Comparison of Learning Environments Between Students in South Korea and the United States and Critics from a Korean Immigrant’s Point of View

As a Korean American immigrant raised in both Korean and American learning environments, I noticed drastic differences between students' lives when comparing the two countries. This led me to question why the systematic and financial aspects of the education system failed to support students properly. Educators have discussed why our nation’s educational system has been failing for a long time, but no clear answers exist. The goal of this talk is to compare the current American education system to a foreign one that I have direct experience with and provide suggestions to improve our current system, which will also include cultural and external influences that led to the lack of interest for careers in physics. The recommendations are supported by various data from the South Korean Ministry of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the state of New Jersey on education spending for the year 2024. The findings conclude that the United States needs to invest more in education per student, create better food standards to keep a healthy diet ideal for learning, and rebuild infrastructures that are no longer fitting to be called a place for learning. The role of students is to learn, but without these changes, their education will fall behind.