South Korean High School Exam

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

I could not disagree more...when it comes to Countries who have changed their innovative ability over the last 60 years there are only two that have had meaningful changes (relative to other countries) South Korea and Israel. In the 50's South Korea was third-world and today it is going toe-to-toe with almost any first world nation in innovation. However there are structural problems (like the Chaebols) so we will see if they can keep it up.

And in regards to cars...Korean cars inferior to most? That is flat out wrong...current Hyundai cars are IMO as good as any brand in the sub-$40k range. They aren't gobbling up market share because they suck.

They've done an amazing job industrializing their nation, no question there. I mean innovation as inventing new things, which they haven't come up with anything ground breaking. Kias and Hyundias are popular because they are cheap relative to the Japanese cars. The only newer then 2000 cars you see in the junk yard are Korean cars. They are getting better, but they still aren't great.

[seattleflamer]

A corollary to all this of course is the academic stress and expectations therein have resulted in South Korea's number one ranking for teen suicide among OECD nations.

~3X as high than Canada/US.

Link: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/f...Type=text/html

[GreenLantern2814]

The system in South Korea resulted in Samsung and LG. Hyundai makes amazing cars for the money these days. They have the fastest internet speeds in the world.

Meanwhile, in Canada... What exactly do we do? Innovation-wise.

[Kerplunk]

All that, and then they turn into professional Starcraft players.

[afc wimbledon]

The whole 'they can't innovate' was exactly what we said about the Japanese 50 years ago and boy were we wrong.

I am not sure this level of pressure is the best way to run an education system but given a choice between this and the worship of sports and anti intellectualism of the US I'd take this any day.

I for one welcome our new Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean/Japanese/Indian masters (delete where applicable).

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by YYC in LAX

They look like clones in the picture

That's because all Asians look the same!

[seattleflamer]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

I for one welcome our new Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean/Japanese/Indian masters (delete where applicable).

Unless they emmigrate and buy Vancouver real estate....I joke...I joke.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by seattleflamer

Unless they emmigrate and buy Vancouver real estate....I joke...I joke.

I shall be buying a wok burner equipped stove for my new kitchen just in case, all I'm waiting for is real estate to fall another 40% in the UK and I will move home with my ill gotten gains!!!

[RedJester]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

The system in South Korea resulted in Samsung and LG. Hyundai makes amazing cars for the money these days. They have the fastest internet speeds in the world.

Meanwhile, in Canada... What exactly do we do? Innovation-wise.

RIM/Blackberry and Bombardier immediately come to mind as innovative companies.

As far as research and development goes, Canada has a plethora of inventions and projects to take credit for.

--

As far as this system goes, I am glad we don't have anything like that in Canada. When I was a teenager, I hated school and didn't focus on my studies, and as a result, my marks were pretty awful.

It took, and is still taking a lot of hard work to reach the level of success I have today.

If I was Korean, I'd probably be a janitor - and by the sounds of it, no hope for a decent future.

I count my blessings every day, and being Canadian is one of them.

[WesternCanadaKing]

Korean culture is very cutthroat. Not only are the university entrance exams extremely rigourous, there are only 6 universities in the country that you can go to if you want any hope of having a professional career. There's also no such thing as a sick day. If you try to take a day off you get fired. One of my best friends is Korean (a very lazy Korean, even by our standards), and he says becoming a Canadian was the best thing that could've happened for him.

[zuluking]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

The system in South Korea resulted in Samsung and LG. Hyundai makes amazing cars for the money these days. They have the fastest internet speeds in the world.

Meanwhile, in Canada... What exactly do we do? Innovation-wise.

You need to visit the oilsands!

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by WesternCanadaKing

Korean culture is very cutthroat. Not only are the university entrance exams extremely rigourous, there are only 6 universities in the country that you can go to if you want any hope of having a professional career. There's also no such thing as a sick day. If you try to take a day off you get fired. One of my best friends is Korean (a very lazy Korean, even by our standards), and he says becoming a Canadian was the best thing that could've happened for him.

This does not bode well for our future!

Canada's new motto:-

'Give us your lazy slacker masses'

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by yyc in lax

they look like clones in the picture

o_o!!!!

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

The system in South Korea resulted in Samsung and LG. Hyundai makes amazing cars for the money these days. They have the fastest internet speeds in the world.

Meanwhile, in Canada... What exactly do we do? Innovation-wise.

You're right, internet fridge is superior to the telephone, insulin ect.

I didn't want the debate to shift to this, I just think their education system is pretty extreme.

[Lithium]

Everyone single one of them in the pictures wear eye glasses...

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Lithium

Everyone single one of them in the pictures wear eye glasses...

Man, they seriously all look EXACTLY the same, it's actually kind of scary...

[jeffman]

imo our culture is far superior to korean culture

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Of course I did. Kind of sad that the culture is so built around a flawed system of testing intelligence. I guess when a country churns out students like widgets on an assembly line, you get a culture like Korea that hasn't had much in the way of innovation, just copy and improve slightly, although I'd argue Korean cars are still inferior to most.

This is one of the most ignorant statements I've ever read on CP.

Originally Posted by jeffman

imo our culture is far superior to korean culture

Okay you win.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Man, they seriously all look EXACTLY the same, it's actually kind of scary...

Oh the old' "we all look the same". Absolutely. We have a genetic predisposition to black hair and myopia. My buddy from China was on a bus the other day and a guy went up to him and asked "do you like rice?". Why is this kosher in Calgary? Would you goto a black guy and say they all look the same or ask if they like watermelons and fried chicken? Why all this "cultural superiority" bull#### that is just masked racism? I don't believe Canada's culture is superior in any way and I far prefer Asian industrial design and aesthetics. Our education system has it's strengths but it also certain has extreme weaknesses. Like it or not, repetition and rote memorization build pathways in the brain and build a base of knowledge that can be drawn on throughout life. It trains people into certain ways of studying and ways of utilizing a work ethic. Is it any wonder why so many of our top universities have such large Asian populations (going back to that MacLean's article thread)?

[Bigtime]

The last issue of the Economist had a big article on South Korea and what their next step would be, they definitely sang the praises of what that country has accomplished since being a third world nation in the '50s.