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Based on this paper’s findings, it may be useful for the Korean government to consider a reform that alters the structure of the education system to minimize the culture of competition and education fever. As has been indicated by the history of college admissions reform in Korea, increasing or decreasing the weight of the entrance exam score in college admissions seems to be mostly ineffective for reducing the culture of competition. Whether students are trying to

improve their entrance exam score or their GPA for college admissions, those with the means continue to attend elite schools and utilize shadow education. However, reforms that

deemphasize exam-based assessment in primary and secondary schools may be helpful for reducing student stress, socioeconomic inequities, and the prevalence of private tutoring in the Korean education system. This kind of reform may decrease the influence that the entrance exam has on the curricula, reducing the prevalence of teaching to the test. It may also lessen

competition-based student stress. This type of reform would likely require significant resources to rework the curriculum and methods of student assessment in primary and secondary schools. It would also likely require guidelines and training for schools and teachers to readjust to the new system, as most educators are only familiar with test-based assessment and teaching. The

government would also need to monitor schools to ensure that the new system is not being manipulated. The new system may make teachers more susceptible to pressure or bribery to improve students grades, as methods of assessment that do not utilize exams are often more subjective than test-based assessment.

It may also be beneficial to return to equalization policies that reduce interschool diversity among middle and high schools. Programs like the SPHS that allow school choice encourage the ranking of schools and limit access to high-ranking schools based on

socioeconomic status. Instead of interschool diversity, student diversity in classes and curricular diversity should be encouraged. In other words, policy reforms that encourage horizontal

diversity might effectively improve school quality without exacerbating inequities. Student tracking policies should be eliminated to allow for more classroom diversity and teachers should be allowed more flexibility in tailoring the national curriculum to students’ particular needs and abilities.

Entirely eliminating the entrance exam is likely not a viable policy reform. As evidenced by the experience of Sweden, doing so tends to create new problems for a fair admissions process. Furthermore, removing the entrance exam would require substantial resources to redesign the admissions process and would undoubtedly be met with significant backlash from the public, as the exam is seen as a necessary evil and the most objective way to determine university admissions. It is notable that even Finland, the example of a low-competition and low- stress education system, has a college entrance exam. This suggests that such a dramatic reform may not be ideal.

The findings of this paper also suggest that direct government control of private tutoring is an unsuccessful form of policy. The total ban under an authoritarian government minimized

the industry but still produced a black market of private tutoring. A renewed total ban under South Korea’s current democratic regime would undoubtedly not be supported, as indicated by the ban’s ruling as unconstitutional in 2000. Current attempts to control private academies through curfews have met backlash and have proved difficult to enforce. It is unlikely that Korea would return to an outright ban on private tutoring, and doing so would likely not be effective at mitigating the problems within Korean education. If the education system moves away from exam-based assessment and a culture of competition, demand for private tutoring should decrease and the shadow education industry should contract as a result. That being said,

maintaining tutoring center curfew policies until any future policy reforms, despite the difficulty of enforcing the curfew, is in the interest of student wellbeing.

Another way of reducing the competition focused around the entrance exam may be to create policy that facilitates a culture of trust between educators, families, and the government. In Finland, despite the existence of a competitive college entrance exam, shadow education is not a problem and student stress is low. The curricula taught in schools is perceived as good quality, and teachers are able to maintain integrity in their teaching without being pressured to prepare students only for the entrance exam. This is because parents and the government trust that educators know what is best for their students. If the Korean government was able to develop and implement policy that encourages a similar culture of trust for educators, that may also minimize competition and student stress in the education system without changing the structure of the entrance exam and university admissions process. In addition, reforms that facilitated teacher trust would supplement reforms that deemphasize exam-based assessment in schools by discouraging parental doubt of teachers’ evaluations of their children. This kind of reform may also play an important role in discouraging families from turning to shadow education because

they find formal schooling insufficient.

Policy reforms that reduce competition and education fever would likely improve student wellbeing by decreasing students’ academic pressures and allowing more sleep and leisure time. However, even if these policy reforms are not enacted, it may be beneficial to develop policy reforms specifically targeting student mental and physical health. Creating guidelines for the development of more extensive counseling services or student welfare teams in school, similar to the practices found in Finland, may help address students who are struggling. Developing

programs to present in schools that educate students on how to handle academic stress may also be helpful. In addition, existing policies that temporarily reduce academic pressures on students, such as the Free Semester Program, may be expanded to give students more time in school free of stress to prevent burnout.