East Asia, a region in the continent of Asia that consists of China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, is notoriously known for education systems that put an extreme amount of pressure on their students. Characterized by an overwhelming strive for success in corporate and the work-world, these countries place heavy value on good grades, admission to competitive universities, and securing internships straight out of graduation. Though objectively, East Asian countries rank among the best education systems in the world, they are heavily criticized for stripping away childhood, bare-minimum health requirements, severe mental health crises/high suicide rates, and more. Though some from foreign countries have heard of the education system in East Asia, many remain oblivious to how these education systems harm students and continue to glorify East Asia’s treatment of children.
Table of Contents
- What is the Education System and Pressure Like in East Asia?
- The History and Making of Inhumane Education Systems in East Asia
- Psychological and Emotional Damages of High-Pressure Education
What is the Education System and Pressure Like in East Asia?
Firstly, we should take a look at what the education systems in East Asia really are like. As mentioned before, the school systems in East Asia are characterized by heavy competition, burdens on passing college entrance exams, cram schools, and the need for admission into good universities.
In these schools, teachers can be very strict and execute corporal punishment. Students also often go to “cram school,” a private institution that offers extra studying outside of school so students can receive academic enrichment and further studying for college entrance exams. Cram school hours are very long, and when school lets students out at 3 to 4 PM, they head straight to cram school until 8 or 9 PM. Additionally, students also study on the weekends and go to private tutor institutions on Saturday and Sundays, contrary to many other countries.
There are many articles on student schedules and their feelings on the education systems in their countries. An article by Sixth Tone covering the Gaokao, an extremely tiring and rough college entrance exam in China, includes the perspective of Yao Nanfang. Yao is a senior high school student in Zhejiang, China. The article states that Yao finishes her homework at 9 p.m. and continues to do study exercises for the Gaokao until 1 or 2 a.m. “You don’t need food. You don’t need sleep. You don’t need a boyfriend or girlfriend. All you need is a lot of exercises.” She expresses.
Another article by Channel News Asia talks about how academic competition is causing misery and stress in South Korea. The article mentions a story from a South Korean businessman who conveys that his son asked him if he was born to “just do homework.” He cries over his math homework at least twice a week and tells his parents that he wished he was never born at all because of the academic stress, all at the age of 10 years old.
Many students want to keep studying in exchange for free time, though. Going back to the Gaokao, an article by People’s Daily Online highlights the mixed reactions on China implementing a compulsory two-day weekend break policy for high school students. Lou Binyixuan, a student in Hunan, admits that “I don’t want to study on my day off, but I have to because I want to go to a good university.” She also explains how she personally feels about taking a break. “If I sleep in, I feel guilty–like I’ve wasted time that could’ve been spent catching up.” The education system in East Asia that engrains these mindsets in students’ minds is very unhealthy, as it is crucial for students/teenagers to rest, as there are many psychological damages to stress and academic pressure.
The History and Making of Inhumane Education Systems in East Asia
Though these inhumane education systems may seem like a modern development due to increasing job competition and the tireless race to get into a good university, the history behind them actually spans from hundreds of years ago. Many believe that these education systems started from Confucian society and how East Asian kingdoms made a huge effort to keep Confucian values in place. Confucianism was a common belief in all of East Asia and even some parts of Southeast Asia, and many countries adopted Confucian values, standards, moral codes, governance, etc. That may be a reason why East Asian education systems can be very similar to one another.
According to an article published in Global Asia, a Confucian value of maintaining stability so a government can work together smoothly is a reason for why education systems are the way they are today. Maintaining stability like this in the Confucian era needed governance and polity, which came from councils that advised emperors. The ideal to maintain a stable social structure was characterized more by an individual’s merit and intelligence rather than their spot in nobility. Additionally, family image was incredibly important in Confucianism, and for an individual to be on the emperor’s council would bring immense pride and image to their family.
Therefore, exams to test an individual’s merit were administered all over East Asia. This exam was titled the Civil Service Examination, which tested Confucian classics, history, moral philosophy, and classical literature. If an individual were to pass this test, they would secure one of the most respected roles in East Asia: a member of the emperor’s council, as aforementioned. Studying for this exam was a rigorous task and known for being intensely grueling. It was an ordeal that lasted for decades, including massive amounts of memorization, extreme isolation of just studying, and endless repetition of reading texts and copying calligraphic characters.
The Civil Service Examination influenced multiple dynasties and generations, even spanning into modern day. Students still study for national exams just as intensely as scholars from Ancient East Asia did. Some of these exams are the Suneung in South Korea, the Gaokao in China, Daigaku Nyūgaku Kyōtsū Tesuto in Japan, the GSAT in Taiwan, and more. Similarly to how a good job would come to a person who passed the Civil Service Examination, admission to prestigious universities that have successful alumni is likely when a student scores high on their national exams. The intense studying, societies based on merit/intelligence, and family honor is assumed to stem from Confucian values that originated thousands of years ago.
Psychological and Emotional Damages of High-Pressure Education
Academic pressure is defined as the pressure that is placed on students by an institution, education system, parent/guardian, teacher, or other entities that play an influential role in a student’s life. In East Asia, academic pressures are usually defined by stressful standardized testing, intense family expectations to go to a good university and secure a successful job, and an overall hyper-competitive educational culture.
There are numerous damages on psychological and emotional health that high-pressure education does. In general, grades are a heavy burden on many students and make them define their worth or success based on letters alone. Additionally, teens are in a developmental stage where they are sensitive to peer comparison and social approval. Students can also feel an overwhelming sense of worry or fear that they won’t be able to make it to their parents’ expectations.
A 2025 study on academic pressure conducted in China, specifically Liuyang City, goes more into detail about how school can take a serious toll on mental health. The study used the Mental Health Scale for Secondary School Students and the Self-Depression Scale. Results showed that the more academic pressure a student has, the more symptoms of psychological imbalance and depressive symptoms they had. This study specifically talks about the Chinese education system and the Gaokao, an important college entrance examination in China. The article highlights that education and college entrance exams are seen as a crucial, pivoting moment in a student’s life, so students are immensely stressed and carry heavy burdens during preparation.
Another article published by Adolescent Counseling Services, a network of professionally-led support groups and skilled family therapists, highlights the damages of academic pressure. The article expresses that students can engage in deviant behaviors that break social rules to take their mind off things like loneliness and emotional aggression. Additionally, negative emotions that are caused by academic pressure can lead to suicidal ideation and suicide. This is especially important to highlight because many students in East Asia are committing suicide to escape such high societal expectations and educational pressures.
An article on The Ballard Brief, a peer-reviewed educational resource by the Ballard Center for Social Impact, emphasizes the topic of suicide among adolescents in South Korea. The article first expresses that suicide is a prevalent issue that affects South Korea greatly, it has the highest suicide rate among all wealthy countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD). Academic stress contributes to around 12% of adolescent suicides in the nation, and cultural stigma prevents students from seeking help and treatment. The article also states that adolescent suicide in South Korea is often influenced by depression and psychiatric disorders.
In several East Asian countries other than South Korea, there are high suicide rates in Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, according to estimates by the World Health Organization, national statistical agencies, the OECD, etc. Many of these countries have very high-pressure education systems. Educational burden, coupled with cultural stigma around receiving mental treatment, and cultural norms and family expectations makes psychological and emotional damages very plausible.
The National Youth Rights Association
If you’re interested in Youth Rights, consider volunteering with us. We are always looking for new members and would love to have you on board. If you have a personal story to share, of how high-pressure education systems harmed your life as a student, or about a general youth rights violation, consider sending us an email at nyra@youthrights.org. We’d love to help get your story out to the world.
The text of How Inhumane School Systems in East Asia Harm Youth © 2026 by Faith Choe is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
