Lee Jong-won / 10. Youngshin Girls' High School
Nighttime self-study also known as "yaja" is a Korean studying system in which students study at school until late at night. Although each school has different regulations it is mandatory in most schools for students to participate.
In a survey conducted among high school students from various schools 60 percent of the students answered that nighttime self-study should not be mandatory.
"Sometimes we have no choice but to go home early" said Yoon Seon-kyung sophomore Buram High School. "We could be sick or have a previous engagement. Sometimes we just don't feel like studying on days like the last day of midterm."
Like Yoon many other students sometimes have no choice but to waste their nighttime self-study time. 93 percent of the students surveyed answered that they have skipped nighttime self-study before and 98 percent of the students said they have slept through self-study periods.
However 40 percent of surveyed students believed that "yaja" was beneficial. "I never study when I am at home" said Kim Ji-won sophomore Youngshin Girls' High School. "Because nighttime self-study was mandatory I had no choice but to stay at school until late in the night...So I studied and my grades improved dramatically. Some say that 'yaja' should be done voluntarily but I disagree. I would have never studied if it wasn't mandatory."
As the debate over whether or not "yaja" is beneficial continues it remains to be seen if schools will change their nighttime self-study regulations