In Korea, children begin to prepare for the CSAT from the time they are about 4-5 years old so that they can ultimately reach the SKY – the collective nickname of Korea’s ‘big three’ universities: Seoul National University (SNU), Korea University and Yonsei University. Getting into one of these three is the hope of every Korean child and her/his parents because not only will graduates from one of the big three have the best academic pedigree in the country, they will also have a strong alumni network – people tend to mentor and hire graduates from their alma mater. SKY graduates are also the most attractive marriage partners, along with women with degrees from Ewha Womans University – so SKYE is the ultimate goal. And all of the above are offered as INSTEP school exchange. I really wanted to go Yonsei but sadly there's only 1 space for the entire NTU and as for Ewha, it's just a matter or choice and luck. Oh wells...

To make it into the SKYE, a student has to achieve a near perfect score on the CSAT and top grades in school. To improve their child’s ‘chances’, parents enroll their children into special pre-schools, have them attend private institutes (hagwons) for extra math, science and English studies before and after school as well as on weekends. Those who can afford it also arrange for private tutoring in addition to the time spent in the private institutes. It is not unusual for parents to ‘beggar’ themselves as they invest in their child/children’s future.

In recent years, parents have also been sending their children abroad, usually to English speaking countries, to either improve their chances (or for some, to get their child out of the system). Sometimes children are sent on their own, but as younger and younger students go abroad, they have increasingly been accompanied by their mothers, while the father (aka goose father) remains in Korea to earn the money needed to finance this investment.

The concept of an exam that determines one’s future is not new to Korea. Traditionally, the sons of noble families who wished to be government officials had to take the national civil service exam (gwageo) for which they studies for many years.

Students in bigger cities tend to score higher than their peers from smaller towns in college entrance exams. The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation released data indicating this trend after analyzing the test results of high school students for the past five years.

In Korea, children begin to prepare for the CSAT from the time they are about 4-5 years old so that they can ultimately reach the SKY – the collective nickname of Korea’s ‘big three’ universities: Seoul National University (SNU), Korea University and Yonsei University. Getting into one of these three is the hope of every Korean child and her/his parents because not only will graduates from one of the big three have the best academic pedigree in the country, they will also have a strong alumni network – people tend to mentor and hire graduates from their alma mater. SKY graduates are also the most attractive marriage partners, along with women with degrees from Ewha Womans University – so SKYE is the ultimate goal. And all of the above are offered as INSTEP school exchange. I really wanted to go Yonsei but sadly there's only 1 space for the entire NTU and as for Ewha, it's just a matter or choice and luck. Oh wells...

To make it into the SKYE, a student has to achieve a near perfect score on the CSAT and top grades in school. To improve their child’s ‘chances’, parents enroll their children into special pre-schools, have them attend private institutes (hagwons) for extra math, science and English studies before and after school as well as on weekends. Those who can afford it also arrange for private tutoring in addition to the time spent in the private institutes. It is not unusual for parents to ‘beggar’ themselves as they invest in their child/children’s future.

In recent years, parents have also been sending their children abroad, usually to English speaking countries, to either improve their chances (or for some, to get their child out of the system). Sometimes children are sent on their own, but as younger and younger students go abroad, they have increasingly been accompanied by their mothers, while the father (aka goose father) remains in Korea to earn the money needed to finance this investment.

The concept of an exam that determines one’s future is not new to Korea. Traditionally, the sons of noble families who wished to be government officials had to take the national civil service exam (gwageo) for which they studies for many years.

Students in bigger cities tend to score higher than their peers from smaller towns in college entrance exams. The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation released data indicating this trend after analyzing the test results of high school students for the past five years.