South Korea: ChatGPT becomes Exam CheatGPT

Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, western Seoul (Korea Tourism Organization via Getty Images Bank)

"A.I. is a tool for retaining and organizing information so we can no longer evaluate college students on those skills."

"[Students should be tested on their creativity which A.I. cannot replicate]." 

"The current method of  education is already out of date." 

Park Joo-Ho, professor of education, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea 

 

"It's inevitable that A.I. will affect our education."

"[To find research papers and aid in translating between English and Korean, I used ChatGPT] but if students break a pact with their professors to refrain from using it, [then it is a matter of trust and a bigger issue."

Ju Yuntae, Yonsei University student 

University students are seen in a lecture hall at a university in Busan on Sept. 1. [YONHAP]

 

 In South Korea, mid-term university exams have been completed and with that a sudden scandal has been revealed with the nation's most prestigious institutes of higher learning, those elite universities referred to  by the acronym SKY identifying the elite institutes of higher education in the Korean hyper-competitive world of education. The discovery that dozens of students have indulged in the use of textbooks, computer programs, even ChatGPT during online midterm examinations. The irony here is that the  course involved was itself on ChatGPT.

 

This revelation occurred when a professor at Yonsei University in Seoul  discovered the clandestine cheating taking place. When the story hit the news, two other top-tier schools in South Korea -- Seoul National University and Korea University found similar mass cheating had been discovered with students using A.I. on recent tests. Typically such incidents are found in 'lesser-reputed' universities. The discovery that underhanded student actions on tests at the elite universities sent the nation's academic reputation into a headspin.

 

In South Korea (as in Japan) the highly competitive arena of successful students leaving high school to  enroll in university with grades in the stratosphere ensuring their acceptance at these Ivy League schools represents frenetic studies toward such academic achievements and future upward social mobility. South Korea can boast one of the highest proportions of college graduates among developed countries where most students ply themselves to achieve the marks required to qualify for entrance at SKY* schools. 

 

To qualify for entrance acceptance at one of these top-tier schools, a high score on an eight-hour college entrance exam to test knowledge of Korean, mathematics, English and other subjects must be achieved. Over half of the nation's million high school seniors sit for the exam taking place on November 13. On that traditional day, flights are grounded, construction halted and there are enforced traffic restrictions to keep ambient sound to a minimum to enable students to concentrate on their exam performance.

 

High school students are seen during the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), also known as Suneung, at a school in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Nov. 13. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

 

Over 90 percent of college students in South Korea with generative A.I. experience acknowledge their use of such tools on school assignments, according to a 2024 survey by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training.  

"Some professors don't like us using A.I. "

"Some encourage it because it helps solve problems quickly."

"[However], there isn't really a way you can stop students from using it."

Lee T.H., graduate student of computer engineering, Seoul National University 

 

*SKY schools = Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University