Continued from page 3 Scholastic Aptitude Test, but the

Continued from page 3

Scholastic Aptitude Test, but the students can only take it once a year. Out of a twelfth grade class of approximately 60 to 70 students only about 10 will be able to go to Seoul University, which has the same stature as Harvard University in the United States. So, the competition is really tougher in Korea than in America.

There is a lot more pressure, as well, from parents, schools and especially society at large than there is in America. The pressure is mostly from the Korean culture and the other Korean people. There isn’t, however, very much pressure to drink or do drugs in Korea yet.

What I thought was really different is that acceptance into a college in Korea is only based on the student’s academic record and not extra curricular activities. Therefore, students who might be gifted vocationally but not academically really don’t have a chance to get into a really good college.

As I mentioned before, the school system is really strict on the kids. It even rules the childrens’ private lives. Most kids in the U. S. can wear pretty much what they want in and outside of school (except schools which require uniforms), but Korean kids are restricted in what they can wear. Girls cannot wear their hair longer than shoulder length, no make-up is allowed in or out of school, no pierced ears, jewelry or accessories, and no high heels or dress shoes. Most girls wear tennis shoes or loafer-type shoes and skirts and blouses.

The boys are as restricted in their dress as the girls are. Boys with pierced ears are becoming more common in this country, but in Korea it is an absolute NO! Also, most of the boys have crewcuts. The clothes are mostly conservative and you don’t find many leather or punk outfits. When the students enter college or get out of high school they are then allowed to wear what an average American teen-ager would