100 Years of Korean Educational Zeal: From 'Donkey Ears' to 'Skirt Wind'

The Hidden Anxiety of Joseon Patriarchs ‘Donkey Wind’ and the Great Labor of Mothers in the Industrialization Era ‘Skirt Wind.’ How has the driving force behind Korean education evolved through the ages?

• The social meaning of father-centered educational zeal ‘Donkey Wind’ in the Joseon era
• The structural background behind the birth of mother-centered ‘Skirt Wind’ after industrialization
• How parental educational roles are evolving in modern Korean society

Part 1: ‘Donkey Wind’ – The Hidden Educational Zeal of Joseon Patriarchs

‘The King’s Ears Are Donkey Ears’ and the Patriarch’s Secret

To understand the concept of ‘Donkey Wind,’ a deep analysis of the Silla King Gyeongmun legend, from which the term originates, is necessary. This story is a metaphor symbolizing the archetype of Korean educational zeal—the immense pressure exerted secretly by Joseon patriarchs to protect family honor directly linked to their sons’ success.

The ‘donkey ears’ represent the anxiety and vulnerability the patriarch wished to hide, while the ‘wind in the bamboo forest’ symbolizes the uncontrollable social reputation spreading the secret. According to the “Samguk Yusa,” only the wig maker knew King Gyeongmun’s secret donkey ears, but unable to bear the burden, he shouted it into the bamboo forest, and the secret echoed whenever the wind blew.

The king’s secret in the legend symbolizes the anxiety of the Joseon patriarch bearing the family’s fate.

For Joseon patriarchs, the ‘donkey ears’ they wished to hide was precisely their children’s success or failure in the civil service examination (gwageo).

‘Donkey Wind’ and ‘Skirt Wind’ differ fundamentally in their dynamics.

• ‘Donkey Wind’: An internal, downward pressure originating from the patriarch that must be managed within the family. Leakage of the secret meant failure.
• ‘Skirt Wind’: An external, upward force where mothers project power outward to influence the public education environment. It is essentially a public act.

In other words, this transition signifies a shift from a model of internal control and concealment to one of external influence projection, beyond just a change in the educational agent.

Head of Household and Tutor: Paternal Education in Joseon Aristocratic Families

In the Joseon era, fathers were not only providers but also the family’s moral pillars, tutors, and chief strategists guiding the path to passing the civil service exam. This was a core duty to preserve the family lineage and honor.

When children reached 6 or 7 years old, home education centered around the father began. The home functioned as the school. In Lee Mun-geon’s childcare diary “Yangarok (養兒錄),” the grandfather is recorded personally overseeing his grandson’s studies and disciplining him with a cane, illustrating how real and practical patriarchal educational responsibility was.

The Joseon home was the center of education, with the father as the key educator.

An extreme example of paternal educational zeal is found in the relationship between King Yeongjo and Crown Prince Sado. Yeongjo’s harsh and relentless educational pressure ended tragically, showing how a father’s expectations could become an immense burden on children.

In Joseon society, the father’s economic role and educational authority were fused. He managed the family’s assets and was the head of the ‘family school’ (gahak). However, with industrialization separating workplace and home, the father’s role shrank to that of an external wage laborer. This separation of economic and domestic spheres structurally dismantled the father’s traditional educator role and paved the way for mothers to emerge as the primary educational agents.

Civil Service Exam: The Father’s Dream, the Family’s Fate

The civil service exam system was the key driver behind the ‘Donkey Wind.’ This exam was the nearly exclusive path for social mobility and maintaining yangban (aristocratic) status.

Originating in the Goryeo period and perfected in Joseon, the civil service exam’s final literary test had a competition ratio of about 2000 to 1. This intense competition led to the emergence of a private education market and the transformation of private academies (seowon) into specialized exam preparation institutions.

High stakes bred organized cheating. Proxy test takers called ‘Geobeok (巨擘)’ and answer writers called ‘Sasu (寫手)’ appeared, precursors to today’s high-priced entrance exam consultants. Sometimes, high-ranking officials (fathers) used their influence to help their sons, a phenomenon akin to the modern ‘dad chance.’

Though theoretically merit-based, the civil service exam functioned as a mechanism reproducing the ruling class’s power, since only the yangban could afford the vast resources needed for education. Here, ‘Donkey Wind’—the father’s massive resource investment and network mobilization—was the key mechanism bridging the gap between theoretical meritocracy and practical hereditary status.

Part 2: A Great Transition – Socioeconomic Transformation of Korean Families

Abolition of the Civil Service Exam and the Korean War: Collapse of the Old Order

The era of ‘Donkey Wind’ ended with a decisive historical rupture. The 1894 Gabo Reform abolished the civil service exam, severing the link that sustained the yangban patriarch’s authority.

The 1950 Korean War further destroyed the traditional class structure and leveled society. Amid this upheaval, the father’s educational authority was fundamentally dismantled. Knowledge of Confucian classics no longer guaranteed social success. The resulting expertise gap shifted education’s role from transmitter of content to manager of process, heralding the rise of a new role to be filled by mothers.

The ‘Salaryman’ Father and the Rise of the Nuclear Family

From the 1960s, industrialization gave rise to the ‘salaryman’ father and nuclear family. Fathers became figures separated from home, leaving early and returning late. This new structure solidified a clear gender division of labor: the father as external breadwinner and the mother as internal household manager.

As the father’s role shrank to economic provision, the mother’s domestic role expanded to include ‘productive labor’ in producing successful children. Children’s grades and university admissions became visible indicators of a mother’s competence. Ultimately, ‘Skirt Wind’ came to signify not just educational zeal but the execution of this crucial maternal labor essential for family success in the new social order.

The Birth of the ‘Education CEO’ Mother

Modern Korean mothers have become ’education CEOs’ for their families. University entrance exams became the modern civil service exam, requiring strategic management for success.

This managerial role fell entirely to mothers. Like corporate project managers, they became experts overseeing and allocating resources—time, money, information—to achieve their children’s successful university admission.

This shift completely reversed the structure of educational knowledge. While Joseon fathers held substantive knowledge, modern Korean mothers possess procedural and relational knowledge of the entrance exam system. Through networks like parent associations, mothers became repositories and distributors of this essential knowledge, establishing themselves as new education experts holding strategic maps to navigate the complex admissions system.

Part 3: ‘Skirt Wind’ – Maternal Love in Modern Competition

The Birth of ‘Skirt Wind’ in the 1960s and the ‘Radish Juice Incident’

‘Skirt Wind’ emerged in the 1960s as a negative term describing mothers’ zealous social activities around their children’s education, including bribery and collective pressure on schools.

The 1965 ‘Radish Juice Incident’ exemplified the peak of ‘Skirt Wind.’ When an answer using ‘radish juice’ as an ingredient for making taffy was marked wrong on a middle school entrance exam, parents demonstrated their knowledge by actually making taffy with radish juice, forcing the correction of the answer. This incident cemented the public perception of ’education moms’ as an unstoppable organized social force.

The negative connotation of ‘Skirt Wind’ reflects society’s anxiety over the newly emerging collective public power of women, breaking away from traditional patriarchal control.

Peak Competition: Gangnam 8 School District and International Parallels

The institutional and spatial embodiment of educational zeal is clearly seen in the formation of the ‘Gangnam 8 School District.’ The 1970s government policy relocating prestigious high schools to Gangnam concentrated affluent, education-conscious families, creating Daechi-dong as the heart of Korea’s private education market.

The Gangnam 8 School District symbolizes Korea’s intense educational zeal and private education market.

This phenomenon is not unique to Korea. Japan’s ‘Education Mama (教育ママ),’ China’s ‘Tiger Mom (虎妈),’ and ‘Jiwa (鸡娃)’ phenomena show that highly competitive entrance exam systems in East Asia commonly produce strong maternal educational zeal.

Paradoxically, the main driver intensifying ‘Skirt Wind’ was state policy. The government created a zero-sum university entrance system and concentrated prestigious schools in specific areas (Gangnam), triggering the ‘8 School District’ phenomenon and real estate speculation. Ultimately, the state was the architect that made extreme ‘Skirt Wind’ a rational strategy for children’s success.

Part 4: Winds of Change – The Evolution of Korean Parental Roles

The Return of Fathers? From ‘Goose Dads’ to ‘Frendy’

In the 21st century, Korean fathers’ roles have undergone complex changes. The ‘goose dad’ phenomenon—fathers living apart from families for their children’s early overseas education—represents one extreme, while recently, new participatory fatherhood models like ‘Frendy’ and ‘Scandi Daddy’ have emerged.

• Frendy: A blend of ‘Friend’ and ‘Daddy,’ a father who aims for a friend-like relationship with his child.
• Scandi Daddy: Inspired by the Nordic model, a father actively involved in childcare and housework, also called ‘Latte Papa.’

As a father myself, I often wonder what role to play between the authoritative patriarch and the friend-like dad. Modern fathers face dual expectations to be successful providers (past model) and devoted caregivers (new model), yet social structures supporting this are still insufficient.

‘Goose dads’ and ‘Frendy’ are not just different choices but represent the unresolved societal tension over fathers’ roles within family and education, marking opposite poles.

Comparison of ‘Donkey Wind’ and ‘Skirt Wind’

The differences between the two ‘winds’ are clear in the following table. Which side do you think your family leans toward?

Conclusion

Over the past 100 years, Korean educational zeal has continued with changing agents and methods according to the times.

• Key Summary

  1. Joseon’s ‘Donkey Wind’: An internal, downward educational pressure led by fathers to uphold family honor.
  2. Modern ‘Skirt Wind’: An external, public influence led by mothers for family social mobility amid industrialization and nuclear families.
  3. Future parental roles: The emergence of new fatherhood models like ‘Frendy’ suggests potential shifts toward co-parenting, though structural barriers remain.

The history of these two winds reflects how much energy Korean society has invested in education. What do you think is the ideal educational role for parents? Please share your thoughts in the comments.