Ewha Womans University upheld its preeminence with eight students passing the civil service exam for fifth grade civil servants. This year’s success in the competitive national examinations reaffirmed the prestigious reputation of Ewha consistently producing elite female officials.
The civil service exam is an exam that recruits people who will train to become civil servants. The exam to become a fifth grade civil servant has a long history of being difficult to pass. People often go to extreme lengths, studying for more than 10 years just to pass the exams and obtain a secure job.
Hyungeun Yoon, a chemical engineering and materials science major at Ewha, passed the civil service exams in chemical engineering this year.
It was Yoon’s mother, currently working as a public officer herself, who ultimately encouraged her to study for the exams.
Many students preparing for these exams stay in goshiwon, a small one-room apartment specifically for such students. However, Yoon opted to stay at Soseul-gwan, a dorm in Ewha that accommodates students preparing for the public officer qualification exams.
“An environment as quiet as goshiwon was not the right fit for me, and staying at home was also not an option since it would not allow me to stay productive,” Yoon said.
Staying at Soseul-gwan enabled Yoon to study amid the comfortable background noise of Ewha’s Centennial Library and the ECC Reading Rooms. Besides Yoon being grateful for Ewha’s financial support throughout her journey, she feels that access to experts in the field would help students with their preparations.
“To overcome this limitation, I joined a study group where students go over difficult concepts together,” Yoon explained. “I increased my calculation skills through deep discussions of exam materials and course textbooks from my major.”
Yoon reminded students that it is extremely difficult to pass these exams after only a year of studying. She recommended keeping a positive mind while remembering that there is always next year.
Hyuna Jeong, a student planning to graduate from the Department of Korean Language Education this year, is a student who passed the civil service examinations in the administration area.
“I entered the College of Education to be a positive influence to others,” Jeong recalled. “During my time at Ewha, I decided that I wanted to make structural changes instead of engaging in one-on-one interaction.”
Upon realizing that she wanted to contribute to society by making and revising policies, Jeong started preparing for the exam. However, to endure the challenging preparation period successfully, Jeong built her own pre-studying ritual.
“Iwokeupat6a.m.andcametoschoolby7 a.m.,” Jeong recalled. “Then, I exercised and had a cup of coffee and a cookie. After that, from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., I studied for the exam.”
Jeong also mentioned how she made use of digital devices. She cited ChatGPT as a helpful way to get answers to her questions, and for less vital subjects, she utilized a text-scanning application to reduce note-taking time.
In retrospect, Jeong mentioned that the torturous preparation period is about learning to challenge yourself and broadening your spectrum. “Even a single mistake on the test might mean failure, which is terrifying to think about since all your efforts may end up fruitless,” she remarked. “Having faith in yourself is critical for passing the exam.”
In the future, Jeong wants to help both people on the margins of society and society’s various majority groups.
Lee Hye Bin, a student who graduated from the Department of Special Education in 2022, is another student who passed the civil service exams for administration this year. Similar to Jeong, she reminisced on her volunteer and teaching practicum experience at special- education schools that determined her decision to pursue becoming a civil servant rather than a teacher.
“I noticed that the biggest difference between special-education schools was whether the school was public or private, in a metropolitan or rural area,” Lee said. “Better-off schools could afford effective facilities and equipment, while financially unstable schools suffered from teacher shortages and a poorer atmosphere. I realized that practical administrative help was what students really needed.”
What distinguished Lee from other successful test-takers was that she prepared for the exams while commuting to another job.
“I worked from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., so I studied in the morning and late at night,” Lee said.
To compensate, Lee joined a study group that started studying at 8 a.m. She started her day with 20 economics problems while listening to upbeat music. After work, she practiced writing out answers. While Lee did not take part in the campus exam preparation class, where the school offers various financial and academic help to test- takers, she participated in the many mock tests that Ewha provided.
Yoon, Jeong, and Lee will be entering an institute to begin their fifth grade civil servant training. They each expressed unwavering support for future civil service exam takers of Ewha, wishing each of them their well-deserved success.