Education was our hope. Smart kids from poor families rose to success; people were able to move between classes; and Korea became an industrial economy. Through the transition of the Korea’s college entrance exam from a “Preliminary Examination” to “Scholastic Assessment Test” and finally the “K-SAT,” what kind of talented people did the country wish to foster? What kind of country was it aiming to become? And what kind of adults did past students wish to become? In South Korea, people start work late on the second Thursday of November, and it becomes common for police cars to rush students to take the K-SAT. [#i_]The Test of Your Life: Birth of K-SAT[_i#] follows the broader stream of Korea’s college entrance system in the 20th century and examines the issues that led to the “theory of national destruction due to private tutoring,” the “eight districts of Gangnam,” and the “birth of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union,” which are still plaguing the Korean society in 2019.

Education was our hope. Smart kids from poor families rose to success; people were able to move between classes; and Korea became an industrial economy. Through the transition of the Korea’s college entrance exam from a “Preliminary Examination” to “Scholastic Assessment Test” and finally the “K-SAT,” what kind of talented people did the country wish to foster? What kind of country was it aiming to become? And what kind of adults did past students wish to become? In South Korea, people start work late on the second Thursday of November, and it becomes common for police cars to rush students to take the K-SAT. [#i_]The Test of Your Life: Birth of K-SAT[_i#] follows the broader stream of Korea’s college entrance system in the 20th century and examines the issues that led to the “theory of national destruction due to private tutoring,” the “eight districts of Gangnam,” and the “birth of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union,” which are still plaguing the Korean society in 2019.