The first thing that stood out to me when I visited Minwoo’s group home was that more than seven people lived in a space about half the size of my home. There wasn’t even enough room for beds, so they slept on blankets spread out on the floor. I’ve heard this used to be common in Korea when the country was much poorer, but nowadays it’s rare to see people living without beds.
That was the first time I truly witnessed social inequality up close—something as simple as having a bed or having a room to yourself.
As I spent more time with them, I learned why Minwoo and the others ended up in a group home (I’ve written about their stories before). Most of them came from very poor families.
I don’t claim to fully understand society yet, but in a capitalist system, some level of economic inequality seems almost unavoidable. Some people are born into wealth, while others are not.
Whether that is fair or not raises a much deeper question. What I wonder instead is whether there are real chances to overcome that inequality.
When people discuss a fair society, I think it often boils down to a place where you get what you’ve worked for. To me, education might be the key to that.
But can education actually lessen social inequality? If someone gets a good education, does that truly lead to a better life?
Part of why I’m creating the VolKo app and trying to teach English to children in group homes is because I believe learning English can provide them with new experiences and help them see a larger world. But will education someday give Minwoo and the others their own rooms and their own beds?
To explore this, I decided to research whether education has really helped reduce inequality in Korea. I found some studies and plan to read them and gather my thoughts—probably after my AP exams are over.
Kim, Y., & Park, H. (2008). 한국의 교육과 소득 불평등. 한국사회학, 42(3), 1–30.
조한혜정 (2013). 교육과 불평등: 한국 교육의 역사사회학. 창비.
손준종 (2016). 한국 교육 불평등의 역사적 구조. 교육사회학연구, 26(1), 1–35.