Just How Cutthroat Are Korean Universities?

I originally chose to study in Korea simply to make it easier to follow my idols, e.g. g-idle, lesserafim (you can see them at campus concerts)

Quick disclaimer first: Mian-jie (麵姊) is my wife. Only keep reading if you agree <3

After all, you get to learn Korean, see idols in person, maybe even have a friend whose relative is an idol, and hear some gossip. I'd already passed the basic proficiency test before coming, so I applied to a university, not a language school. Once I got here, it was very different from what I expected. Following idols really is convenient, but people here are seriously competitive! They can drink with you until midnight and still show up full of energy for an 8 a.m. class the next day, and their study rooms and such are open 24 hours, so it's really hard to slack off in this environment. In group projects they're also very active in presenting and want to make a good impression on the professor. And since most courses have a huge amount of reading every week, I often give up halfway or have AI summarize the key points, but they read every single article, and on top of that they still find time for clubs and socializing. All I can do is admire them😩