Bleak job prospects drive South Korean youth to vocational schools
Living in a ｃountry obsessed with academic success, Jang Dong-hae did what every South Korean parent dreads when he ｄropped out of university a year into a finance degree, doubting whether it would get him a job with a top firm.
Five years on, and midway through a nursing course at a community college, Jang's parents are happy and his employment prospects are good.
"First when I told my parents, they asked me: "why would you quit the university that you are in now and restart?"", Jang said at the campus in Bucheon, on the outskirts of Seoul.
"Since the employment rate is much higher than other majors, my parents support me and really like it."
Their priorities will have been influenced by South Korea's unemployment rate. In February more than 11 percent of those aged between 15 and 29 years were jobless - the highest level since the late 1990s. By October it had come down to 7.4 percent but was still more than double the overall unemployment rate.
Jang, who pays his nursing tuition with money earned from part-time jobs, has joined a growing number of young South Koreans who are foregoing a more prestigious university education in favor of either vocational training or seeking work straight from school.
On Thursday, South Korea won't shut down but it will be running late, as final year high school students sit annual entrance exams for universities and colleges.
Families will pray for their children's success. The stock market will open an hour late, to help reduce traffic congestion so that students reach examination halls on time.
And for 35 minutes, there will no commercial airline flights landing or taking-off, so that noise is reduced during the English aural section of the exam.
These are all demonstration of South Korea's single-minded approach to education, and the stress that goes with it.
Yet, somewhat surprisingly for a nation where parents have something of a "Tiger Mom" reputation, the number of high school graduates that go on to tertiary education has fallen from 77 percent in 2008 to 70.8 percent this year.
That is still higher than the average for the developed nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
But, with a sluggish economy and a rigid job market that makes it hard to get on a career track, high entrance exam scores don't carry the same promise of future success that they once did.
"Parents' ambition to send their kids to good universities has peaked and is slowly declining," said Son Jong-chil, economics professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. "Little by little people are now thinking that not everyone should go to universities."
Article Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-economy-students-idUSKCN0T02I520151112
Image Source: http://www.barbaraleung.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/job-hunt.jpg
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Drop out (v.) ~ abandon a course of study
2. Midway (adj.) ~ in or toward the middle of something
3. Forego (v.) ~ do without
4. Single-minded (adj.) ~ having or concentrating on only one aim or purpose
5. Rigid (adj.) ~ not able to be changed or adapted
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What kind of vocational courses are offered in community colleges in South Korea?
2. As a parent, would you rather have your child take up a vocational course with a higher chance of getting a job or graduate from a prestigious university but with lesser chance of getting a job? Discuss your answer.
3. According to a recent survey, the number of graduating students is much higher than the available jobs in the market. What are the possible alternatives for the graduates so that they will be employed?
4. Do you think that the social stigma of having a blue-collar job will be lesser in the future? Explain your opinion.
