In both social life and academia, the amount of information that one possesses often dictates the range of opportunities available. Similar to how patrons of Gangnam Jjim-o (강남쩜오) tend to be disadvantaged due to lack of knowledge about etiquette, pricing, and the booking system, higher education students also have to face inaccessible barriers.
The way information is available—or worse, not—determines the materials one is able to work with and the life one is able to escape.
Case Study: Information Control in Nightlife and Higher Education
Exclusivity is one of the defining features of the upmarket establishments in Gangnam. While some people smoothly gain entry, others do not have the right connections and struggle to grasp the unvoiced etiquette. The dating scene in higher education is not so different. Admissions policies, the available scholarships, and the faculty lineup are in the same queue of expectations.
The information is available but often complex and inaccessible, leading to disparity between the privileged, who have mentors or networks, and the unprivileged.
Networks and Insiders as Key Advantages
Both spaces reward the well connected. In Gangnam nightlife, people who know a manager or a regular often skip the line or get better deals. Universities seem to work the same way: students whose parents have been to university or have access to alumni tend to have better entry, more internships offered, and less red tape to navigate.
In both cases, knowledge is not freely available, but rather, it is kept within networks that are more advantageous.
ALSO READ: How Teachers Are Using Word Games to Transform Classroom Learning
Transparency as a Solution
The problem both industries have is transparency. Clarifying the guidelines regarding payment, service eligibility, and access makes it easier and more convenient for everyone to utilize the services, thereby shifting the power balance away from insiders.
In education, this means fairer admission, less complicated processes to apply for the available scholarship, less paperwork, and better assistance to the students. In social nightlife systems, transparency ensures that people who have not been ‘initiated’ have more choices and a better ‘welcome’ experience, rather than being intimidated and offered subpar service.
‘Transparency’ enhances the organization’s reputation and promotes equity. The overall lesson is that the more, the better.
Bridging Lessons Across Contexts
Higher education and Gangnam nightlife, although they exist in utterly dissimilar universes, inform how information asymmetry skews human experience. The cases show when knowledge is stored, inequity increases, and when knowledge is shared, humanity flourishes.
This comparison is perhaps unorthodox, but it exemplifies a commonly held belief: having access to information is just as crucial as possessing it. Closing these gaps brings society closer to the promise that opportunity is not just a privilege reserved for a select few but open to the populace.
