South Korean And Belgian Co-Produced Documentary Film ‘Reach For The SKY’ Tackles Real Cost Of Getting Into South Korea’s Top Three Universities

South Koreans consider education as a major driver to achieving success in the future. Hence, many parents tend to spend less on other things to set aside for the education of the children. Students, on the other hand, strive hard to be admitted in one of the top universities in the country.

Michael Barber, a global expert on education reform, says Korean customs "prizes effort above inherited smartness," noting that the people believe they will become successful after long hours of studying and hard work, as reported by Mercatornet on Mar. 31.

The struggles of getting into a good school is the main theme of a documentary film co-produced by South Korea and Belgium. It tackles the real costs of wanting to be admitted to South Korea's top three universities. "Reach for the SKY" is co-directed by South Korean Choi Woo Young and Belgian filmmaker Steven Dhoedt.

New Strait Times Online noted on Sept. 30 that SKY is an acronym, referring to the top three universities in the country - Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University.

According to reports, only one percent of high school graduates get admission from these top universities, while the rest have to improve their scores in order to retake the tests and gain admission.

"We wanted to focus on the kids who are in a race for their own life," says co-director Choi, as noted by The Associated Press on Oct. 9. "And think about the energy that we all consume only for the top 1 percent."

He goes on, "Some people outside South Korea praise the achievement of our education system and the excellent math and science scores of our youngsters. But I wanted to show this reality in which less than one percent of teenagers can be winners and the rest call themselves miserable losers."

"Reach for the SKY" revolves around the life of three students as well as a teacher working for a test-prep firm prior and after the college entrance exam - a critical phase to get admission from the three colleges. It also features the life of "repeaters" and recent high school graduates spending one or more years at a testing camp to improve their scores in order to qualify to retake the college entrance exams.

"It really sums up the level of commitment that students and parents are willing to put in to get to a good university," says Belgian filmmaker Dhoedt.

"Reach for the SKY" had its world premier at the 20th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).