South Korea is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and in recent years the country has grown into a leading high-tech society. In Europe we buy their advanced electric cars and robotic technology and try to keep up when they win at e-sports. South Korea is also a beautiful country with magnificent nature and impressive skylines.

SCHOOL SYSTEM
How did South Korea come so far? Perhaps the answer lies partly in the South Korean school system, which is known for its discipline, hierarchy and very long school days from an early age. We get to meet both primary school children as well as young students who grow up knowing that the only way to get by is to be the best of the best. What is their take on concepts like performance culture, freedom, duty, guilt, shame and inadequacy? What motivates them and what future do they dream of? In getting to know their answers, we will learn something crucial about where we ourselves come from.

METROPOLIS, NATURE AND CULTUE
From the skyline of the giant city of Seoul with k-pop as our soundtrack, we board the high-speed train and at 300 km per hour race through South Korea’s magnificent landscape to the southern part of the county. Here we will experience traditional culture, visit rice fields and taste their fantastic cuisine.

NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA 
The story of South Korea is the story of a people where families were torn apart and separated between two countries at war with each other. Today, North Korea remains a surveillance society led by a nuclear-armed dictator, while South Korea developed into an open democracy facing the West.

We will look across the strictly guarded border to North Korea and try to fathom what it is like to live in a permanent state of emergency with your family behind enemy lines.