[One Thousand Characters a Day] Professor Kim Nuri's 'Competitive Education is Barbarism' <2>

Editor's NoteCan children who internalized unhappiness during their school years truly enjoy a happy life as adults? Can a child who did not experience genuine happiness during elementary, middle, and high school grow up to work for the happiness of others? This question goes beyond education and touches on the health of society and the existence of the nation. Professor Kim Nuri argues that hope still lies in education. The author claims that if we can overcome the pathological socio-cultural phenomenon called the 'academic credential class society,' we can move toward a democratic, equal, and free society. He cites Germany as evidence for this claim. After the historical mistake symbolized by Auschwitz, Germany nurtured a 'new German' through the 1968 revolution and educational reforms, transforming into a society where common sense prevails, which supports the author's argument. Word count: 1068.

The unique historical path that the Republic of Korea has undergone in the past century explains the cause of the very pathological socio-cultural phenomenon known as the 'academic credential class society.' At the same time, it also shows that if we can overcome the academic credential system, our country has the potential to become a 'social utopia' that is freer and more equal than any other country.

By overcoming this academic credential system, we might be able to create an ideal community of freedom and equality that modern society has yet to achieve. This is not simply an educational issue but can serve as a basis for a positive answer to whether Korea can present a new type of ideal social model to the world.

Therefore, I believe that the problem of Korean education is not merely an issue confined to the educational domain. If we can change Korean education into a new system that nurtures dignified humans, mature democrats, and individualistic free persons?not arrogant winners and inferiority-ridden losers created by barbaric competition?Korea can grow into an unprecedented ideal country in the world. I see the possibility of making our country a democratic, equal, and free society lying precisely in education.

The issue of overcoming the academic credential class society is a core problem that will determine what kind of future vision Korean society will pursue. How we solve this will decide the future of our society.

The resilience Korea showed during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially its democratic potential, was remarkable. It is hard to find a country that responded as calmly as we did amid the social crisis brought by COVID-19. Particularly, the mature civic consciousness shown by the citizens of Daegu during the early stage when deaths surged was astonishing. There was no city lockdown or movement restrictions, yet citizens voluntarily refrained from moving, and there was no panic, confusion, or hoarding. Our civic consciousness has already reached that level.

If we can raise children through such mature civic consciousness and a new educational system, and if education can function not as a hidden caste system called academic credentials but as a community where everyone lives as equal and free human beings, we can truly build a decent society.

－Kim Nuri, Competition Education is Barbarism, Haenaem Publishing, 18,500 KRW