[One Thousand Characters a Day] Professor Kim Nuri's 'Competitive Education is Barbarism' <5>

Editor's NoteWhy can't we stop even though competitive education is making society sick? Because the ideology of competition not only operates Korean society but also erodes the consciousness of Koreans. The results of competition are justified by the ideology of meritocracy, and the process of competition is rationalized by the ideology of fairness. The ideologies of 'competition,' 'meritocracy,' and 'fairness' form a 'triangle of barbarism' that further fuels competition in Korean society and deepens numerous inequalities. Long ago, philosopher Theodor Adorno criticized that 'competition is fundamentally contrary to humane education,' and this idea became the motto of educational reform in Germany in the 1970s. Professor Kim Nuri now argues that it is time for us to start an educational revolution. Word count: 1023 characters.

First, a transition from the 'meritocracy' education that has dominated Korean education for the past 100 years to 'dignocracy' education is urgently needed. Through education, all children should become aware of their own dignity and grow into individuals who respect the dignity of others. I call this 'dignity sensitivity.' Education that cultivates children's dignity sensitivity should be valued more than education that simply develops functional abilities.

Second, 'Advanced Korea' must now shift appropriately from 'education for growth' to 'education for maturity.' Since liberation, Korea, a poor newly independent country, has tightened its belt and chased after advanced countries. This catch-up society model no longer fits our society. Rather, this model can act as an obstacle to becoming a truly advanced country. The 'education for growth,' which values imitation, discipline, diligence, and effort, must now be changed to 'education that nurtures mature individuals,' prioritizing values such as creativity, autonomy, freedom, and leisure.

Third, living in the post-COVID era, we must now transform 'competitive education' into 'solidarity education.' The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a truly important lesson: that for me to be healthy, everyone must be healthy, and for me to be happy, everyone must be happy together. We must now practice the pandemic's lesson in education: 'If not everyone is happy, no one can be happy.'

(Omitted)

Fourth, the Fourth Industrial Revolution strongly demands that our 'knowledge education' be transformed into 'thinking education.' Until now, Korean education has been about injecting and memorizing knowledge. However, the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is an era where machines replace human functions. We are witnessing the astonishing ability of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT to replace human knowledge. Therefore, education after the Fourth Industrial Revolution must cultivate 'uniquely human abilities that machines cannot replace,' namely thinking ability, empathy, imagination, and critical thinking.

－Kim Nuri, <Competitive Education is Barbarism>, Haenam Publishing, 18,500 KRW