If American high school feels like a teen movie, Korean high school is more like a suspense thriller, SKY Castle.
Let’s take a peek at what high school life in South Korea is really like!
Quick Summary
- A day in Korean high school is long. By 12th grade, studying from 7:30 AM until midnight practically becomes second nature.
- School uniforms, a tight-knit homeroom system, and the intense college entrance exam make Korean high school life truly unique.
- Still, we try to find joy whenever we can, such as school festivals, sports day, and snack runs!
How long is a day in high school in Korea?
The short answer is it’s long, like too long.
A standard Korean high school day often starts around 7:30-8 AM and ends around 4:30-5 PM, but that’s just part one.
Most students stay for evening self-study sessions (called “yaja“), which stretch until 9-10 PM depending on the school (mine was 11 PM to midnight in the 12th grade).
And that’s before counting hagwons (after-school academies) that many students attend afterward.
By comparison, an American high school day usually ends around 3-4 PM, even before Korean students begin Round Two.
For students preparing for the college entrance exam (the infamous Suneung), the senior-year schedule becomes a full-on marathon.
It’s school, self-study, hagwon, home, sleep, and repeat.
So, in the 12th grade, studying from 7:30 AM until midnight at school, hagwon, or study room becomes second nature.
Yes, it’s intense and exhausting. But students bond over shared suffering like it’s a rite of passage!
Koreans believe that whoever sits the longest wins, emphasizing the importance of perseverance needed to sit at a desk for hours. This expression may sound a bit ridiculous, but I don’t regret learning this valuable lesson as a teen. I have the ability to focus for hours on tedious tasks that I apply to many things. Too late to change, so no sense in regretting, I suppose.
From my book, “A Korean Girl Explains“
What is the daily routine of a Korean high school student?
A typical weekday goes something like this.
1. Morning “0th Class” & Homeroom
Some schools open early for optional study time before the first class.
At my school, it was “optional”… but not really. We were expected to be in our seats by 7:30 AM for English listening practice or self-study.
Students shuffle in, half-asleep, often clutching convenience-store bread or instant coffee.
Now, the 0th class is at the discretion of each school.
2. Regular Classes (Around 9 to 5)
Core subjects rule, including Korean, English, math, sciences, and social studies.
Class durations are similar to the U.S., but it feels more structured.
Uniforms, assigned seating, and much less wandering around.
3. Lunch & Dinner (The Highlight of the Day)
No cafeteria chaos of pizza slices and chocolate milk here.
Korean school lunches are organized, nutritious, and surprisingly delicious!
It’s rice, soup, protein (the main banchan), veggies, kimchi, and occasionally a legendary dessert day that becomes school gossip for hours.
My favorite day was Wednesday, or our “no leftovers day,” which meant the best meals.
We even got a monthly lunch/dinner menu printed on a calendar to stick to our desks.
4. After-School Study or Club Time
Some schools offer clubs (dance, basketball, art, guitar), but these are reserved for 10th and 11th graders.
Most students focus on homework or supervised study.
5. Evening Self-Study (Yaja)
Here’s where Korean school really splits from the American experience.
Students stay in their classrooms and quietly study under teacher supervision until night.
It’s not mandatory everywhere, but it’s common.
6. Hagwon
Many students head to private academies after school for extra lessons. It’s SAT prep on steroids.
They cover everything from English grammar to advanced calculus to essay writing.
By the time teens get home, it may be close to midnight. And yet they wake up and do it again the next day.
Korean students don’t joke when we say high school life is a three-year boot camp.
If I wanted to skip yaja for the month, I had to bring my homeroom teacher a hagwon enrollment receipt as proof.
What makes Korean high school culture unique?
At my middle and high school, hair had to stop three inches below the ear. Otherwise, we got an amateur haircut on the spot. We had to go to a salon at the end of the day to match the lengths. A girl with albinism had a really hard time with her light hair. She had to show medical proof to keep her natural color. She eventually dyed it black to stop the questions from teachers and senior students.
From my book, “A Korean Girl Explains“
Korea can change really fast though, sometimes overnight. Since the 2010s, schools have relaxed hairstyle rules, abolishing length limits. Some allow perms and dyeing.
1. Uniforms
Korean students almost always wear uniforms (blazers, skirts, slacks, and vests).
School uniforms give everyone that K-drama protagonist vibe, whether they want it or not.
Honestly though, the uniforms were uncomfortable and freezing in winter.
My friends and I would wear our uniforms to school, then immediately change into the sports uniforms because they were way more breathable and comfy.
2. Classroom-As-Family System
Students stay in the same homeroom all day while teachers rotate between classrooms in South Korea.
It means your classmates become your tiny universe for the year.
The homeroom-as-family system works well, as long as no one is getting bullied.
3. Attendance Culture
Skipping class is rare compared to the U.S.
Even going home early requires approval.
4. National Exam Culture
Everything funnels toward the college entrance exam, shaping schedules, pressure, and sometimes even sleep patterns.
5. Less “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure”
Unlike the States, Korean students have fewer electives and much more standardized coursework.
AP-style flexibility is limited, and independent study is not typical.
And everyone tells Korean students the same thing, “Just wait until college. That’s when the real adventure begins.”
Is Korean high school all pressure and no fun?
Not quite!
We still try to find joy when we can.
After school, my friends and I went to coin noraebang to sing our hearts out.
In high school, we would sneak out to eat more snacks like tteokbokki in the nearby market, or secretly order delivery chicken skewers to the back door during yaja.
Also, we have fun through
- school festivals with dance performances, events, and food stalls
- sports days where homerooms battle in relay races and tug-of-war
- convenience-store snack runs during breaks or after school
- study group friendships forged through shared caffeine and mutual academic despair
The pressure is real, but so is the camaraderie.
Many of us Korean adults look back and think, “It was exhausting, but unforgettable.”
Going to high school in Korea is like attending a very intense, academically focused camp where everyone wears uniforms, lives on minimal sleep, and masters the art of speed-eating snacks between classes.
Compared to the more flexible, extracurricular-heavy system in the States, Korean high school feels structured, disciplined, and deeply influenced by college entrance competition.
But it’s also full of shared memories, inside jokes, and classmates who become lifelong friends!
