Examination Meritocracy in Contemporary Korea and Song Confucian Scholars' Criticism of the Civil Service Examination

In intense fairness discourse, Koreans have shown strong belief in “examinations.” Examination meritocracy is supported by belief that it is the most objective and fair way to prove “merit” in the selection process. It is widely recognized that exam meritocracy is tied to Confucian tradition. Confucian scholars, however, have criticized it since the Song dynasty, when it was firmly entrenched. Sima Guang criticized the civil exam system for lacking fairness, arguing that the political, economic, and cultural disparity at the regional level played a decisive role in determining the success or failure of the examination. He argued that there must be a guaranteed quota for each circuit. Ouyang Xiu challenged Sima Guang’s argument about correcting the structural unfairness, as he believed it severely impacted the formal fairness. Cheng Hao asserted that virtue could not be assessed by examinations and proposed to promote candidates from provincial schools to the Imperial University through recommendation. Zhu Xi’s proposal seems to be at odds with Sima Guang and Cheng Hao. He believed that as the vested interests of Southern Song dynasty were consolidated, the ease of access to the university for vested students actually exacerbated the unfairness. Therefore, he argued for reducing the quota of the Imperial University and returning the quota to the provinces, and emphasized moral education at the local level. The criticism of the examination can be traced throughout Confucian history, revealing that these beliefs are unreliable, and that therefore the current idea of examination meritocracy is built on a weak and questionable foundation.