By Lee Hyon-soo
Korea was one of the world's poorest countries in the mid-20th century. Today, however, Korea's GDP ranks 10th and its trade volume is 7th in the world. Indeed, Korea has come a long way and is the envy of less-developed countries.
Korea's economic growth was so dramatic that it was called the miracle on the Han River. When Korea embarked on economic development in the early 1960s, it had to start from scratch because it was not endowed with natural resources nor did it have a technological and capital base to speak of. However, Korea had what other poor countries lacked at the time: (a) a visionary political leader who was determined to lift Korea out of poverty with the help of forward-looking technocrats and daring entrepreneurs and (b) a large pool of well-educated young men and women who could be mobilized as a workforce to carry out his ambitious economic development plan.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that if good workers had not been available, Korea's economic development plan would not have borne fruit. Therefore, it would be fair to say that the credit for Korea's remarkable economic growth was largely due to the Korean parents who had given top priority to the education of their children while eking out a precarious living in a poverty-stricken country.
The Korean tradition of educational zeal has persisted to date. Actually, it has grown more acute as the years have passed. Korean parents who feel that Korea's public education system leaves much to be desired invariably send their children to "hagwons" (private academies) after school, which involves an unbearable financial burden for less affluent parents.
Some more aggressive parents take extraordinary measures for the sake of their children. They take their children abroad to give them a first-rate education that is not available in Korea. They may be divided into two disparate groups.
Included in the first group are the parents who have emigrated to foreign countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia with their children. Due to language and other barriers, they struggle to make ends meet in the countries where they have settled. However, they make an all-out effort to educate their children. Their wholehearted devotion pays off as most of their grown children perform meaningful roles in mainstream society, unlike their parents who still remain on the fringe of society.
The second group comprises the parents who give up their normal married lives by living separately for the education of their children. Mothers take care of their children who go to school in foreign countries, while fathers stay home in Korea to make money to support them. They get together once or twice a year. Such an unnatural lifestyle entails serious emotional and financial hardships on the part of the parents concerned.
Only Korean parents would endure such hardships for the sake of their children. The upshot of their self-sacrifice is that their children who have been educated offshore will have an advantage in seeking employment in the international arena. And those who return home will be able to play an important role in internationalizing Korea.
In a nutshell, it seems that there are no parents like Korean parents as far as children's education is concerned. They really deserve commendation.
On a personal note, I did my part as a parent. I worked hard to give my brainy son the best education and managed to put him through Harvard Business School.
The writer (tomhslee43@gmail.com) is a freelance columnist.
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Korea's economic growth was so dramatic that it was called the miracle on the Han River. When Korea embarked on economic development in the early 1960s, it had to start from scratch because it was not endowed with natural resources nor did it have a technological and capital base to speak of. However, Korea had what other poor countries lacked at the time: (a) a visionary political leader who was determined to lift Korea out of poverty with the help of forward-looking technocrats and daring entrepreneurs and (b) a large pool of well-educated young men and women who could be mobilized as a workforce to carry out his ambitious economic development plan.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that if good workers had not been available, Korea's economic development plan would not have borne fruit. Therefore, it would be fair to say that the credit for Korea's remarkable economic growth was largely due to the Korean parents who had given top priority to the education of their children while eking out a precarious living in a poverty-stricken country.
The Korean tradition of educational zeal has persisted to date. Actually, it has grown more acute as the years have passed. Korean parents who feel that Korea's public education system leaves much to be desired invariably send their children to "hagwons" (private academies) after school, which involves an unbearable financial burden for less affluent parents.
Some more aggressive parents take extraordinary measures for the sake of their children. They take their children abroad to give them a first-rate education that is not available in Korea. They may be divided into two disparate groups.
Included in the first group are the parents who have emigrated to foreign countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia with their children. Due to language and other barriers, they struggle to make ends meet in the countries where they have settled. However, they make an all-out effort to educate their children. Their wholehearted devotion pays off as most of their grown children perform meaningful roles in mainstream society, unlike their parents who still remain on the fringe of society.
The second group comprises the parents who give up their normal married lives by living separately for the education of their children. Mothers take care of their children who go to school in foreign countries, while fathers stay home in Korea to make money to support them. They get together once or twice a year. Such an unnatural lifestyle entails serious emotional and financial hardships on the part of the parents concerned.
Only Korean parents would endure such hardships for the sake of their children. The upshot of their self-sacrifice is that their children who have been educated offshore will have an advantage in seeking employment in the international arena. And those who return home will be able to play an important role in internationalizing Korea.
In a nutshell, it seems that there are no parents like Korean parents as far as children's education is concerned. They really deserve commendation.
On a personal note, I did my part as a parent. I worked hard to give my brainy son the best education and managed to put him through Harvard Business School.
The writer (tomhslee43@gmail.com) is a freelance columnist.
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