The South Korean education system focuses on hard work, but the side effects mean other countries might not want to replicate this. Shutterstock March 30, 2015 South Korean education ranks high, but it’s the kids who pay David Santandreu Calonge, Sungkyunkwan University South Korean students consistently top the league tables - leading Western leaders to look to Asia to fix our education systems. But South Korean students pay in other ways, meaning we shouldn’t be so quick to try to replicate their system.