Hyunwon sat at his cluttered desk, his gaze fixed upon the towering stack of textbooks that loomed before him. The weight of his parents’ expectations bore down on him like an oppressive fog, their relentless pursuit of academic excellence driving him into an abyss of hagwons, Korean tuition centers. His parents believed that only by conquering the relentless curriculum could he secure a seat at one of Korea’s revered SKY Universities – Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University. Yet, as he reluctantly attended classes day and night, forcing information into his mind, a sense of hollowness pervaded his thoughts. He seemed to be missing something essential, leaving his mind desolate and empty.

Yearning to acquire knowledge and learn how to think rather than merely regurgitate facts, Hyunwon craved a deeper understanding of how the world truly functioned. He pondered over the ways he could make an impact on the world and how he could apply concepts he learned from his favorite classes, mathematics, chemistry, and economics, to improve the world. 

Drawing from his studies in mathematics, Hyunwon wondered how he could use the triple integrals he learned in multivariable calculus class in order to find the volume of everything he saw, from chairs and desks in his classroom to the tall Lotte Tower in Korea. Drawing from chemistry, he wondered how he could use his knowledge of chemical bonds and reactions to make advancements in medicine and sustainable energy systems. Hyunwon wondered how the economic models and theories he learned in class could be applied to the real world to improve global systems and promote equitable distribution of resources. Using economics, he wanted to devise ways to solve poverty and inequality. 

Despite his unwavering curiosity, the suffocating grip of the Korean education system stifled his creative thoughts and individuality. He found himself surrounded by classmates who resembled mechanical drones, mindlessly reciting information in pursuit of nothing more than an “A” in their grade book. 

As days turned into weeks, Hyunwon’s frustration with the education system and his classmates grew stronger and stronger. Determined to break free from the shackles of conformity, he boldly began raising his hand in class, challenging his teachers on the concepts they taught using counterexamples. While his mathematics teacher was teaching Euclidean geometry, he wondered, why do non-Euclidean geometries deviate from the concepts we are learning now? Instead of keeping his thoughts trapped, he raised his hand and asked his teacher, to which his teacher, in shock, could not answer. In his chemistry class, while his classmates were copying notes, he asked how it was even possible for a particle to exist in multiple states of matter simultaneously, whereupon his classmates stopped copying notes and began pondering the idea. In his economics class, Hyunwon questioned the Prisoner’s Dilemma theory, because does it not challenge the assumption that individuals always act rationally? He raised his hand in class every day, sparking curiosity and inspiring his classmates to think for themselves. However, his actions didn’t go unnoticed by the disgruntled teachers and parents, who saw his movement as a threat to the status quo. 

One day, after a particularly heated debate with his teacher, Hyunwon was suspended from school. Despite this setback, he refused to be silent. He turned to social media to voice his grievances against conformity within the education system, asking students if this daily cycle of cramming facts and not learning for themselves is what they truly want. His words resonated with countless students across the country who, like him, self suffocated by the status quo. Fueling the movement for change, Hyunwon used this period of suspension to plan and establish his own organization – The Exploration Center, a sanctuary that encourages students to think creatively and critically for the betterment of themselves and the world. It welcomed students who felt imprisoned within their country’s education system and suffocated by their parents’ college expectations, empowering them by nurturing their passions and aspirations. 

Hyunwon’s revolutionary ideas and aspirations captured the attention of students beyond his school. Students from all across the country were drawn to his rebellious thoughts and new organization, the beacon of hope he had created. His classmates introduced friends from nearby schools to join the Exploration Center, and it blossomed into a nationwide movement. 

Bolstered by the unwavering support of his classmates and the curiosity of his peers, Hyunwon’s influence spread like wildfire with the Exploration Center. He encouraged a new generation of learners to defy the chains of conformity and embrace the unchartered territories that lay beyond the confines of their textbooks and rote memorization. With each passing day, there was a surge in the popularity of the organization as more students united in their shared belief in the transformative power of individual thought and unrestrained creativity. Together, unlike the rote memorization they were forced in class, they discussed and learned about the applications of intriguing concepts in the real world, from the applications of science and technology to the social sciences and humanities, to the arts, and more. His members asked each other and tried to solve the mystery behind how physics was used in balancing tall buildings, how mathematics was used to personalize their internet search engines, and how the study of history could be used to better the future. Their curiosity was a burning fire that could not be put out. 

Reflecting upon the extraordinary journey he had undertaken, Hyunwon knew that founding the Exploration Center had been a pivotal moment in breaking the chains of conformity and dismantling the status quo. Through his boldness, he helped create a space where students could be themselves and learn in a way that was meaningful to them and the world. Above all, he had sparked a profound change within an entire generation, teaching them to rise against the conformity that had once suffocated them, encouraging them to embrace their unique perspectives and think critically about the questions and challenges of the world that lay before them.