韓國兒童在幸福調查中墊底

South Korean children are the least happy in study among developed countries, the government said on Tuesday, citing the stress of the country's educational pressure cooker.

South Korea ranked at the bottom among 30 countries in terms of children's satisfaction with their lives, the country's health ministry said, followed by Romania and Poland.

"The most relevant factor to the children's life satisfaction is academic stress, followed by school violence, internet addiction, negligence and cyber violence," the ministry said of its survey of more than 4,000 households with children younger than 18.

World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim, himself born in South Korea, said the educational system put a heavy burden on children, with its focus on competition and long hours of work.

South Korea's survey results were measured against those of 27 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) grouping of 34 wealthy countries, plus Romania, Latvia and Lithuania.

The survey, the first such exercise by the South Korean government, comes as around 600,000 students gear up for the annual college entrance exam, with places in prestigious schools and a pathway to a secure job at a top corporation on the line.

When the test is held on Nov 13, the country's stock market will open an hour later, office openings will be delayed to ensure students don't get stuck in traffic, and the central bank will delay its interest rate-setting meeting by one hour.

Domestic air traffic will be curtailed during the listening comprehension portion of the exam.

More than half of children aged between 15 and 19 who are suicidal give "academic performance and college entrance" as a reason, according to National Statistics Korea.

South Korean parents are well-known for marching their children off to cram schools until late in the evening, and beginning English tutoring in kindergarten.

South Korea also made a poor showing in the survey's child deprivation index, which includes child poverty as well as time for hobbies and school or club activities. It came in last, after Hungary and Portugal.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, who was born in Seoul and moved to the United States at age five, said that South Korea's education system exacted a heavy cost.

"Students endure a substantial psychological burden from competition and long hours of work," he said during a visit to Seoul on Tuesday.一項針對發達國家兒童的調查顯示，韓國兒童是其中最不幸福的。週二，韓國政府表示，導致這種現象的原因是其國內教育制度對兒童的重壓。

韓國衛生部表示，在針對兒童對其生活滿意程度的調查中，韓國在30個發達國家中排名墊底，位於其後的是羅馬尼亞和波蘭。

衛生部表示：“對兒童生活滿意程度影響最大的是學業壓力，其次是校園暴力，網癮，家庭疏忽以及網絡暴力。”這項調查由4000個有18歲以下兒童的家庭共同參與。

出生在韓國的世界銀行行長金墉（Jim Yong Kim）表示，現行的教育體系注重競爭和長時間的學習，因此給兒童造成了巨大的負擔。

韓國的調查結果是通過衡量34個富裕國家組成的經濟合作與發展組織（OECD）中的27個成員國，以及羅馬尼亞，拉脫維亞和立陶宛得出的。

這項首次由韓國政府所進行的調查顯示，每年有60萬學生爲高考努力拼搏，爲的就是拔得頭籌，能夠進入名校和得到名企的安穩工作。

當11月13日進行高考時，韓國的股市會延遲一小時開放，辦公時間也會後延以確保學生不會遇到交通堵塞。此外，韓國央行也會延遲一個小時召開利率決策會議。

在考試進行到聽力理解部分時，政府甚至會限制國內的航空交通。

據韓國國家統計局顯示，在15至19歲自殺的兒童中，超過半數是因“學業表現和高考”不佳。

韓國的父母們因將孩子送到補習班學習至深夜，並從幼兒園就開始英語輔導而聞名於世。

在一項兒童被剝奪指數的調查中，韓國兒童調查結果也不容樂觀。這項調查包括兒童貧困狀況以及兒童們花在興趣活動、學校和社團活動上的時間。總體而言，韓國位列倒數第一，排在匈牙利和葡萄牙之後。

出生於韓國首爾，五歲時移居美國的世界銀行行長金墉（Jim Yong Kim）稱，韓國的教育體系代價慘重。

“學生長期忍受來自來自競爭和長時間學習的巨大心理負擔。”他在週二於首爾訪問時如是說道。