In the mesmerizing Hollywood film “Ocean’s 13” Daniel Ocean gathers his 13 deft partners to ruin the wicked capitalist Willy Bank on the opening night of his hotel-casino, appropriately named “The Bank.” The reason is simple; Rueben Tishkoff, one of Ocean’s partners-in-crime, was conned by his former business partner Bank, and Ocean wants to get revenge for Rueben.

Thus Ocean and his partners conjure up two plans. One plan is to prevent The Bank from winning the prestigious Five-Diamond Award, and the other is to rig the casino’s slot machines and other games, so Bank loses $500 million and consequently his control of the casino. As people enjoy massive winnings at the casino at the end of the movie, Bank is completely ruined. 

Like other legendary heist movies such as “The Sting” or “The Italian Job,” “Ocean’s 13,” too, enchants its viewers with overwhelming thrills and catharsis. The movie perfectly suits our taste because we love to see the downfall of a rich and powerful man, especially if his destruction is caused by an intricate plot involving a group of dexterous, professional experts. Those brainy, adroit experts are in fact confidence men, but that does not matter at all. We just enjoy watching them ruin the powerful, tyrannical man and restore justice.

In the recent elections, the Korean people elected 13 progressive and two conservative superintendents nationwide who will supervise primary and secondary school education in Korea. This means the future of Korean education is now in the hands of those 13 radical administrators who support the left-leaning Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union.

Naturally, conservatives are concerned. “Education should not be too radical,” they mutter in anxiety. “What if they brainwash our children with leftist ideology or ultra-nationalism and turn them into Marxist or a parochial jingoists at a time when we should train them to become citizens of the world?” Indeed, conservative parents seem to have every reason to be suspicious and worried because those 13 candidates came up with rather socialist campaign pledges such as free school lunches, competition-free education and equal opportunities for everyone. Few of them presented their own educational vision or promised to nurture and foster global citizens in this rapidly and radically globalizing world, which is in fact the main aim of liberal education.

A few days ago, our 13 superintendents gathered, presumably to discuss education reform. According to a newspaper report, they discussed the possibility of changing the names of all the existing public universities to Seoul National University, so anyone who attends a public university can become a graduate of SNU. They said they would benchmark the French university system, but the French system is known to have failed its original purpose because of the lack of competition, which inevitably makes a society languid and lethargic. Besides, France still has the Ecole normale superieure, which is a French grande ecole that only a few exceptionally brilliant students can enter. As attractive as their idea is, therefore, it lacks feasibility. Besides, changing the university system is out of their domain; superintendents do not have right to interfere with higher education.

Nevertheless, our 13 progressive superintends may be able to change the notorious college entrance exam system that has seriously plagued our secondary school education for the past four decades. If they succeed, the current abnormal education in high school will be normalized at last. And it would suit the government’s catchphrase as well: “The normalization of the abnormal.” Furthermore, our high school students would be liberated from the so-called “college entrance exam hell” and consequently able to taste the sweet fruit of liberal education, instead of constantly practicing how to pick the right answer on a test sheet.

Therefore, perhaps conservative parents do not have to worry about or overreact to the election of the 13 progressive superintendents. Surely, it would not be our progressive superintendents’ intention to steer our students in the wrong direction by brainwashing them with extreme leftist ideology or distorted history that denies the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea. On the contrary, they may be able to successfully carry out education reform, maximizing their own unique expertise, and restore our teenagers’ long-lost dreams shattered by the ruthless machinery of the college entrance exam.

But would it be a naive hope to expect them to surprise us with fresh new ideas and fast actions, just like the Ocean’s 13 do in the movie? Would it be too much to expect them to begin repairing school buildings for the safety of our children, renovating the restrooms and installing air conditioners and heaters in classrooms, instead of spending money on free lunches?

Korea’s progressive 13 can do what conservatives cannot. They will be responsible for the future of the Korea’s younger generation. Someday, they will be assessed and remembered either as successful education reformers or as incompetent administrators who ruined Korea’s education system. Meanwhile, we will be watching them closely. 

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.