Vann Hassell

5/29/16
C&T 491 Dr. Gonzalez-Bueno
Reflection 1
English fever in South Korea: its history and symptoms by Jin-Kyu Park
In his article, Jin-Kyu Park outlines the impact English education has had on the
sociopolitical climate of South Korea. He describes how the egalitarian system that
supposedly allows for anyone to increase their social standing through self-improvement
created what he calls an education fever on the peninsula. As people began to gain more
access to education, it became more and more important for people to have an education
to get jobs. As South Korea became a more globalized nation, the value of being able to
speak English became one of the primary means of determining ones social status and
the education fever became an English fever. As Koreans scrambled to get ahead in
this new society, many forms of English education appeared. Originally, companies
began offering after school education programs and books on English learning, but as the
desire to learn English increased, the services offered became more involved and more
expensive. Cram schools () and English-only schools became popular
destinations for parents to send their children for them to acquire a high level of
proficiency in English. Additionally, the number of elementary age children who study
abroad in an English speaking country either alone or with the accompaniment of a parent
has increased. Many fear this early study abroad will have detrimental effects on the
psychosocial development of these young Koreans. This coupled with a widespread
desire of adults to see their children learn Korean as their L2 and English as their L1
leaves the children and their parents with a fear of the Korean language. Korean is seen
as a hindrance to the childrens acquisition of the English language. This English fever
has even made its way into the government which has attempted to establish English-only
villages for people to live in and learn. While the long term effects of this English fever

are yet to be seen, it is clear that the desire of South Korean citizens to learn English in
order to increase their social standing is and will change the climate of the South Korean
nation.
Having taken a class this previous semester examining modern-day Korea, I was
familiar with this phenomenon before reading the article. In the class, we looked at the
impact English education is having on the nation and the changing social climate. One of
the most interesting things we studied was the incorporation of neoliberalism into Korean
culture. Neoliberalism manifests itself in Korea in the form of self-improvement and
individual development. The current educational climate on the peninsula is largely a
result of this desire to develop oneself. What we discussed in class was similar to the
article in that developing education has resulted in the development of English education.
We even read an article that analyzed how Korean newspapers popularize the notion of
success and English fluency as one in the same. In the article, the author looked at
how special sections in newspapers highlighting individuals who had achieved high
levels of English language proficiency illustrated the widely accepted thought that
successful English could be equated with success in general.
It has been interesting to see this phenomenon here at Kyunghwa. There have
been several instances where I have observed this English fever. One way I have seen
this is in students who have studied abroad and have a good command of the English
language. These students, as well as those who have strong English skills, become
the translation students for the rest of the group. The other students defer to
these students and will ask them to ask us questions in English. It appears that
these students have a higher social status among their peers. Another

phenomenon is the older students that come to talk with us. It is evident that the
ones that do come to interact with us see immense value in their ability to use
English. Through their comments, I have seen how valuable English is to them. One
girl mentioned that she wished to work abroad in an English speaking country and
that she needed to speak English very well. She was willing to take time out of her
schedule to come gain extra practice. Another girl who came to practice with us
from the third year students was so willing to gain extra English practice that she
hadnt finished her homework for her afterschool classes yet, but she came to talk
to us anyway. It is clear that many of the students here view English as a valuable
commodity in the development of their education.