A question that had long puzzled me is, why do so many my students wear glasses? Today, I finally undertook some exhausting research on the subject (typing "korea bad eyesight" into Google) and discovered that it may actually be my fault.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/04/113_43804.html
"Why do so many East Asian children wear glasses? Because they don't get enough exposure to sunlight, according to a study by the Australian Research Council's Center of Excellence in Vision Science earlier this year.
The poor vision may well prove to be a damming indictment of education cultures that confine huge numbers of children to institutes when they're not at school . . .
Regardless, culture is undoubtedly the biggest factor. Australia is well known as a sporty outdoor country and after-school institutes are almost unheard of. In contrast, many East Asian children's six-day school and institute schedules deprive them of sleep to levels that would be considered borderline child abuse in Australia, sapping them of the time, energy or inclination to play outdoors in the sun."
Sigh . . . well, their parents may be making them go blind, but at least they'll be tall and blind.
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