Navigating South Korea’s Educational Crisis: A Case for Urgent and Prudent Reform

South Korea’s education system, long renowned for its rigor and intensity, is at a crossroads. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s decision to eliminate extremely difficult questions — often not covered in public schools — from the annual college entrance exam, known as the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), has ignited a firestorm of controversy​. While the aim is to reduce the high costs associated with private education, the decision has sown confusion and worry among students and parents alike, prompting urgent calls for reform​.

The Yoon administration’s decision, announced a mere five months before the CSAT, was intended to alleviate the burden on students who often resort to private cram schools to tackle so-called “killer questions.” The intention was to create a level playing field where students could take the CSAT regardless of their parents’ financial situation​.

However, the abruptness of the announcement has sparked backlash. Parents and students, who had already established their study plans, felt their preparations thrown into disarray. The controversy was further amplified when remarks by President Yoon were construed as calling for an easier CSAT, leading to the unprecedented step of the presidential office attempting to revise its official comments​.

The situation was exacerbated by the education ministry’s sudden replacement of a high-ranking official in charge of university admissions, further…