earticle

영어

South Korea is a representative academic-centered society with people with higher education as the mainstream of society. Adolescents from a low-income group continue development during high school days in a social atmosphere emphasizing college entrance exam and academic achievement, as well. This study would explore their experiences in the temporal and spatial context around preparation for the college entrance exam in high school period to survive such a competitive environment. For this purpose, this study conducted three sessions of in-depth interview on average with five college students from the low-income group in the latter period of adolescence, who prepared the entrance exam in economic difficulties and could tell a rich story from the general view of college entrance and analyzed the collected data by the qualitative research method. As a result, it was found out that the participants commonly experienced their preparation for college entrance exam in high school period based on four components, including ‘A flame burning without support’, ‘A child who competes with the entrance exam’, ‘A shade that covers the stream’, and ‘A step carrying a rainstorm.’ In addition, the central theme like ‘Surviving the competition as a candle in the wind’ revealed the in-depth meaning of their experiences. Based on the findings of this study, practical and policy suggestions were made for the promotion of the quality of their lives.