Why Korean teens are quitting high school

Jung, a second-year high school student in Seoul, said she cried for hours last month after receiving disappointing final exam scores and seriously contemplated dropping out. Several classmates from her freshman year had already left to pursue a high school equivalency diploma. At an age when peer influence runs deep, each friend’s departure leaves the remaining students increasingly anxious. Whenever test results are released, the thought “Should I leave too?” returns with force.

An increasing number of students are abandoning public education and dropping out of high school as part of a calculated strategy to gain college admission. According to 2023 data from the Korean Educational Development Institute, the dropout rate reached 2 percent—the highest in more than a decade. After falling to 1.1 percent in 2020, the rate has climbed steadily, with more than 20,000 students leaving school each year since 2021.

Most students who drop out do so in their first or second year. After receiving lower-than-expected scores on midterms or finals, many leave school to prepare for the college entrance exam and equivalency test at private academies.

The reasoning behind these dropout decisions becomes clearer inside today’s first-year classrooms. Despite being misaligned with college admissions, the new high school credit system launched in March, forcing students to juggle as many as 20 subjects per semester. On top of that are performance assessments—referred to as “hellish tasks” by students and “homework for moms” by parents—and the stress of a new five-tier grading system. Under the previous nine-tier structure, the top 4 percent of students earned the highest grade. The new system expands that bracket to 10 percent, increasing pressure and fueling fears that slipping even slightly could jeopardize college admission.

A senior official at a major college prep academy in Seoul said first-year dropouts typically begin preparing for both the high school equivalency test and the college entrance exam in April and August. If they pass the equivalency test, they can take the college exam for two consecutive years, gaining a strategic edge as seasoned test-takers.

After former Chungnam National University President Lee Jin-sook was withdrawn as the nominee for education minister, social media posts titled “New education minister candidates” began circulating, featuring lawmakers with teaching backgrounds. Comments read, “At least they understand what happens in real classrooms.” The reaction reflected public disappointment over Lee’s perceived lack of policy knowledge, especially after earlier hopes that the administration’s pledge to “build 10 Seoul National Universities” would reduce reliance on private education. “School should be a place every child needs,” said a parent of a first-year student. “But right now, it only teaches despair and discouragement. Isn’t it a problem when dropping out looks smarter than staying?”

A “cheat sheet” handed to nominee Lee during her confirmation hearing reportedly included the line, “Do not answer difficult questions immediately.” But the next education minister will not have the option of deferring what may be the most urgent question: How can students be persuaded to stay in public education instead of leaving for the sake of college admissions? The government has offered short-term fixes, such as restricting performance assessments to class time and forming a task force to revise the credit system. But can these piecemeal measures truly curb the growing dropout trend? This is a question that demands a direct answer. No cheat sheet will do.