The Entrance Exam Matrix
Near Seoul University Medical School, hidden amidst the bustling city, lay a small martial arts hub known as 'Daehak-ro,' a cultural marketplace. Leo, who had believed that the principles of the world were solely learned through study, discovered a new realm through 'theater' in this place.
One day, under the glow of red lanterns, he witnessed an actress pouring her soul onto the stage; her name was 'Tae-hee.' Her black hair fluttered in the breeze, and her eyes carried a piercing energy. As Leo frequently attended Tae-hee's performances, they grew close, and he began to confide his concerns to her.
Leo was naturally gifted with intelligence. His IQ was 150, and from a young age, he excelled not only in academics but also in Go, being praised as a top-tier player.
In his childhood, he preferred reading moves over wielding swords and aspired to become a professional Go player to make a name in the Go martial arts world. However, the one who obstructed this path was none other than his father.
Father: "Abandon foolish dreams. Go won't put food on the table. You must take the entrance exam and pursue the path of medicine."
Leo enjoyed mathematics, physics, and computer engineering, desiring to join one of these disciplines. However, his father firmly opposed engineering, deeming it trivial, and insisted solely on the medical path.
Father: "If you step into engineering, I won't support you with a penny. But if you pursue medicine, I'll spare no expense for your tuition and living costs."
Thus, Leo reluctantly entered the medical school, a path that did not align with his true interests. He soon realized that merely being admitted to medical school elevated one's social status. While students from other disciplines remained ordinary, medical students were regarded as 'prospective doctors,' receiving considerable respect and courtesy.
Leo: "However, this path doesn't suit me. It's uninteresting, and my heart isn't in it."
The medical training failed to inspire or move Leo. It consisted of monotonous lectures and memorizing techniques, lacking the wonder of life's mysteries, leading to a mechanical existence. Moreover, the unique culture of the medical community disheartened him. The medical school formed an unusually insular community, prone to collective actions like mass leaves of absence and strikes, exhibiting peculiar phenomena.
Leo: "Seeing all the residents taking leaves en masse is like witnessing a procession of a communist cult. Everyone acts and chants uniformly, tolerating no criticism."
They had lost the ability to self-regulate, frequently engaging in forced drinking sessions, ironically indulging in alcohol despite being health advocates.
Leo: "How can doctors, who should prioritize health, be so fond of drinking?"
Medical Professor: "Heh heh... Follow the doctor's advice, not their actions."
Leo: "That reduces doctors to mere conveyors of knowledge. Can such individuals truly be called doctors? In this era where artificial intelligence disseminates abundant knowledge, mere knowledge transmitters are becoming obsolete. We need individuals who lead by example through their actions."
During these times, upon meeting Tae-hee again, Leo finally opened his heart.
Leo: "The medical path doesn't suit me. I've studied all my life to walk this path, but it brings me neither joy nor inspiration. I fear I'll be unhappy if I continue."
Tae-hee: "The entrance exam, that realm of trials, is also a kind of matrix."
Leo: "A matrix...?"
Tae-hee: "Just as people are trapped in a virtual reality woven of illusions and falsehoods, you too are ensnared in the structure of the entrance exam. Living a life dictated by the system's will, not your own. Was your true desire to pursue medicine?"
Leo: "No. I never wanted to be a doctor."
Tae-hee: "Then why did you choose this path?"
Leo: "My father always told me to pursue medicine. It was his dream to become a doctor, but he was pressured by school and teachers into engineering."
Recalling this, memories of his father's past surfaced in Leo's mind. His father attended a martial arts school in the 1990s, aspiring to enter medical school. However, Seoul University Medical School was beyond his reach, and Yeonse Medical School was within grasp.
Yet, during that time, the university entrance rankings placed Seoul University at the top and Yeonse Medical School in the fourth tier, alongside lower engineering departments of Seoul University. His father, driven by his passion for medicine, intended to choose Yeonse Medical School, but his homeroom teacher intervened.
Teacher: "Don't be the head of a snake; be the tail of a dragon. At Yeonse Medical School, you'll be just a local doctor, but at Seoul University's engineering department, even a lower one, you'll be among the nation's elite. Aim for the world's best. Follow the trend."
This advice, cloaked as sage prophecy, influenced his father to abandon his own aspirations and follow the teacher's guidance, leading him to a lower engineering department at Seoul University.
However, time was unkind.
After years of relentless study, upon entering society, the world had changed. By the 2000s, the prestige of the medical field had soared, and even regional medical schools commanded greater respect and opportunities than lower engineering departments of Seoul University.
Leo's father eventually realized the bitter truth.
Those who had scored lower than him back in his school days had entered local medical sects and were now enjoying great success. And those with similar grades had entered Yon Medical School and were now renowned doctors across the land.
Father: "If it hadn't been for that one word from my teacher back then... my entire fate wouldn't have been derailed like this."
Since then, his father often said:
Father: "In the 1990s, in the high schools of Murim, the more students that entered Seoul National University, the higher the prestige of the school. Even students who wanted to enter Yon Medical or local medical sects were forced to apply to Seoul National instead — that was the custom of the time."
As Leo mulled over those words, a thought rose in his mind.
Leo: "Has it really changed now? Aren't the high schools of this era still ranking themselves based on the number of students entering the medical sect? Aren't they still pushing even those who lack the aptitude toward medicine, just for the sake of reputation?"
Nowadays, there are many who repeat their studies for two or three years just to enter the medical sect. Is that really due to the students' personal determination? Or is it part of the complex web of interests between the high schools and the private cram schools?
Leo: "High schools seek to boost their reputation by producing more medical sect entrants. Private academies encourage students to repeat exams for years, increasing their own numbers and profits. In this way, all of them are adding fuel to the ghostly fire of the college entrance exam matrix."
And so, even today, countless young people were living lives led not by their own sword, but by the words and breath of others.
That was the true form of the "Entrance Exam Matrix" — another illusion Leo would have to awaken from.