FESTIVALS: *Tempo Documentary Festival (Stockholm, Sweden) * One World International Film Festival (Czech Republic) * Internazionale a Ferrara (Ferrara, Italy) * Millenium International Documentary Film Festival (Bruxelles, Belgium) * Enfances dans le Monde (Paris, France) * Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Toronto, Canada) * Roshd International Film Festival (Tehran, Iran) * Udine Far East Film Festival (Udine, Italy) * Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (Hong Kong) * Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People (Athens , Greece) * Festival na Hlavu (Festival for Your Head) (Praha 1, Czech Republic)
Reach for the Sky
Category |
Current Affairs, Education, Human Interest, Social Issues, Youth
Year |
2015
Country |
Belgium/South Korea
Running time |
90’ & 52’
Format |
HD
Production |
VisualAntics, Boda Media Group
Director |
Steven Dhoedt, Choi Wooyoung
Every year, on the 2nd Thursday of November, the entire country of South-Korea is put to the test. That day, more than half a million senior high school students take part in the National Exam, better known as suneung siheom in Korean.
On the morning of Suneung, companies – even the Korean stock market – open up for business an hour later than usual to reduce traffic jams. Those students who do get stuck in traffic can dial 112, a number normally reserved for emergencies, to get a special police escort to their school. In some parts of the country, military police vehicles, ambulances, and food delivery motorcycles have reportedly been deployed to accommodate the most desperate of students.
That day, few planes are allowed to land or take off, so students can fully concentrate on the listening tests of the examination. Parents flock todo the exam centres where they spend most of the day praying while holding on to the closed school gates. Some can be found praying at Buddhist temples with their child’s photo and exam day identification form lain on the temple floor.
Months or even years before the exam takes place, Korean students often live a life of strict routine. On an average day they get up as early as 6am to go to school. When school is finished, they then attend a hagwon, a private academy, where they are primed for the big day for months in a row. Usually the school day comes to an end when they arrive home well after midnight.
Suneung isn’t a regular high school test. The test will not only determine where the high school seniors will attend university but ultimately also their status in the Korean hierarchical society. At the most prestigious universities, spaces for freshmen are very limited, with chances of acceptance being less than 1%.
Getting into a university with a good reputation is one of the most competitive experiences Korean students will ever experience in their life.
