Chapter 76: Middle Schooler Yoo Ha-yeon (2)
Daehwa Middle School in Seoul is a private school.
If something just popped into your head, you’re right. The chairman of the foundation that runs this middle school is my grandfather.
A prestigious private school with history and tradition, attended by children of chaebols and politicians? Korea doesn’t have many of those. The Korean War wiped out most of that, so there wasn’t much left to begin with.
Besides, we’re still in the 20th century. That “history and tradition” hasn’t even had twenty proper years to mature yet.
Sure, schools in wealthy neighborhoods naturally gather rich kids, but it’s not like chaebol kids always go somewhere particularly special.
This country... even if you’re filthy rich, if you bomb the college entrance exam (which doesn’t even exist yet), you’re screwed. Even Chairman Yoo Seong-pil failed to get his kids into Seoul National University.
In Korea, the hierarchy of schools isn’t determined by how rich the students are or how fancy the facilities are. It all boils down to one thing: how many students got into Seoul National University. It usually correlates, but that’s the metric.
That was the problem.
What did I hate most when I entered elementary school—or rather, “people’s school”? The godawful 1980s classroom experience.
Sure, they gave me special treatment since I was technically a chaebol’s daughter... but that didn’t mean I could magically turn an old building into a new one.
A stove in the middle of the classroom instead of central heating. Packed lunches instead of hot meals. Saturday classes. (Important.)
Ugh... is this what the 20th century tastes like? Chicken coop hell.