In Korea society "Hakbeol" has been criticized as an essential mechanism for causing pathological phenomena of education such as ranking of universities, instrumentalization of education, obsession with exams, and perversion of education fever. This study was carried out to evaluate the academic validity of such criticisms. For this purpose, the study examines the historical backgrounds of "Hakbeol" formation, analyzes the factors contributing to its growth, discusses relevant issues, and reveals characteristic of "Hakbeol" as human capital, social capital, and cultural capital. The findings of the study can be summarized as follows: First, "Hakbeol" is not a product of factors inherent in education, but a product of status attainment struggles amongst competing status groups. Second, "Hakbeol" has relied on academic cronyism to maintain its hold on society. "Hakbeol" has justified the meritocratic ideology that success depends solely on achievement and popularized the idea that resulting inequality is due to fair process. Third, it is difficult to view acquirement of "Hakbeol" as a result of fair competition. Fourth, "Hakbeol" is seen as an indicator of an individual's ability regardless of the actual ability possessed by that individual. Last, even though "Hakbeol" is a personal, social, and cultural resource based on principle of meritocracy, it serves as a mechanism for establishing and reproducing inequality.