South Korea's exam suicides

In South Korea, an 18 year old has committed suicide in the city of Daejeon - just hours before he was due to take a university entrance exam.

Teen suicide rates have risen by more than a third in the last decade - and the intense pressure to succeed academically is often the cause.

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports from Seoul.

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News & Politics

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• asiapacificnews
• Harry Fawcett
• South Korea
• suicide rates

[misterchuckle]

@zyeahh I don't agree with you that this is the best education system. Education is about teaching people how to think. It's not about teaching students something so they can simply regurgitate it in an exam. For the most part, creative thought is sadly lacking in South Korea. Things just get drummed into them and they call it an education. If you look at industy, there's little or no originality in the products. They're all copied from other countries. I've been in Korea for 4 years.

[AzureParagon]

I'd still faithfully prefer Finland's education system far more than South Korea. I just wonder how much longer students in SK can handle all this... :{

[Lou500]

@ManOfConsequences How would being betrothed to a shallow, lecherous man like you make her life any better?

[AzureParagon]

@oakes4574 It's pretty ridiculing to us...Calculus at age 10? Are older children biologically developed enough to learn such levels and high circuitry of mathematics?

All I gotta say is: I'd rather be wise, balanced, & healthily happy than to know every single fact while being an 8-year old surgeon who's a rich dodecatillionare after years of studying for 7300 hours a year(20 hrs./day x 365 or 366). ~X.=.x~

I had to reply since your comment caught my mind. Excuse my rudeness if there were any.

[oakes4574]

@ThespecialJuan21 No. Actually, it's Lithuania which has the highest suicide rates.

Check wikipedia for the most recent statistics

Among top 10 countries though, there are South Korea, Japan, and China, and they are not suffering from poverty like some African or East European countries. Nice work, East Asian goverments. I guess this is their way of population control :-(

[oakes4574]

Can you believe that quite a number of rich kids are forced to learn Calculus at the age of 10? Yes. It happens in Korea.

[ThespecialJuan21]

@beccaotaku Nope check it, South Korea has the highest suicide rates in the world, google is your bestfriend.

[AnnyNorn]

@beccaotaku Actually, it's higher in Korea and steadily climbing.

[Bowhayz]

I'm making a 3.5 GPA and going to University of Oregon. I've probably had more fun than work. TBH I feel bad for these people.

[VisualAural]

@amoniane S. Koreans are a pretty intelligence bunch though. They have the second highest average iq on the planet. But I get your point, exam performance is a very weak measure of intelligence.

[beccaotaku]

This happens in Japan too, I think I heard suicide rates are higher there also.

[LifeIsGood680]

this is inhuman