presidency has coincided with growing disquiet over a widening disparity in incomes and opportunities — an inequality now embodied in the public mind by Choi and her daughter.
In a now-infamous Facebook posting in 2014, Chung flaunted her privilege, saying: “Money is part of your talent. If you don’t have talent, blame your parents.”
The depth of anger over Chung’s admission to Ewha has been illustrated by the large number of high-school students who have taken part in weekly mass demonstrations that have seen millions march through the streets of Seoul and other cities.
“I was so angry about Chung and couldn’t even sleep when I first heard about her scandal,” said Jenny Park, a 16-year-old high school student.
“What’s the point of studying night and day when the rich and powerful can rig the whole system so easily?” she said, waving a banner reading “We didn’t study hard for this.” [AFP]
You can read more at the link, but like I said before I seriously doubt Choi Soon-sil is the only rich and connected person to get their kids into major universities in Korea through improper means.
