经济学人:韩国的不公平:精英教育(1)

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　　Inequality in South Korea: Degrees of disenchantment 韩国的不公平：觉醒的程度

　　Young people are losing faith in an elitist education system. 韩国青年对精英教育失去信心。

　　“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 prestigious¹ university. 小柳女士在被一所知名大学录取后，2014年在社会媒体平台上这样写道：“你的无能都是因为你的父母”。

　　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. 原来，她的妈妈想方设法地让她进入了著名的梨花女子大学，并且让该大学为小柳女士量身定做了一条招生政策。

　　Last month a court ruled that the nine people involved in this subterfuge² had fundamentally shaken the “values of fairness that prop³ up our society”. 上个月法院裁定，使用非正规手段进入大学的这九人已经从根本上动摇了“支撑我们社会的公平的价值观念”。

　　Above all, the “feelings of emptiness and betrayal they caused in hardworking students” could not be excused. 毕竟，“让不辞辛苦拼搏的学生感觉遭到背叛和产生空虚感”这是不可原谅的。

　　University was once seen as a source of social mobility⁴ in South Korea. 大学曾被视为韩国社会流动的源泉。

　　But so important is the right degree to a student's prospects⁵ in life that rich families began spending heavily on coaching to improve their children's chances, leaving poorer families behind. 但因为学位对于一个学生的未来至关重要，于是富裕的家庭开始在辅导孩子的学习上花费时间以给孩子创造更好地机会。这样一来，贫困的家庭就变得越来越贫困。

　　By 2007 over three-quarters of students were receiving some form of private tuition,  截止2007年为止，超过四分之三的韩国学生接受私人补习，

　　spawning⁶ a maxim⁷ about the three necessities to win a place at a good university: “father's wealth, mother's information, child's stamina”. 坊间还流传着要进入好的大学的三个条件：“父亲的财富，母亲对信息的收集，孩子的毅力”。

　　A report by the ministry⁸ of education found that in 2016 households with monthly incomes of 7m won ($6,230) or more were spending 443,000 won a month on private education,  韩国教育部的一项报告显示，在2016年，月收入为700万韩元(6230美元)及以上的家庭每月花费44.3万韩元在个人教育上，

　　nine times as much as families bringing in 1m won or less. 其每月教育支出是家庭月收入为100万韩元及以下家庭的9倍。

　　Many South Koreans believe that the rich and influential⁹ do not just spend more on education,  许多韩国人相信富人和有影响力的人不只是在教育上花更多的钱，

　　they also manipulate the system, as Ms Jung's mother, a close friend of the previous president, did so spectacularly. 他们也会干预政治，像前任总统的闺蜜，即小柳女士的母亲一样。

　　According to the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank, only a fifth of those aged¹⁰ 18-33 believe that working hard brings success. 根据名为皮尤研究中心的智囊团的研究显示，在年龄为18-33岁的人中只有五分之一的人相信努力终将会成功。

　　An ever-growing dictionary of slang attests¹¹ to the perception: people speak of using “back” (backing, or connections) to get jobs;  词典中不断增加的俚语也证明了这一结论：人们常说的走后门、靠关系来获得工作；

　　when Ms Jung refused to return to South Korea to face charges related to her university admission, the local press dubbed¹² it a “gold-spoon escape”. 当小柳女士拒绝回到韩国去面对关于她被大学录取的各种指责时，当地媒体把此举称为“金匙逃生”。

　　And 34% of young people say they feel “isolation due to academic cliques” at work. 34%的年轻人说他们在工作中能够感觉到“因为学校不同产生的隔离”。

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