Beyond the Academic Rat Race in South Korean Education
By Anonymous / Summer 2022
My family and I faced financial struggles as far back as I can remember. My parents were always anxious about losing their jobs and the roof over our heads. Although I did not know the roots of their anxiety when I was young, I was aware of our differences. One of the first experiences that made me realize the difference between my family and others was grocery shopping at the local supermarket. Being the start of a new school year, I wanted new school supplies that fit my age. However, my mother refused to buy me the school supplies and told me I could have my older sister’s hand-me-downs. My mother’s reluctance to buy me the supplies made my naïve younger self puff up in anger. I could not help but feel a sense of resentment against my parents. This anger only grew when we had to move twice in the span of five years. I had to leave my friends and school behind because we could not afford to live in our old apartment. As I grew up, I realized that the difference between my family and other families was rooted in our financial status. From what I could see, people with money could get anything they wanted, while low-income families like ours struggled to climb the social ladder and become financially stable.
Looking back at my childhood, my parents played a huge part in drilling into me the need to succeed in life. They wanted me to avoid the same fate as them. Their anxiety over our future stemmed from the Asian Financial Crisis they faced in the 90s. When we grew older and more mature, my mother often told us tales of how they struggled to find proper housing and employment after they got laid off when the new labor laws were passed in 1997. The laws were passed as a response to South Korea’s financial crisis. These neoliberal laws privatized financial markets, agricultural markets, and public corporations. Many companies implemented pay cuts and laid off hundreds of employees to adjust to the new policies. My parents were also among those who were laid off due to market privatization. Subsequently, capitalist culture boomed in South Korea to create a capitalist social matrix, which favored the elite due to their financial status. With the neoliberal policy change, the wealthy enjoyed their riches, while the poor were pitted against each other in a race to reach the top.
The capitalist culture fostered by neoliberal politics created several socioeconomic disparities between the elite and the working class. According to critics, in the 2000s, the working class in South Korea was classified as a new labor underclass. It was referred to as the “insecure class” because they had minimal chances of social mobility, no job security, and low income (Lee 186). This rising disparity between the classes created a legacy of class politics. I would classify my parents as part of this “insecure class” since they also fell through the gaps in the government’s social nets. They were too far down the ladder for labor unions, such as FKTU, who only cared about dealing with issues of workers from chaebol firms, such as Hyundai, Samsung, LG Group, and SK group (Lee 199). Being classified as disposable by companies and unions, they were financially insecure and struggled with social mobility, which isolated them further from the government and their community.
My siblings and I were too young to remember how devastating these times were for my parents; however, their tales became a driving force for me to find success and stabilization in life. I knew that in order to escape the poverty I grew up in, I had to hop over to the other side of this divide. I wanted to be rich. I wanted to be the one in control of my life. I wanted assurance for my family and sisters so they would never face poverty and helplessness again. I did not like the feeling of being poor. I would feel embarrassed when I perceived myself as poor. To my understanding, being poor meant my parents didn’t work hard enough. Being poor meant that my family and I were personally at fault for not being intelligent and diligent enough to make the mark. This conceptualization took root in my parent’s minds when they struggled to retain a job in the early 2000s. They knew they had to work hard to support their family. They instilled this sentiment in me by advising me from a young age that I needed to study harder to be successful and wealthy. I was not yet aware of how this sentiment originates from neoliberal ideologies, which promoted a capitalist culture, created a class divide, and recast this inequality as the result of laziness (Monbiot). Due to my naïve understanding of the world and my parents’ insistence, I became obsessed with the idea of being successful so I could finally have the money to live a better life.
My experience as a student in the Korean education system effectively describes the legacy created by neoliberal ideologies. Not only did it hinder my parent’s social mobility, but it also created a culture of competitiveness among students, even after graduation. In school, we were told that we could only succeed in life by getting the best grades. Good grades meant we could get admission to better universities, which significantly improved social mobility. Just hearing about admission to Seoul National University made parents go into an envious frenzy. In hopes of getting admission to such universities, I gave up my dreams and happiness. I believed happiness lay on the other side of the class divide, and I could only reach it by working hard as a student. Back then, I wasn’t aware of the deeper issue behind the fostered competitiveness among students. However, it angered me to see how students from wealthy backgrounds could breeze through life. The anger stemmed from the fact that students from affluent backgrounds had ample opportunities to get academically coached and enjoy their childhood, while I had to work part-time jobs to afford academic coaching. Where I had to compete and get the highest grade to get into renowned colleges, students from wealthy backgrounds relied on their parent’s income and stable upbringing to get admission. I did not know who to blame; I just knew that it was unfair for me to compete with students whose parents could support them financially. I envied the rich for being so laissez-fair about the plights of the poor, yet I wanted to join their league to enjoy the same benefits. To my understanding, competition was the only way to achieve this success. I now realize that I was an active participant in the rat race to success, not knowing how I was a complicit actor that unknowingly supported a flawed ideology.
Looking back, I can see that neoliberalism created a legacy of social inequality in Korea. According to critics of neoliberalism, this ideology postulates reduced state intervention in social and economic activities and deregulation of financial and labor markets, including the investment and commerce sector (Navarro 47). In South Korea’s case, this ideology was adopted by implementing an open market economy, which allowed the growth of the capitalist system. Subsequently, the privatization of markets and industries created class divisions between wealthy owners and workers. This ideology advocates that social mobility is only possible through competition, which pits individuals against individuals in a rat race to reach the top. It creates an ideological condition that permeates individual competitiveness in all facets of life. Individual competitiveness further complicates the social matrix and hides the truth behind constructed realities. It blinds and alienates the masses in order to disguise how neoliberal ideology endorses socioeconomic class division.
The ideological conditions created by neoliberalism and individual competitiveness promote the superficial view that success and wealth result from hard work. The effect of this belief is two-fold. It depicts the elite in a favorable light, which allows them to retain their wealth and keeps the masses complacent about their positions. It also encourages the lower classes to participate in an unfair and inequitable race to reach the top. Those with wealth also have access to various resources, such as healthcare and education. On the other hand, individuals from less wealthy backgrounds have to struggle financially to enjoy the same benefits. The disparity of resources creates unequal access to opportunities for the rich and the poor. In their ignorance, the masses believe that all individuals have equal access to resources in the rat race. They do not perceive how some individuals can breeze through this race due to their socioeconomic difference. In the case of South Korea, socioeconomic inequality is primarily promoted through individual competitiveness. It is largely exercised in the Korean education system, which makes the families internalize a toxic culture of academic elitism. This elitism is carried on to other facets of life, such as employment. Students from wealthy backgrounds have a significantly higher chance of getting admission to Ivy League universities due to their financial status. Conversely, students with less financial backing have fewer chances of admission due to the opportunity gap (“South Korea”). The result of academic focus on neoliberal understanding of success can be seen in my struggle to reach success. My sole aim was to change the course of my family’s financial situation, which was only possible by studying in a toxic culture of individual competitiveness. My parents and teachers were staunch advocates of achieving success through hard work. They never understood why I was academically not up to par with students who had a silver spoon in their mouths. When faced with failure, I started believing I was at fault for not being good enough, which isolated me further from my parents and friends. This isolation brings me to another flawed ideological condition created by neoliberalism and endorsed by individual competitiveness.
Individual competitiveness also keeps individuals locked in the capitalist social matrix through atomization. By pitting individuals in a rat race against each other, the capitalist social matrix separates mutually dependent communities to keep them unaware of the bigger picture. This could be best understood by taking a look at how the working class in America was divided through racist beliefs. In the 60s, every working class wanted to enjoy the same benefits as the wealthy. Still, the white and black working class were divided by the color line, making it significantly harder to topple the social hierarchy pyramid in American society. In Korea, meritocracy can be considered one of the biggest causes of atomization. As students become more concerned about reaching the top, they become less concerned about class differences. Students, their families, and the education system normalize the advantages and disadvantages of class differences. They are not concerned with the opportunity gap that creates disparities between the wealthy and the poor students. According to Dr. Marc Yamada, “the idea of family as an extension of the corporation, or even the family as a corporation, is really key in South Korean culture” (“Hidden Families”). For example, my family internalized the need for success; they prioritized my happiness over it since they did not know any other way to achieve it. According to critics, in such family systems, individuals often “underestimate the extent of economic inequalities and underappreciate the non-meritocratic, structural, forces that produce, promote, and perpetuate the structural barriers between rich and poor” (Mijs and Savage). Individuals from such families become isolated individuals, void of any ambitions and dreams. The neoliberal infiltration is so deep that the younger generation has become obsessed with the idea of success. They become isolated mindless drones in their quest. They forget their sense of self and ceaselessly study to become a part of the academic elite. Taking my experience as a student in Korea as an example, I can hardly define myself due to my lost childhood. Now that I have achieved some semblance of success and my financial prospects are better, I still feel unhappy and isolated. I feel anger at being manipulated by neoliberal policies. Nevertheless, I participated in the rat race; It was my choice, so who should I blame? Where do I direct my anger?
A couple of years ago, I watched Parasite. It depicted the life of an underclass family trying to win the rat race. It showcased the frustration and bitterness the poor feel due to their unfair circumstances. Their resentment was relatable to me since it was comparable to my frustration against how the wealthy are oblivious to the issues of the poor. The Kim family’s struggle to win the rat race also showcased how neoliberal capitalism creates an opportunity gap between the rich and the poor. At the end of the movie, the poor turn against the wealthy in the act of anger. Kim’s family’s anger at the Parks brings me back to my question. Are the rich at fault here? Are they forcing us to participate in the rat race to the top? Should we really eat the rich? In the media, it is often depicted that billionaires are the cause of all our woes. They should be targeted because they have accumulated wealth and left none for us. It also brings to light why certain rich celebrities, like Oprah Winfrey, are held in high regard, while others, like Mark Zuckerberg, are characterized as villainous. I am sure both are equally at fault for being complicit in the capitalist system. I would even go as far as to say I also participated in the rat race. Am I the villain here as well? After some contemplation, I can infer that the question we need to focus on is not who is at fault here; instead, how we can make a change. According to Nnaemeka Ugochukwu, it is “our elected officials and governments and not a function of rich people,” and I wholeheartedly agree (“Eat the Rich”). Although the wealthy are pulling the strings, the government has the power to intervene and correct policies endorsing harmful ideologies and stereotypes. As citizens of our country, we have power over the government through suffrage. No one is to blame here but ourselves. We must step up and make a change by taking a united front against the government.
In order to take a stand against the government, we need to pull out of our epistemic bubbles. Epistemic bubbles reinforce atomization, separating individuals into smaller isolated units (Nguyen 2). In my case, I would say my epistemic bubble narrowed my understanding of success. My social system consisted of my family and the Korean school system. This limited understanding led me to believe that individual competitiveness can only achieve progress. I did not see any other way to succeed and attain happiness. Thus, the created epistemic bubble narrowed my understanding of the world and isolated me from being a part of a larger community. Now that I am aware of how flawed this sentiment was, I am able to see alternative paths to happiness. From my experiences, I am able to conclude that the first step towards liberation from the rat race is becoming aware of our epistemic bubbles and looking beyond our narrowed understanding of the world.
By becoming mindful of the mechanism of neoliberalism, we can perceive how disconnected we are from the plight of the other. Through this awareness, we can finally understand what lies beyond the rat race. It is an awareness of self, awareness of others, and an awareness of humanity. We develop a consciousness that allows us to speak against atrocities committed against others. We adopt shared objectives and focus on a singular goal. Together, we stand in solidarity against a government that wants to see us divided. An example of this solidarity can be seen in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The African Americans did not take up violence against the wealthy or the white populace; instead, they advocated for freedom and liberation of all individuals, regardless of race or class. In this regard, Martin L. Luther aimed to break the wealthy, the poor, and the white populace out of their reverie by raising awareness about the injustices through non-violent protests. According to him, “injustice must be exposed…to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured” (“Letters”). Hence, awareness of neoliberalism is needed so it can bring about change at a micro-level and give society as a whole the power to bring about positive change at the macro-level.
Like my family, there are millions of other families all around the world that are blindly running the rat race. This is where we, as individuals and as part of those societies, come in. We have become aware of how the unequal social matrix controls and blinds the masses. We have developed enough consciousness to let others know of their position in society. How can we continue to become a part of the rat race when we know that we can only attain success at the expense of others? If we close our eyes to the ethical implications of neoliberal policies, the cycle of who will best the other will continue. I hope this awareness allows you to see what lies beyond the rat race. I hope it gives you the courage to escape the rat race, academically or professionally. Together, we can raise awareness against the ills of neoliberalism so others may also stand united against the government. Through the achieved solidarity, all of us can escape the rat race and fight for a better future that prioritizes collaboration instead of competition.
Works Cited
“Hidden Families and Class Conflict in Bong’s Parasite.” International Cinema, BYU International Cinema, 5 March 2020.
Lee, Yoonkyung. “Labor after Neoliberalism: The Birth of the Insecure Class in South Korea”, Globalizations, vol. 12, no. 2, 2014, pp. 184-202, Taylor and Francis. Accessed 3 Aug. 2022.
Monbiot, George. “Neoliberalism – the Ideology at the Root of All Our Problems.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Apr. 2016.
Mijs, Jonathan and Mike Savage. “Meritocracy, Elitism, and Inequality”, The Political Quarterly, vol. 91, no. 2, 2014, pp. 397-404, Wiley Online Library. Accessed 3 Aug. 2022.
Navarro, Vicente. “Neoliberalism As a Class Ideology; Or, The Political Causes of The Growth of Inequalities.” International Journal of Health Services: Planning, Administration, Evaluation vol. 37, no.1, 2007, pp. 47-62. PubMed. Accessed 3 Aug. 2022.
“South Korea Is Losing Faith in an Elitist Education System.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper Limited, 27 July 2017.
Ugochukwu, Nnaemeka. “Should We Really Eat the Rich?” Eco Warrior, 20 Mar. 2021.