South Korean society places an unusually high value on being admitted to one of the nation’s top three universities—Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University. Graduating from one of these prestigious universities is a golden ticket to the best jobs, social networks, and even marriage partners.4 Among OECD countries, South Korea has the highest proportion of twenty-five to thirty-four year-olds with tertiary education.5 With so many students vying for limited spots at top universities, the competition is especially fierce.6 Consequently, this has forced K–12 schools to focus on test preparation and rote memorization while neglecting creativity, self-expression, and discussion.7 An article by the BBC, “South Korea’s Schools: Long Days, High Results,” reveals the dark side of South Korea’s education system through the story of Hye-Min Park. Park, a teen- age girl living in the affluent Gangnam district in Seoul, studies for more than thirteen hours each day, waking up at 6:30 a.m. for school and studying until 11 p.m. at an after-school hagwon (cram school), where she continues to learn academic material necessary for the college entrance exams.8