South Korea Suicide

South Korea, a country once impecunious and rampant with poverty and illiteracy has now become a bustling thriving country with great technological advances and is now 3rd in world education. Despite having a high ranked education system and reviving is economy, South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates among teens. A shocking average of 39 people per day commit suicide and is the most common cause of death among people 10 to 30 years old. The reason behind such high suicide rates among teens is due to the extremely competitive nature of the South Korea educational system. South Korea has 3 prestigious universities known as the SKY universities. Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University are the top ranked universities in South Korea and only 2% of students get accepted each year. To get into these university, or any university, you must take the Suneung, a grueling 8 hour standardized college entrance exam. The Suneung is taken immensely seriously, not only by the students but by the whole country. Airplanes are grounded for worry they may distract the students, work hours are set back to allow to students to get to class without …show more content…
They send their students to cram schools called Hagwons. Hagwons are private academies that provide tutoring in addition the students normal school hours. Many parents start enrolling their students in Hagwons as early as elementary school. After students complete their day at school, they will go to Hagwons to study and receive tutoring. Students dedicate countless hours to studying and learning at Hagwons, often till 11pm, all in preparation for the Suneung, to come home and complete more homework from school and the