Asia

Of students and eruptions

This afternoon I gave a presentation to college students at Chung-Ahn University in Seoul.  It’s the first presentation I’ve given in some time.  I thought I would be nervous, but I was not.  About 30 students showed up to learn more about studying in the U.S. and about steps they need to take to study there.  I used a PowerPoint presentation written in Korean as a guide (I frequently referred to notes in English).  The students seemed to enjoy the presentation, and I tried to liven it up a bit with some understated humor.  A colleague of mine joined me and did an excellent job translating my monologue into Korean.  The students were quiet throughout the presentation, and I had to coax them to ask questions at the end.  I’ve been told that silence is not typical during these types of gatherings.  Presenters are typically bombarded with questions.  Perhaps my presentation was so thorough that I answered all of their questions, or maybe they’re just introverted.  I doubt it.  I think they were shy.  After the presentation, some of the students came up to me with more specific questions, reinforced in my mind that they were interested in what I had to say.

 

I also spent time with one of the vice presidents at Chung-Ahn.  He received his Ph.D from the U.S. and had a fabulous grasp of English and the American education system.  I told him some of my impressions about the Korean educational system, including some I wrote about yesterday.  He clarified that Korean students do not have to necessarily change schools if they change majors.  However, changing majors is much more difficult to do in Korea than it is in the U.S.  He said that most Korean students go to the states to study English and then return to Korea to finish their degrees.  He appreciated that my colleague and I visited the school a community service to help Korean students learn more about study in the U.S.  He also pointed out that the university hosts many foreign students, and I told him that I was glad to hear that the university gave foreign students the opportunity to learn more about Korean culture.  Korean exchange programs are great outreach programs.

 

Today is the 25th anniversary of the initial eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State.  I did not live in Washington at the time, but my dad was living there in anticipation of our eventual relocation there.  My family joined him in Washington State months after the blast occurred.  57 people lost their lives in the eruption, including Harry Truman, an elderly gentleman who had lived near the mountain for years and refused to leave despite repeated warnings.  The pre-eruption photos reveal what was once one of the most beautiful mountains in the U.S.  Mt. St. Helens even now looks quite barren and misshapen.  The area that surrounds it is still very devastated, although the vegetation has started growing again.  The remnant of what used to be gorgeous Spirit Lake at the base of the mountain is just a shadow of what it used to be.  My wife and I visited the mountain for the first time several years ago.  It’s quite humble standing before a mountain that has so obviously been scarred by a volcanic blast.  The mountain has recently started rumbling again, and its volcanic dome has begun to grow again.  It frequently lets off steam.  No one knows when it will erupt again.  It’s unlikely that it will have another devastating eruption like it did in 1980, but you never know.

The rule of four versus five

Asian students are among the most diligent, hardest-working students in the world.  They are generally driven to excel academically.  Those who go to the U.S. for education typically do very well because are disciplined and conditioned to excel.  In fact, a large portion of math and science students in U.S. universities migrated from Asia, particularly from China, India, and Korea.  In Korea, the drive for primary and secondary students to excel academically is especially acute.  Korean public education students work extremely hard.  Their primary goal is to perform well on college entrance exams in the hope of getting into their college of choice.  The chosen few who do particularly well are able to get into the elite Korean universities, including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Ehwa Women’s University, and Korea University.  The Korean educational system is competitive to such an extent that Korean students often study up to 20 hours per day in order to stay ahead.  There’s an infamous saying in Korea known as "the rule of four versus five."  It states that students who sleep four hours per day will get into the college of their choice, while those who sleep five hours per day will not.  In addition to attending public schools, Korean students spend endless hours studying at private academies with professional tutors who grill them in a variety of subjects, particularly English.  Korean parents will spend thousands and thousands of dollars (millions of Korean won) to put their children through extracurricular training so that they can have an advantage when it comes to taking the college placement exam.

As an American, I find the Korean educational system both admirable and unsettling.  I really admire Korean students who work so hard to get ahead.  I also admire their parents’ dedication to putting their children through school, no matter how high the cost.  Korean parents are immensely supportive when it comes to making sure their children have the best educational and career opportunities.  At the same time, I am concerned about the unforgiving nature of the Korean educational system.  Articles like the one I recently read in the International Herald Tribune about student protests over the Korean educational system highlight just how unforgiving the Korean system can be.  Those who do not perform well face a far less certain future than those who do.  Their status in life, their career, the person they marry, and where they live are often determined by the outcome of a single exam.  Students can take the annual placement exam up to three times.  However, it is still very difficult for some students to succeed, even after testing multiple tries. 

Although the U.S. educational system is far from perfect, I believe it is preeminent in one critical aspect–it is much more inclusive, and it offers far more opportunities for academic and career success than does the Korean system.  Even some Koreans agree with me.  Those I have talked to acknowledge that the Korean system can be very harsh, and I meet many students who would prefer to pursue their education in the U.S.  This is only partly due to American academic curricula.  It is also because competitive pressure is much less intense in the U.S., and Korean students can take advantage of a wide range of academic and career opportunities in the U.S.  For example, they do not need to change schools in the U.S. if they change majors (they do in Korea).  They can attend school as non-traditional students if they are older or want to pursue unique educational interests.  There are far fewer non-traditional students in Korea.  A 55-year-old Korean grandmother would be hard-pressed to obtain her doctorate degree in Korea, whereas in the U.S. she can pursue her degree from any institution at any age, so long as she meets the entrance requirements.  The occasional story of the American octogenarian who earns his bachelor’s degree at a U.S. school is unheard of in Korea.

An American friend of mine is currently attending a master’s program at one of Korea’s top universities.  He sat in on a few courses before choosing his course schedule.  Two of his professors bluntly told him that he did not belong in their classes.  He did not conform to the norm, perhaps because he has a tenuous grasp of Korean.  He was finally able to find a niche for himself at that school and found a way to fit in.  He is one of the lucky ones, perhaps because he is a foreigner.  He would have been readily accepted by his teachers and peers if he had enrolled in a Korean language course.  However, because he chose to enroll in mainstream science courses, he met with resistance.  It’s an unfortunate reality of life in the Korean educational system.

Travel plans and overcommitment

I talked to my wife tonight about our potential travel plans this year.  We really haven’t had a real vacation since we went to the Middle East on tour in late 2001.  (We traveled to the Middle East just before the Afghan War started in 2002.  Fortunately, the trip was relatively incident-free.)  I spent a couple of years pursuing my MBA, and my son was born just before I graduated.  We were homebound during his first year of life.  After I graduated, I briefly worked as a consultant and was on the road frequently.  I had no time for a vacation.  Then in early 2004 I started this job, and I haven’t had a vacation in over a year on the job.  We did spend a few days in Hawai in mid-February before arriving in Seoul.  However, my family was ill with the flu, and I had to work for a couple days in Honolulu.  Alas, Hawaii was not much of a vacation aside from spending quality time with my brother and wife and some sweet moments at the Hilton Hawaiian Village at Waikiki.  We’ve been out and about in Seoul, but we haven’t taken any vacations since we arrived.  Unfortunately, the summer months will be extremely busy, and in the fall I’ll be preoccupied with the upcoming APEC Conference in Busan.  It doesn’t leave us much time for vacation.  Next December we will return to the U.S. for some rest and recuperation, and during the spring or summer we want to take a mini-trip somewhere in Korea or Asia.  My wife did some research and discovered, much to my surprise, that it costs almost as much to travel to Jeju Island as it does to go to Phuket, Thailand.  Jeju Island is one of Korea’s greatest treasures.  It’s a beautiful island off the south coast of Korea, a must-see for anyone traveling to Korea.  Phuket is an especially popular destination for Koreans.  Phuket/Bangkok tour packages are relatively cheap right now.  Phuket sustained significant damage from the Tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia, and tour packages there are cheap because Thailand is trying to rebuild its tourist industry.  Our biggest challenge is finding the time go on vacation.  U.S.’ Memorial Day would be the best time for us to go because Koreans celebrate their own Memorial Day is one week later.  Unfortunately, I have some job commitments to fulfill around Memorial Day.  Traveling on Korean Memorial Day is a possibility, but traveling in Korea during a Korean holiday is a nightmare.  We may not have an opportunity to go on vacation until Christmastime.

I did it again.  I overcommitted myself during the next two weeks.  It wasn’t my intention.  I told myself I wouldn’t overcommit anymore myself because I almost killed myself volunteering for everything during my MBA program.  I tend to say “yes” when given an opportunity to volunteer.  I’ve wanted to reach out to the local community through a speaking engagement, so I inadvertently volunteered myself to speak twice in the next two weeks.  I signed up for the talent show next week and will sing a couple of songs.  I have to report out to the section head on a key operations management project I’ve been working on for the past two months.  I volunteered to help with the company picnic as grill master and arrange transportation.  I move to a new assignment on June 1st and have to wrap up my current job by the end of the month.  If I can get through the next two weeks without incident, I will be very happy.  It’s going to be quite a challenge.  The public speaking opportunities will be particularly nerve wracking, because I don’t particularly enjoy speaking publicly.  It’s something I have to do, though.  Public speaking is a critical skill I need to nurture.  Communication is key.