What do you think about Korea's med school fever?

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NEWs GENERATION is a program hosted by Arirang TV covering Korea’s latest trends and current affairs from the perspective of those in their twenties and thirties (millennial and Gen Zers, dubbed the ‘MZ Generation’ in Korea). For all of my appearances, visit
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The recent increase in medical school admission slots has sparked even greater interest in pursuing a career in medicine. I've heard that in Korea, the preparation for getting into medical school has become even more intense, with students starting as early as elementary school.

These curricula are indeed filled with incredible amounts of pressure and stress. In the past, they had the goal of placing students in the top universities in Korea or the ‘SKY’ universities, which include Seoul National, Korea, and Yonsei University, and were often named after them as well. Today, more and more of these competitive curricula go by the names of ‘med school prep classes’ or the like.

In fact, one academy in Seoul’s Daechi-dong, Korea’s “mecca for private education,” was found to be teaching elementary school students in the fifth and sixth grades math that covers all the way from the second grade-level of middle school to the final year of high school in the span of just three years and three months. Given that such a curriculum would take eight years under a regular school curriculum, these students complete all of that in a timespan of about two and a half times quicker than that.

This really ties into the growing desire to become a doctor. Why do you think being a doctor is such a highly sought-after and respected profession, particularly here in Korea?

Being a doctor in Korea comes with incredible amounts of prestige and respect, combined with a high income. One recent study based on Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test or Suneung last year found that the top 1.38% of test takers all chose to enroll in a medical or pharmacy school.

Adding to this, the government’s announcement in February to increase the medical school enrollment quota, a first in 27 years, by 2,000 seats led to a “medical school craze” within the private education industry.

While many doctors and med students have responded negatively to this decision by protesting and boycotting classes, such an increased opportunity has led to fiercer competition to enter a med school. This issue surrounding Korea’s education fever has also been compounded by the continued difficulty in the Suneung and its questions.

What are your thoughts on the trend of starting early education specifically geared toward preparing students for medical school from a young age?

As someone who went through the entire process of applying to college and taking the Suneung in 2021 as a high school student, I have to be honest and say that it’s not something that I want to go through again.

It’s already a competitive three years that students go through, but for more and more students, it looks like that competition is starting from an even younger age than it used to be. It’s understandable why that is: entering a prestigious college is seen as that necessary first step toward “a successful life,” which is why current college students or even workers are preparing to retake the exam to apply for these med schools.

Even within my friend circle and generation, the debate surrounding exams and curricula ahead of college is a fierce one: we have one of the strongest levels of academic achievement yet rank as one of the lowest in terms of student happiness among developed countries. So as much as competition is natural and sometimes good, it can sometimes get extreme like we see today.

Any final thoughts you would like to share?

Personally, I’m happy, even grateful, with where I am right now. My belief, and it’s a firmly held one, is that the college and degree I chose are what best fits me and makes me happy, but I also understand why others might not think so.

As much as my decision is my own, I don’t think we should see these people succumbing to stereotypes surrounding elitism and success, but instead as choices because that’s what they think is best for them. The only worry I have is when many feel overwhelmed and pressured because ‘they’re not good enough,’ as I or many of my friends felt, which is something that we’ll have to fix as a society.