As with many Korean dramas, a primary setting for K-Pop fanfiction is high school. While secondary schooling differs from country to country, South Korea has a reputation for having one of the most gruesome high school regimes in the world- but of course not even the busy lifestyle of Korean high school students can stop a writer's imagination. For young people high school is both relatable and realistic, but there are a number of things you should note when writing about Korean high schools.

1. Hours are long

A typical school day can last 16 hours. Classes begin early in the day and conclude in the afternoon but due to the competitiveness of university entrance exams most students will stay back after lessons and attend hagwon, or cram school (tutoring or whatever else you may call them) and not return home until late. 

Classes begin around 8 - 8:30 am, with 1 hour periods (a 5-10 minute break at the end included) and end around 4 pm with club activities afterwards on some days which typically last an hour. All students will go to lunch at the same time. 

Dinner is also served at school before study sessions at school begin. These sessions consist of free study, catch-up and supplementary lessons. Club activities may come after dinner as well, depending on the school. 

After leaving school anywhere between 7 - 10 pm, students then go to a hagwon and retun home around 11 pm or later.

Why this matters: If you're writing a character who works after school, in order to go to work they are obviously sacrificing study time. After school dates would probably be limited to snacks in the nearby area or require your characters to skip or come late to study sessions. If your character also has good grades they should be a genius.

2. Uniforms are compulsory 

I know a lot of people are coming from countries where schools don't require uniforms e.g the US. But in Korea almost all schools have uniforms and they are strictly monitored. (But personally I love it when people play up the delinquent stereotype and have their characters wear uniforms incorrectly haha)

A girl's uniform consists of

• A skirt - usually pleated. (Meant to be kept just above the knee but we all know that rule is broken the most LOL) 
• A tailored blouse. Some schools may opt for a polo instead.
• A necktie of some form - this could be a traditional tie, bow tie, ribbon or other style
• A blazer - usually with the school logo
• A V-neck jumper for winter (I guess summer too if you want but Korea gets hot and humid and schools will usually restrict you from wearing it outside of winter)
•  Knee high socks
• School shoes in the style and colour (usually black) preferred by the school. 

For boys:

• Tailored trousers
• Shirt 
• Necktie
• School blazer
• V-neck jumper
• School/dress shoes 

Other uniform rules include:

• Appropriate hair cuts and colours - no fancy patterns shaved into your hair and no bright colours, which also means no blonde
• No makeup or jewelery - if it's subtle you can get away with it, however
• No distracting accesories - small hair clips are probably okay, though

For gym/PE:

• Shorts
• Polo shirt
• Appropriate shoes and socks (I've noticed in some schools that when using the indoor gym they will take their shoes off)

Some school such as Hanlim Arts High School also have a summer uniform where the blazer is replaced by a vest. X X

With so many uniform regulations you may be stumped for ideas on how to make your characters more identifiable physically. Although the way you dress isn't individual, your books and stationary and bags are all free to be however you want them to be, so go ahead and give your chaebol student a Gucci school bag, or your Game of Thrones loving bookworm one covered in badges. A student rights act was also passed 2012 which made discrimination against homoual or pregnant students illegal, but also lets students wear their hair the way they like, although I'm not sure if all schools are lenient with those other uniform rules. 

  3. Classrooms

People have been passing notes in class since the beginning of time but that's about all you'll get to do, and if you don't like your classmates then I'm sorry to say that you're stuck with them. Students in Korea son't move from room to room for different classes, they stay in the same classroom with the same people and the teachers will come and go. You stay at your desk the whole day so naturally that space becomes quite personal- if a new kid sat at my desk I'd feel like a stranger invaded my home. 

Most desks have a storage compartment where you can store books, stationery or snacks. As with every school, drawing on tables is not allowed but as with every school students will do it anyway. 

The lessons are lecture-style, with 40-50 in each class there's little chance for interaction between the teacher and each student. Teachers recite and write notes and you copy them down for revision. Exams are fact-based for equality. Most will have a blackboard although many schools nowadays are investing in smartboards. 

You may remember in elementary school how the walls of your classroom were decorated with the work you did in class for visitors to see, this is the same in Korean high schools, but it is up to the students to keep these displays updated.

Many things are student-operated in high school. The free-study period before classes begin in the morning (typically 7:30 am) is not supervised by a teacher. Sometimes music rehearsals will not have teachers present so it is up to students. 

​For now that's all I can think of that stands out, but of course the atmosphere of a high school is the same in any country. 

Most of the information here was taken from the following sources: (read these if you want to know more, there's a lot I haven't mentioned)

1. Wikipedia
2. The Ultimate Guide To Korean High School
3. This BBC article