Damn, I thought there was some daylight between Korea and Japan in terms of messed up zero sum games cram schools. AIUI the pressure lets up rather a lot once one gets to university, yes? As in there is actual freedom to slack off and many do. Or is there no point between primary school and becoming a salaryman to chill out?
My experience in Japan was similar. "They're allowed a good vacation before school starts, and during college." The lowest University of Tokyo graduate has better placement options than the best graduate from any other school.
Some of this comes from good reasons - the companies value teamwork and social skills, assuming they own the burden of training people.
There are numerous downsides for this method though. (Miss out on good candidates, people could be learning in college, too much lifetime emphasis on one admissions test, etc.)
