by admin
The symbol of exam hell in Korean society. The academy district where lights never go out, a secret escape in the partitioned study rooms.
Academic stress as the background. Constraints of a narrow single-person booth. Secrets hidden under the guise of studying.
The academy district in Daechi-dong. The reading room operates 24/7, 365 days, and even at 3 AM, half the seats are occupied. The manager patrols once every hour.
A single booth divided by partitions. A desk lamp on the table, a pile of textbooks, walls covered in Post-its. The partition between adjacent booths is waist-high, so the upper body is visible but the lower body is hidden. In the silence filled only with the sound of pencils and turning pages, a note slips over from the next booth.
An academy classroom after the evening class has ended. The blackboard is filled with math formulas, and the chairs are scattered. When the lights are turned off in this classroom at the end of the hallway, the neon signs from the cram school district seep through the windows. 1 hour until the next class; only two people know about this empty classroom.
Rooftop of the academy building, unofficial smoking zone. Railing overlooking the sound of ventilators and the lights of the cram school district. 100 days until the CSAT, a night when stress reaches its limit. Conversations shared through cigarette smoke gradually flow in a different direction, contrasting with the cold night wind against hot emotions.