By Elena J. (with insights from Angel R.)
Similar to the majority of 600,000 students that took the Korean College Entrance Exams last year, I held an image of college life that was a crude botch of images glued together by the media and tales from incumbent college students. College was a place where one could party, drink all night, throw up, and still look as glamorous as Jun Ji-Hyun did in “My Sassy Girl.” Girls would finally be able to wear heels, makeup, and get a perm, whereas guys would be able to dye their hair and drink to their heart’s content—indulgences prohibited for them until now. College also seemed like a place of absolution—once they had the acceptance letter in front of their eyes, most parents would relent to anything. ANYTHING—from fancy European tours to an expensive new wardrobe, because for Korean parents, having kids in college (and a “good” one in the capital city) contributes greatly to family honor, elevates the child’s social status later in life, and never fails to arouse envy among the ajummas at the local jjimjilbang.
