Design Map · Eindhoven
Will You Be a Doctor, Dear?
Graduation project by Kyeongrok Ha at Design Academy Eindhoven, 2026. Shown during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven on Design Map, location F5.
‘Will You Be a Doctor, Dear?’ is a spatial installation that examines South Korea’s system of private education, where academic competition begins early and intensifies throughout childhood. Using preparation for medical school as a central reference, the work asks why its implicit violence is normalised and often goes unnoticed. The installation traces the social and economic conditions that sustain this system. Inside a sealed chamber, the figure of a toddler exposed to restriction and distress represents the many children subjected to these pressures. Outside, visitors occupy the position of distant observers and echo the one-sided gaze of parents and private education industries that watch, benefit and remain detached. The chamber operates like an interrogation room: visibility flows in one direction, while vulnerability remains contained. The work confronts viewers with the consequences of a system that prioritises status over harm, and challenges a common practice that has been normalised in the name of achievement.