双语阅读｜韩国民众对高等教育公平性失去信心
“IF YOU don’t have the ability then blame your parents,” wrote Jung Yoo-ra on social media in 2014, after being accepted into a prestigious university. Her mother, it turns out, had gone to great lengths to secure a spot for her, inducing Ehwa Women’s University to alter its admissions policy in a manner tailor-made for Ms Jung. Last month a court ruled that the nine people involved in this subterfuge had fundamentally shaken the “values of fairness that prop up our society”. Above all, the “feelings of emptiness and betrayal they caused in hardworking students” could not be excused.
2014年，韩国前总统朴槿惠亲信崔顺实之女郑维罗（Jung Yoo-ra）被韩国著名的梨花女子大学（Ehwa Women’s University）录取后，在社交媒体上写道：“如果一个人上不了好大学，就怪自己的家庭背景吧。”她的母亲为了确保她顺利进入该大学，促使大学改变招生政策。上月，韩国法院裁定九名涉案人员彻底动摇了“社会公平价值观”。最重要的是，无法原谅“他们对勤奋苦读的学生造成的失落和背叛感”。
University was once seen as a source of social mobility in South Korea. But so important is the right degree to a student’s prospects in life that rich families began spending heavily on coaching to improve their children’s chances, leaving poorer families behind. By 2007 over three-quarters of students were receiving some form of private tuition, spawning a maxim about the three necessities to win a place at a good university: “father’s wealth, mother’s information, child’s stamina”. A report by the ministry of education found that in 2016 households with monthly incomes of 7m won ($6230) or more were spending 443,000 won a month on private education, nine times as much as families bringing in 1m won or less.
大学教育曾经被视为促进韩国社会流动的基础。但是，学位低对学生的未来有极大的影响，因此为了给孩子提供更好的机会，富裕的家庭投入大量的钱财在孩子的教育上金，这些是贫困家庭无法比拟的。截止到2007年，超过四分之三的学生都在课外补习，韩国有句俗语形容进入好大学的三个必要条件：“父亲的财富，母亲的信息，孩子的毅力”。根据韩国教育部的报告，2016年，月收入达700万韩元（合6320美元）及以上的家庭，每月的教育支出费用达44.3万韩元，是月收入100万韩元（含）以下的家庭教育支出的九倍。
Many South Koreans believe that the rich and influential do not just spend more on education, they also manipulate the system, as Ms Jung’s mother, a close friend of the previous president, did so spectacularly. According to the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank, only a fifth of those aged 18-33 believe working hard brings success. An ever-growing dictionary of slang attests to the perception: people speak of using “back” (backing, or connections) to get jobs; when Ms Jung refused to return to South Korea to face charges related to her university admission, the local press dubbed it a “gold-spoon escape”. And 34% of young people say they feel “isolation due to academic cliques” at work.
韩国的权势豪绅不仅在子女教育投入重金，还在操纵教育体制——韩国前总统的密友崔顺实就是个例子。美国智库皮尤研究中心（Pew Research Centre）的数据显示，韩国18到33岁的年轻人中，只有五分之一的人认为努力工作能获得成功。越来越多的俚语证明了这一观点：人们使用“走后门”(赞助或人脉)来形容如何才能获得工作；韩国当地媒体称郑维罗拒绝回国接受相关指控是“金汤匙跑了”。34%的年轻人表示，他们在工作中感到他们由于“文化背景被孤立”。
The unfairness is all the more galling because of the fierce competition for jobs. This year there were 36 applicants for every job, up from 32 two years ago. Youth unemployment reached a record 12% earlier this year.
激烈的工作竞争加剧了社会不公平。据统计，今年每份工作都有36个竞争者，而两年前这个数字是32。今年年初青年失业率达12%。
Frustrated young people are starting to speak out. The activists of a group called Hidden Bag run a small yearly campaign to “reject university entrance”, trying to persuade people to eschew the whole process. At a recent film festival in Seoul, Hidden Bag provided “healing kits” for young people wishing to challenge “never-ending competition” and “education-based limits”. Colourful sweets, packaged to look like medicine, were handed out to students to encourage them to take a stand. Some were labelled “courage”, others “strength”. By spurning the rat race, they hope to raise “fundamental questions” about prevailing values. Fewer than 70% of school leavers went on to university last year, the lowest level in almost 20 years.
这些失意的年轻人开始表达自己的不满。一个名为“隐形包”的活动组织每年都会举办一场“拒绝参加高考”的活动，游说年轻人不要参加韩国高考。在首尔最近的一个电影节上，“隐形包”组织为希望挑战“永无休止的高考竞争”和“教育门槛”的年轻人提供了“治疗包”——一种包装成药品的糖果，鼓励他们坚持立场。有的糖果贴着“勇气”的标签，有的贴着“力量”的标签。他们希望能通过拒绝无意义的高考竞争，让人们注意到现有的社会价值观的“根本问题”。去年，只有不到70%的高中毕业生进入大学，这是近20年来的最低水平。
Moon Jae-in, the president since May, has pledged that under his administration “the thickness of a parent’s purse” will not determine their children’s prospects. This week an MP from his party introduced legislation to extend the “blind hiring” process used in the civil service, whereby applicants are judged only on standardised exams, not on their academic record, to state-owned firms as well. The bill’s author is also proposing an amendment in response to one of the other oddities of Ms Jung’s admission: she scored badly in her written exam, but was given full marks for the interview. The amendment would require all university interviews to be recorded or minuted for transparency. Blame Ms Jung’s parents.
现任韩国总统文在寅（Moon Jae-in）承诺，在他的领导下，孩子的未来将不会再取决于“父母钱包的厚度”。本周，共同民主党议员提议引入公务员制度中的“盲选招聘”，并推广到国有企业。在“盲选招聘”中，只能通过标准化考试，而不是大学考试成绩来决定录用与否。郑维罗被录取的蹊跷之处还有:她在笔试中成绩不佳，但面试却是满分，于是该议员还提出一项修正案，要求所有的大学面试都要录像或者笔录以增加录取透明度。要怪就怪郑维罗的家长吧。
编译：卫晴
审校：汪芮宇
编辑：翻吧君
来源 ：经济学人