Entering college is hard in Japan, but it is even harder in South Korea. I recently discussed the topic with my Korean friend. His son goes to five supplementary private schools a week, and it cost him more than $1,000 a month. His family is not special. Actually, he told me that his son goes to less private schools than others - some children go to more than 10 private classes a week.
In South Korea, a person's career opportunity largely depend on which university they graduate. It is every parent's dream their child goes to Seoul National University. In Japan, we also have fierce competition to get into good colleges, and many students go to cram schools to prepare for the exams, but the competition is not as hard as in South Korea.
In my case I didn't go to cram school at all, but managed to enter my university. My Korean friend told me that does not happen in Korea. It is prerequisite to go to preparatory schools and study from morning to midnight to win the ticket for their dream school. I respect my Korean friends who survived such a tough competition. I'm not sure I could have survived if I was born in South Korea though..
This video shows university entrance exam fever in South Korea
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