{"id":86,"date":"2019-11-25T03:49:30","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T08:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/mus225-s01\/?page_id=86"},"modified":"2019-12-10T17:01:41","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T22:01:41","slug":"2-cool-4-skool","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/mus225-s01\/2-cool-4-skool\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebelling Against the Korean Education System"},"content":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0BTS debuted in 2013 with 2 Kool 4 Skool<\/em>, th<\/span>e members\u00a0addressed the pressures familiar to any Korean student<\/span>: the need to study hard, get into a top\u00a0college, and find a stable job (Jung, 2018). Through their lyrics,\u00a0<\/span>BTS is attacking the “education fever” widespread in South Korea.<\/p>\n

South Korea’s “education fever”, has caused parents to spend large amounts of their income on cram schools\u00a0to provide their children addition education outside of the school sphere.\u00a0\u00a0At these private institutions, students are expected to study late at night and during the weekend regardless of their age and grade (1 Seth). Parents are making these investments\u00a0so their child can perform above the national average on the annual college entrance exam\u00a0Soonung, a comparable method of measuring student achievement to the ACT and SAT in the US.\u00a0The exam\u00a0can only be taken once a year, which is a stark contrast to theAmerican system that allows students\u00a0multiple opportunities to retest every month.\u00a0In addition, the Soonung holds considerably more weight in college acceptance than the ACT and SAT scores do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Education is traditionally\u00a0perceived to be\u00a0the only chance for social mobility in Korean culture. Low performance means jeopardizing a successful\u00a0future. A student who would study for twenty hours a day explained why he studied so hard:<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did I study so hard? The answer is simple. I studied hard to pass the entrance exam of Seoul National University (SNU). Why was my goal SNU? I believed that my socioeconomic status as a son of a coal briquette deliveryman could be promoted by entering the most prestigious university. I believed that passing the SNU entrance exam would guarantee my job, finances, house, family, and future. This was why so many students who lived in poverty went to the library to study at 4:00\u00a0a.m. with three lunch boxes. This was why there were so many private houses or buildings, which provided students with study rooms and meals. This was why students were willing to sacrifice their time, energy, and money as an investment into their future \u00a0(617 Hwang).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“N.O”,\u00a0the main track of the\u00a02 Kool 4 Skool <\/em>album, is\u00a0criticizing this ideal of high school students being raised to study instead of enjoying their formative years.\u00a0In verse two of “N.O” BTS member SUGA raps:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>“Who is the one who made us into study machines? <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s either number one or a failure”.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0music video of “N.O.”\u00a0also contains parallels with Pink Floyd\u2019s \u201cAnother Brick In The Wall\u201d. The music videos both portray adults as evil and education as\u00a0a capitalist venture. Study machines are more explicitly\u00a0demonstrated in \u201cAnother Brick In The Wall\u201d, as students who\u00a0move through a conveyor belt. The two\u00a0music videos end with the students overthrowing their adult counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n