Never underestimate the Korean obsession with education. It is part of the reason why South Korea has gone from being one of the poorest countries in the world in the aftermath of the Korean War in 1953 to being one of the richest, a powerful regional player which exports cars, PCs and machinery all over the world.

Korean mothers will move with their children to the United States to further their educational goals, leaving the father behind, a “lonely goose”, to earn a living. In some cases, the families will move to the more obscure states in America such as Omaha and Nebraska.

At special crammers aimed at helping students get in to Ivy League colleges, such as the Daewon Foreign Language High School, children study the usual subjects – Korean, maths and English – then study global leadership in the afternoon.

Your typical high-school student starts the day at about 6am depending on where they live, and schools tend to start at 8am during the weekdays of classes and a half-day on Saturday. Before this 8am start there are compulsory exercises in many schools, although the majority tend to do pre-class study from 7am.

[Via] Irish Times

[Image description] Yonsei University (One of Top 3 Korean Universities in Korea)