A student with a document envelope for admissions passes through the front gate of a college with an overarching sign reading, “Educational Background Land,” and looks at another man walking out of the college. He represents a young jobless person who graduated from college as he follows a sign pointing to “youth unemployment.”

A college administrator sits at the admissions desk that reads, “Expensive Screening Fee and Tuition” upon which sits a pile of applications in front of casino-like college buildings with a signboard that reads “Success Casino.”

South Korean universities and colleges have been criticized for collecting expensive screening fees from students eager to enter colleges. The college students admissions to a well-known university is a major part of their educational background, crucial for getting a job, particularly in this ice age of youth employment.

Among well-known universities in Seoul, Chung-Ang University earned 6.28 billion Won ($5.58 million) in screening fees in the 2010 academic year, according to Lawmaker Lim Hae-kyu. It was followed by Korea University (6.17 billion Won), Sungkyunkwan University (6.08 billion Won) and Hanyang University (5.83 billion Won).

Major private universities decided to lower their screening fees by 20 percent in the 2011 academic year after a parliamentary audit revealed the huge fees and recommended lowering them. Outraged parents of students have condemned the universities for engaging in an “admissions business.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Essential vocabulary:

admission: 입학/screening fee: 심사비/parliamentary audit: 국회 감사--> 그러나 한국은 국회를 Parliament로 쓰지 않고 National Assembly로 씁니다.  Paliamentary로 쓰는 나라는 일본, 영국등의 나라가 있습니다.