By some measures, South Korea is the most educated country in the world.Observers，however，have described Korean society as having an“almost cult（邪教）-like devotion to learning". Studying long hours at hagwons（辅导机构）has become so ubiquitous（普遍存在的）and excessive that Korean authorities in the 2000's deemed（认为）it necessary to impose curfews（宵禁令），usually at10 p.m.，and patrol prep schools in areas like Seoul's Gangnam district，where many of these schools are     1     .However，that only drives nighttime cram classes underground behind closed doors.

This extreme competitiveness has created a number of social problems：Suicide，for instance，is the leading cause of death among teens in Korea，which has the highest suicide rate     2     in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development（OECD）.Student surveys has shown that poor grades and fears of defeat are major reasons for suicidal thoughts，while Korea simultaneously has a growing teenage drinking problem.

Social pressures to succeed in the labor market，meanwhile，have given rise to a phenomenon called “employment cosmetics'"--one of the driving factors behind Korea's boom in cosmetic surgery，since job applicants are commonly required to submit an ID photo，and many employers     3     physical attractiveness into their hiring decisions. In another sign of competition at any cost,private household debt in Korea is soaring，driven in part by surging expenditures on education and private tutoring.

Social pressures are further amplified by Korea's relatively high youth unemployment rate，which     4    at 11.2 percent in 2016--a record number not seen since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Despite all the time，finances，and emotional resources     5     in their education，Korean youth find it increasingly difficult to     6     desired quality，socially prestigious jobs.The country's obsession with higher education continues to sustain a “college education inflation（贬值），"     7     the Korean labor market with a supply of university graduates that hold degrees of deflated value whose earnings     8     are decreasing.

While a university degree used to be a solid foundation for social success in Korea，observers have noted that many current graduates lack the skills needed for employability in a modern information society，and that the education system is too     9     focused on university education，while under-emphasizing vocational training. Korea's Confucian-influenced system has also been criticized for relying too much on rote memorization and university entrance prep at the       10     of creativity and independent thought.