Education, the driving
force for the development
of Korea
Land of the Morning Calm develops into a
prominent player in the global economy
02
한국의 발전
At the same time, Korea is a country with almost no
natural resources. And the Korean War in the early
1950s left the country in ruins. But Korea overcame
the despair and rapidly grew economically to create
the Han River Miracle in the 1970s. The miracle
was possible thanks to the education fever that has
been handed down for several hundred years. In
the 1980s, Korea was called one of the four Asian
dragons and continued to rapidly grow. Recently,
Korea hosted the G20 Summit Meeting and became
a member of the 20-50 Club, a hallmark of a
powerful country in the global economy.
03
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Korea is a country that boasts of a 5,000-years-old history. A classical scholar’s attitude* and
humanitarianism have been highly valued and are deeply embedded in Korean society and history.
This has led to the creation of the Korean alphabet, the invention of the world first printing
technology, and a rich cultural and spiritual heritage. Hence, Koreans have highly valued studying
and cultivating one’s mind to develop one’s abilities and honor the family. Koreans have also
considered contributing to national and social development as the ultimate goal of studying and
cultivating one’s mind.
In 1866, a French naval officer, who experienced the French navy’s attack of Ganghwa-do to fight
against the massacre of Catholics, depicted the education fever in Korean society then as follows.
“We cannot help but admire this place and found something that really crushed our ego. Here,
even the poorest have books in their homes. There is almost no one who is illiterate and the illiterate
are looked down upon.” This is a story that shows well the education fever of Korea.
At the same time, Korea is a country with almost no natural resources. And the Korean War in the
early 1950s left the country in ruins. But Korea overcame the despair and rapidly grew economically
to create the Han River Miracle in the 1970s. The miracle was possible thanks to the education fever
that has been handed down for several hundred years. In the 1980s, Korea was called one of the
four Asian dragons and continued to rapidly grow. Recently, Korea hosted the G20 Summit Meeting
and became a member of the 20-50 Club, a hallmark of a powerful country in the global economy.
Korea is no longer a country of a calm morning of the East. It is now a powerful and responsible
player in the international community. This booklet explains how education contributed to such
dramatic national development in the hope that it would encourage other developing countries
dreaming of development to benchmark our success. Furthermore, it is for Korea to help many
other countries through international education cooperation projects.
Country of a calm morning grows into a prominent
player in the global economy
Preface
* A classical scholar’s attitude means being loyal as a human duty and the fidelity of keeping beliefs without wavering. Such as scholar represents the duty and
responsible awareness of the times, foremost values integrity and noble poverty, and considers a disciplined life a virtue.
04
▷
After the establishment of the government of the Republic of Korea in 1948, Korea was one of the poorest
countries in the world. But it grew into the world’s top 15th economic stronghold. From exports of USD 54
million in 1962, it surpassed USD 548 billion (as of 2012). In addition, Korea became a member of the 20-50
Club, a hallmark of an economic stronghold in 2012 (national income of USD 20,000 and population of 50
million).
▷
Korea also overcame the oil crisis in the 1970s, the Asian financial crisis in 1998, and the global financial
crisis in 2008. Korea is currently recognized as an IT, shipbuilding, and automobile manufacturing
powerhouse. Samsung and LG are dominating the global smartphone and TV markets and Hyundai is a
global leader in the shipbuilding and automobile industries. Korea is, however, not resting on its laurels, and
dreaming of another leap forward through a creative economy.
▷
In sports and culture, Korea is also exerting much influence in the world. It successfully hosted the 1988
Summer Olympic Games and the 2002 World Cup (co-hosted with Japan). In addition, it is preparing for the
Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in 2018. Furthermore, it is spreading its pop culture through the
Korean Wave, drawing the interest of people worldwide in Korean culture.
▷
In 2010, Korea became a member of Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and switched from being an aid recipient to a donor.
In addition, it hosted the 2010 G20 Summit Meeting, the Busan High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness
(HLF-4) in 2011, and the APEC Education Ministerial Meeting in 2012, playing the role of a bridge between
developed and developing countries.
▷
Behind such unprecedented rapid growth was the education fever and the “excellent Korean educational
system” that educated excellent manpower according to the demands of different eras.
Education as a driving force of national development
Education was the energy that drove Korea to become an advanced country. Despite
several national crises, it has amazingly grown since its independence in 1945. Behind
Korea’s success was the people’s passion for and state investment in education.
Current state of Korea
05
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Excellence of the educational process
Guarantee of high-quality free education to all
▷
The Korean government has since Korea’s independence continuously expanded the provision of free
education to all students step-by-step. Starting with free primary education in 1959, it expanded free
education to middle school (1985~2005) and will expand to high school (expected in 2017).
Everyone is entitled to excellent teachers
▷
Teachers in Korea are one of the most coveted jobs excellent students choose. Excellent institutions
educating teachers are enabling teachers to get high-quality education. In addition, support is stably
provided for teachers to focus on teaching only and systemic reeducation and training opportunities are
provided for them to effectively teach. Of all teachers, 30.8 percent have degrees over a master’s degree (as
of 2012).
Continued expansion of educational opportunities to develop students’ potentials.
▷
The college enrollment rate in Korea jumped from 27.2 percent in 1980 to 72.0 percent in 2012. Most
Koreans are thus getting the highest level of education of university education.
▷
The Korean government has further built a lifelong education system to expand educational opportunities. It
amended the Lifelong Education Act in 1999 to improve the Koreans’ quality of life and enhance the social
capacity, thus preparing the basis for a lifelong education society. The participation rate in lifelong education
in Korea has steadily grown in the last 5 years from 29.4 percent in 2008 to 35.6 percent in 2012.
Active support for classes in need of special consideration
▷
Korea’s educational system is now enhancing its support for students in need of special consideration. Under
the principle of Education for Everyone, the Korean government is actively supporting students of the socio-
economically disadvantaged class and students with disabilities.
▷
In particular, we are responding to the rapidly increasing number of multi-cultural families. About 1.4 million
(as of 2012) foreigners reside in Korea and of all students, 0.86 percent are from multi-cultural families (as
of 2013). We are, therefore, enhancing educational support to promote students of such families to study in
public schools and their early adaptation in schools.
Korean education guarantees the right to a quality education to all through steady
investment and is educating excellent manpower.
Current state of Korean education
Excellent education results
High academic achievement
▷
Korean students are recording high scores in international academic achievement evaluations. They are
steadily ranking among the top in globally representative evaluations of the Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA) and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement
(TIMSS).
PISA ranking results Korea showed a high level of academic achievement in all subjects, including reading,
mathematics, and science.
* Number of countries participating in the evaluation: 41 countries in 2003, 57 countries in 2006, - - - and 65 countries in
2009 & 2012
Category
2003 2006 2009 2012
Ranking Score Ranking Score Ranking Score Ranking Score
Reading 2 534 1 556 2-4 539 1-2 536
Mathematics 3 542 1-4 547 3-6 546 1 554
Science 4 538 7-13 522 4-7 538 2-4 538
TIMSS ranking Korean students steadily showed a high level of academic achievement in all subjects, namely
mathematics and science. In the most recent evaluation conducted in 2011, Korea ranked first in mathematics
and third in science.
* Number of countries participating in the evaluation: primary schools of 50 countries and middle schools of 42 countries in
2011
(Unit: Ranking)
Category 2003 2007 2011
Mathematics 2 2 1
Science 3 4 3
06
07
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Educating high-quality technicians and creative manpower
▷
Korea is educating technicians with special skills through specialized and meister high schools. Korea ranked
the top for 18 times in WorldSkills International, including the one held in Leipzig, Germany, in 2013.
▷
Global Korean companies such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai are promoting the retraining of excellent
graduates from universities through quality in-house training systems.
World class research capacity
▷
Korea is implementing diverse policies to financially support the development of research-centered world
class universities. As a result, Korea recorded the 11th highest score in the number of papers published in
SCI-class journals.
Number of SCI papers
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
17,103
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
14 14
12 12 12 12
11 1111 11
21,114
22,705
27.839
28.436
27.420
35.662
38.776
39.834
44.718
Number of papers
Korea’s total number of papers published Korea’s global ranking
Global ranking
08
Desire for education
▷
Education has been considered an important right for long in Korean society. Education has been considered
important because of the confucian tradition of respecting learning and the particular national desire for
greater achievements.
▷
As the class system began to shake in the late 18th century, education worked as a way to solve the class
difference. Thus, despite the suppression of educational opportunities during the Japanese colonization of
Korea (1910-1945), desire for education did not dissipate. In addition, after Korea’s independence from
Japan in 1945, people began to largely demand education to overcome the sorrow of not having gotten it
during the Japanese occupation of Korea.
▷
With industrialization that respected qualifications, education became a way to socially succeed. Education
became the fairest way of climbing up the social and economic ladder in Korean society. This functioned as
a positive factor contributing to self-realization and national development.
Family and social interest in and support for education
▷
One of the most important factors contributing to the development of education in Korea was the parents’
interest in, passion for, and sacrifice for their children’s education. Under the tenet that“ educating children
is an investment for the future,” they did not refrain from supporting their children’s education regardless of
whatever difficulties they were faced with.
▷
Education continued during the Korean War in the 1950s and parents sold their fields and cows to
support their children’s education to the extent of coining the phrase of “Cow Tower.” Parent-Teacher
Association(PTA) financially supported schools to supplement the lacking school finance.
Educating altruism based on humanitarianism and a classical scholar’s attitude
▷
A classical scholar’s attitude refers to the will to lead an ethical life and achieve much academically.
▷
The goal of academic studies is to educate students who can contribute to the nation and society based on
humanitarianism. The current Korean educational philosophy is “humanitarianism” so that students would
contribute to the welfare of humanity. This philosophy is reflected in Article 2 of the
「
Fundamentals of
Education Act
」
Socio-cultural tradition
Korean society has traditionally long respected the need and desire for learning, which
worked as the driving force in making Korea an education stronghold.
09
Government-led educational system for educational development
▷
Korea’s educational system systematically developed led by the Korean government. The government
systematically manages Korea’s educational system, courses, policies, and higher education policies. With
the support of research institutions specializing in education, it uniformly draws up and executes education
plans.
Efforts made to supplement educational finance
▷
The Korean government worked hard to expand its educational finance and uniformly maintain the share
of government budget and the share of education cost vis-a-vis GDP. Through the
「
Education tax
」
and the
enactment of the
「
Financial Grants for Local Education Act
」
, it stably consolidated finance for education.
In addition, it consolidated educational finance commensurate to 5 percent of GNP as stipulated in the
education reform proposal of 1995. Recently, it is expanding financial investment in higher education
lacking in finance. It is thus pursuing reducing the cost of education to actually guarantee equal educational
opportunities for even higher education.
Low-cost approach to respond to the exploding demand for primary and middle school
education
▷
To meet the people’s demand and desire for expanded education, the Korean government unfolded policies
of educating as many students at low cost. In the 1950s~70s, it maximized the student ratio per class and
ran several classes in shifts (2-3 shifts) and night schools. Through such a low-cost approach, it could satisfy
the increasing demand for education.
Promoting the role of private schools for public education
▷
To solve the problem of lacking educational finance, the Korean government emphasized the role of private
schools at all educational stages. It supported the establishment and management of private schools to
induce their establishment. In the case of high schools, about 40 percent were private schools, while about
80 percent of higher education institutions were private in 2012.
Country with a successful aid receiving experience
▷
After independence, Korea effectively made use of aid for education received from the international
community. However, it did not just depend on aid and made independent efforts to help the educational
development of Korea with a sense of ownership as an aid recipient. A primary case is the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) having supported the construction of a primary
school textbook factory during the Korean War (1950-1953). In addition, Korea strategically used diverse aid
and mainly supported the science and engineering departments of universities.
Government’s strategic approach
Driving force behind the educational development of Korea
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
10
Virtuous cycle of educational development and national development
The national capacity gained from education led Korea’s economic, political, social, and
cultural development. The thus improved national capacity in turn led to educational
development. Korea created synergy between educational development and national
development through a virtuous cycle.
The role of education
▷
Education is closely tied with all economic, social, political, and cultural factors that form a country.
Education plays the role of conveying a country’s cultural identity to new generations and helps integrate a
society through socialization.
▷
In addition, it enhances communal awareness and helps internalize values, thus contributing to keeping a
stable social order. Furthermore, it supplies labor as a driving force for economic development. It also teaches
new knowledge, attitude, and technologies to drive a country’s development.
▷
Education successfully played such a role in Korea’s national development. However, educational
development did not only impact Korea’s national development. Instead, it continued to interact with Korea’s
economy, society, politics, and culture. National development in diverse fields, in turn, continued to improve
education in Korea.
Education and economic development
▷
Those who learned skills and were trained through Korea’s public education system satisfied the industrial
demand for skilled manpower. The Korean government’s education plans worked in harmony with the Five-
Year Economic Development Plans that started from the 1960s to educate expert manpower necessary for
national development.
▷
Education not only teaches people the necessary skills, but also cultivates an attitude of diligence and
honesty necessary for industrialization. In particular, schools cultivated in students the basic values of abiding
by rules and keeping order required for work in any organization through general socialization.
Education and social development
▷
By providing quality education to everyone regardless of his or her socio-economic class or sex, we promoted
social mobility. By providing fair educational opportunities and compensating academic achievements, the
“belief that one can succeed if one studies hard” was realized.
▷
The belief that individuals could upgrade their social status according to efforts made and skills acquired
helped realize a meritorious society and led to social integration despite dynamic social changes.
Education and politico-administrative development
▷
Koreans’ civil awareness elevated through education led to political democratization. The elevated level of
education from the expansion of educational opportunities improved the Koreans’ political awareness. Many
came to resist unfair authority and pursue a democratic society. In particular, college students and professors
risked their lives from the 1960s to the 1980s to lead Korea’s democratization.
11
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
▷
Korea’s rapid growth was possible thanks to the joint efforts made by the people to realize Korea’s national
development plans led by the government. Public administration bureaucrats played an important role in the
process. With a higher level of education than the general public, they led Korea’s national development.
Education and cultural development
▷
Education not only played the role of handing down preceding generations’ intrinsic traditional culture to
the following generations, but also provided the foundation for the creation of new culture. Education
contributed to preserving culture, while also promoting its development in line with the changing social
demands.
▷
By teaching Korea’s unique cultural identity and also that of other diverse cultures, education contributed to
eradicating individual prejudices and enhancing understanding of different people. It thus helped foster an
open mind and heart among the students.
▷
Adults thus brought up are working hard to make widely known Korea’s unique culture. The recently
popular Korean Pop that represents the Korean Wave is upgrading Korea’s image in the world. We are also
promoting understanding of other cultures, international cooperation, and coexistence through cultural
exchanges.
Educational development from national development
▷
The miraculous economic development of Korea, in turn, enabled expanding educational finance. The
thus increased finance supported the implementation of diverse projects for educational development. The
Act on Special Account for the Improvement of Educational Environment was enacted in 1990 to improve
the educational environment of primary and secondary schools. In addition, the ratio of students per class
dropped in accordance with the “Plan to Improve Educational Conditions”in 2001.
▷
As the per capital income grew from national development, demand for better education grew. To meet
the educational demand for individual students, the high school system was diversified and more autonomy
provided to each school. As the demand for higher education increased, the establishment of private higher
education institutions was vitalized and opportunities for higher education expanded.
▷
As the impact of education on Korea’s economic development expanded, companies came to take greater
interest in education. Industry-academia cooperation became more important and companies increased
their investment in education. To foster the manpower companies needed, universities developed diverse
educational programs. Korea is thus building a flexible educational system that can more actively respond to
social demands.
▷
Educational administration also democratized and became more efficient with the politico-administrative
development of Korea. With the spread of grassroots democracy, educational systems also developed
to enable local governments to expand school liberalization. The role of municipal and provincial offices
of education became more important and school management autonomy expanded through the
establishment of “school management committees.” In addition, an educational administration system was
built emphasizing greater transparency and responsibility of schools, thus enhancing the efficiency of school
management.
▷
Education in Korea has long been influenced by social culture. In the past, rationality, competition, and
individualism necessary for modernization were emphasized. But with the onset of a knowledge-based
society and a global era, Korea’s educational system is switching to emphasizing creativity, collaboration, and
understanding of other cultures.
12
Education & Economic development
1948~1960 1961~1980 1981~1997 1998~Present
Reconstruction of
Educational System
Universalization of
Elementary
Education &
Literacy Eradication
Foundation for
Economic
Development
Changes in the economic development Enrollment rate in each school level at different years
Manufacture
Agriculture
Elementary school
Middle school
High school
Post-secondary ed.
Service
Five-Year Economic Development Plans
Industry : Labor-intensive
Heavy / Chemical
Knowledge-based
Labor force : Unskilled Labor force
Skilled Labor force
Top talent
Ed Investment : Primary / Middle
High school/Voc ED
Higher Ed / Lifelong
1962
0%
50%
54
73
91
95
98
101
101
99 99
103
0%
‘45 ‘53 ‘57 ‘60 ‘65 ‘70 ‘80 ‘90 ‘00 ‘08 ‘10
100%
100%
1996
Education for
Creativity,
High-Tech,
and Quality
Life-Long Education
Knowledge - Based
Labor Force
Knowledge - Based
High - Tech Industry
Univeralization of
Secondary Education
Expansion
Vocational Skills
Education
Labor Force for
Labor - Intense
Manufacturing
Skill-Required Heavy
Industry & Chemical
Industry
Expansion and Mass
Higher Education
Quality
Improvement
Highly Skilled Labor
Force
Economic
Reconstruction to
Technical Industry
13
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Expanded primary education and literacy education to build the
base for economic development (1948~1960)
Stage-by-stage economic development and education
Universal mandatory primary school education
▷
After the establishment of the Korean government in 1948, the constitution and education law made
primary education mandatory. The primary school enrollment rate that lagged at 54 percent in 1945,
reached 96 percent by 1959 through the “Six-year plan to complete mandatory education”implemented
from 1954.
▷
To expand educational opportunities step-by-step, the government intensively invested its limited finance in
the expansion of primary education.
Improved welfare of lagging behind agricultural and fisheries regions using primary school
infrastructure
▷
Primary schools played the role of an outpost for the development of local communities. Public health
activities (vermifuge consumption, dressing rooms, bath houses, and etc., in villages) and nutrition supplying
activities (powder milk, dry bread, and others), contributed to local hygiene and welfare development.
State efforts made to eradicate illiteracy
▷
Soon after the Korean War, the Korean government pursued the“Five-year project to eradicate illiteracy
(1954~58).” The goal was to educate citizens who did not get primary education so that they would be
capable of at least reading and writing like a second grader. As a result, the literacy rate of those over 12-
years-old reached 96 percent by 1958.
Contributed to the development of agriculture and light industries
▷
From 1948 and 1960, when Korea was working to recover from colonization and the Korean War, primary
industries such as agriculture, were the main industries of Korea. Therefore, the government made efforts
to foster the light industries. Education thus contributed in providing the labor necessary for this changing
industrial structure. In particular, it helped students internalize the values of diligence and trust necessary for
an industrial society.
Snapshot of the times
Despite the ruins of war, Koreans’ passion for education continued. An examination into a student who studied in a primary
school in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, shows how weak the environment was back then. The school was a thatched-
roof house whose walls were demolished from war bombing and the student had to walk 3km to school. Two grades were
taught together and the school was managed with the help of the PTA. “It is a miracle that education even took place given
the abnormal situation after the war,”it was evaluated.
14
Universal middle school education
▷
After primary education became mandatory, demand for more advanced education steadily grew. To satisfy
this demand, the Korean government made enrollment into middle school possible without taking a test in
1969 and pursued a policy of standardizing high school education in 1974.
Expanded educational finance and enhanced role of private schools to meet the increasing
demand for middle school education
▷
To accommodate the increasing number of students, new educational facilities were built and educational
finance increased to employ more teachers. The government worked to stably consolidate the necessary
educational finance by enforcing the
「
Local Educational Grant Act
」
(1963) and the
「
Local Educational
Finance Grant Act
」
(1971). In addition, it financially supported the increasing number of private schools to
respond to the expansion of middle school education.
Policies to vitalize vocational education
▷
The
「
Industrial Education Promotion Act
」
of 1963 promoted the vocational training of students. In addition,
the government pursued policies to systematically train manpower outside of schools. According to the
government’s policy to foster technicians, the
「
Vocational Training Act
」
was enforced in 1967 and many
vocational training institutions were established nationwide. Industries also managed training courses for
workers who did not get to enroll in a higher level school.
Prepared a new economic leap forward by educating science and technology manpower
▷
The government drew up a “Five-year Plan for Science and Technology Education”(1967-1971) in tandem
with the second Five-Year Economic Development Plan in 1967 to supply manpower necessary for each
industry. It increased the quota of science and engineering departments of universities and additionally
constructed vocational schools to promote science and technology education and educate science and
technology manpower.
Universal middle school education and vitalization of vocational
education (1961~1980)
15
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Educating manpower for an export-oriented economic structure
▷
Staring with the first “Five-Year Economic Development Plan” in 1962, export-oriented manufacturing led
Korea’s economic growth. The government thus developed vocational high schools and universities to meet
the new demand for industrial manpower.
Introduction of technical high schools to educate skilled technicians
▷
The number of vocational high schools steadily increased from the 1960s to educate skilled technicians
necessary for the labor-intensive industrial development. In 1970, a policy was pursued to specialize technical
high schools and the specialization spanned from electronics to construction, iron making, steel making,
chemicals, railway, mining, and aviation.
▷
Students with excellent academic achievements but with poor family backgrounds enrolled in excellent
technical high schools to contribute to Korea’s economic growth as excellent technicians.
Snapshot of the times
A middle school in Seoul pursued “Saemaeul Education” when the Saemaeul Movement was in full swing in the early
1970s. It educated students to help the poor, save supplies, voluntarily save, protect the environment, and clean. It educated
its students to contribute to the local and national development through enhanced bonding with the local community,
cleaning the surrounding environment, and saving more.
16
Educated technology research manpower necessary for cutting-edge industries
▷
Korea’s industrial structure moved from labor-intensive light industries to capital-intensive heavy chemical
industries from 1980. As such, instead of simple technicians, it needed skilled labor appropriate for cutting-
edge industries.
▷
As such, demand for vocational education weakened and students began to shy away from manufacturing
jobs because of the changing industrial structure that not enough graduates from vocational schools were
educated. The Economy Planning Board thus reinforced vocational high school education through “measures
to supply industrial manpower” to solve this problem.
Stably supplied manpower for cutting-edge science and technology by fostering specialized
two-year colleges and science and engineering departments in universities
▷
Two-year colleges restructured for quality improvement and transformed into colleges that can respond to
informatization and the developing industrial structure.
▷
The government then implemented policies to intensively educate cutting-edge science and technology
manpower. The government established the Pohang University of Science and Technology and the Korea
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology as Korean-type research-focused universities to foster high-
quality industrial manpower in the 1970~80s.
▷
In 1994, the government also selected government-run engineering universities to enhance Korea’s national
competitiveness by fostering cutting-edge science and technology manpower. By supporting universities in
each regional base, it attempted to locally educate industrial technology manpower and build an industry-
academia cooperation system wherein the local industries employed the locally educated graduates.
Reinforcement of vocational education and expanded
opportunities for higher education (1981~1997)
17
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Expanded opportunities for higher education
▷
Korea focused on continuously expanding opportunities for higher education. By introducing the university
graduation quota system of accepting more students and graduating only the qualified in 1981, the
government expanded opportunities for enrollment in universities and helped universities accommodate
more students.
▷
In addition, after the mid-1990s, as the service industry developed and Korean society became a knowledge-
based informatization society, demand for higher education and lifelong education largely grew. The Korea
National Open University that became independent from Seoul National University in 1982, provided
opportunities for lifelong education at low tuition for those who did not get higher education. In addition,
open universities (industrial universities) that started from 1982, expanded opportunities for higher education
for industrial laborers and working youth.
Snapshot of the times
As Korean companies began to largely invest in electronics and electro-mechanics in the 1980s, departments like electrical
engineering became popular. On the other hand, the IT fever in the 1990s led to excellent students applying for computer
engineering and other cutting-edge technology departments. Such popularity was directly reflected in college applications
and students actively applied for different departments according to the changes in the industrial structure of Korea.
18
Attempting to change the system to educate excellent manpower befitting a knowledge-
based society
▷
Since the end of the 1990s, demand for excellent creative manpower grew for the fostering of knowledge-
intensive cutting-edge technology industries in tandem with changes in the global economy. Accordingly,
Korea is focusing on developing human resources for a knowledge-based society.
Specialized and professional industrial manpower education
▷
The knowledge-based economy requires educating professional and specialized industrial manpower.
Existing vocational high schools started to specialize starting with the Busan Design High School in 1998.
Specialized high schools expanded their specialty into new fields and new such schools began to be
established to develop special talents and particular skills.
Social integration and enhanced university competitiveness
▷
The goal of universities has been set to educating elites to lead the knowledge industry. For this, the
government is focusing on improving the quality and research scope of universities. Reforms are ongoing to
enhance the quality of universities through student quota adjustment and the university evaluation system,
among others.
▷
The Korean government is also enhancing financial support for universities to make them more globally
competitive. Projects to foster world class graduate schools (such as World Class University: WCU, and Brain
Korea 21: BK21) are being implemented for students to become excellent global manpower.
▷
At the same time, higher education policies are being pursued to reach balanced regional development for
social integration. The government is supporting non-Seoul universities and pursuing strategic projects to
enhance cooperation with industries (such as New University for Regional Innovation: NURI, and Leaders in
INdustry-university Cooperation: LINC).
Development of higher education for the knowledge creation
necessary for a knowledge-based society (1998 ~ present)
19
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Industries are contributing more to the vitalization of national R&D
▷
Industries are also contributing more to creating knowledge by continuously expanding their R&D scale.
Korea’s total investment in R&D is the world’s second top highest (as of a survey in 2012) and this is because
Korea continued to invest in R&D despite the Asian financial crisis that was a national crisis.
Built a system for the continued development of people’s capabilities by putting together a
lifelong learning system
▷
Korea built a lifelong learning system that guarantees the opportunity for continued self-development.
This was necessary for the education of manpower befitting a flexible economic system. From 1998, Korea
has implemented a school credit bank system to expand educational opportunities. Furthermore, Korea is
unfolding diverse policies such as self-study degrees and part-time school registration.
Built an education informatization system to respond to the rapidly changing educational
environment
▷
Korea’s education informatization was fully pursued after the drawing up of “Measures for the
comprehensive development of education informatization” in 1996 and the measures achieved much for
about 15 years.
▷
Through education informatization, we improved the educational environment, methods, and learning
materials of kindergarten, primary, and secondary schools. In addition, we built systems and structures to
enhance the transparency and efficiency of educational administration and enable the sharing of information
anytime and anywhere for universities and lifelong education.
Snapshot of the times
Having overcome the Asian financial crisis at the end of 1990s, Korea worked hard to respond to global historical changes
of the 21st century. To prepare for a deindustrialization society, Korea continued to expand education connected to economic
growth such as greater corporate investment in R&D and university education. In particular, Korea continued to expand its
financial support for universities by emphasizing education directly related to jobs and income earning.
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Challenges to overcome and tasks to tackle
▷
Despite amazing academic achievements, Korean education still has much to improve. This is because
education was focused on educating manpower for national development during industrialization in the
past. Diverse educational opportunities to develop one’s potentials and talents were, therefore, limited.
▷
Because education was focused mainly on acquiring knowledge, not enough humanitarian education for
the development of exemplary citizens took place. The overheated college entrance competition excessively
academically burdened the students. Also, academic interest and satisfaction was low because of the
memorization-focused education.
▷
While education contributed to social integration by promoting mobility between different classes, it is
recently not sufficiently guaranteeing social mobility. Criticisms are mounting that instead of improving
the polarization of society, education is exacerbating it further. In addition, over-education is leading to
discrepancies between labor demand and supply. Because of excessive investment in private tutoring,
educational cost is also burdening more families.
Beyond the past
Challenges and vision
21
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Empowering public education
▷
Korea is pursuing education that would help students self-realize. The government is supporting efforts
made to help students voluntarily study to realize their dreams instead of unilaterally teaching knowledge.
Korea is looking into ways that would motivate and cultivate passion for learning. For this, Korea is
managing educational courses that would help develop individual talents for the realization of dreams such
as enhanced career guidance and the free semester system wherein middle school students can explore their
talents and interests without having to take tests.
▷
Korea is managing schools so that students would get holistic education in safe and happy schools. Korea is
pursuing better physical education classes and humanitarianism-focused learning.
Guarantee of equal educational opportunities
▷
Korea is pursuing educational policies to guarantee equal educational opportunities to all. Regardless of a
student’s socio-economic background, Korea is working to provide equal opportunities. Korea’s educational
system actively supports the socially disadvantaged and those living in the countryside.
▷
To solve educational polarization, Korea is working to create an educational environment that ranks among
the top among OECD countries. Korea is improving the student teacher ratio to that of upper ranking
OECD countries to provide excellent education regardless of the region. In the process, it is working hard to
improve teachers’ class teaching and student-life guidance.
▷
The Korean government plans to guarantee realistic equal educational opportunities to all by alleviating
the educational cost burden. It is working hard to eradicate cases of students not getting proper education
because of economic difficulties. It is, therefore, supplementing university scholarship systems and planning
on providing free high school education.
Enhanced educational competitiveness
▷
Korea is working to create an educational system that would educate excellent creative manpower to lead
the creative economy. It is, therefore, building an educational system that would enable continued self-
development even after joining the workforce.
▷
Korea is also educating future professionals through vocational education closely connected to the industrial
reality. By expanding the designation of specialized high schools and meister high schools, Korea is
enhancing industry-centered educational courses. Korea is pursuing an educational system wherein students
can study what they like and still get jobs.
Switch in educational paradigm: realization of happy classes
The most important foundation to creating a happy community lies in education. Korea
is currently reforming education to realize individual happiness. This is to develop to the
maximum personal abilities and talents away from uniform academic competition.
22
Aware of the international community’s contribution
▷
Korea is currently widely recognized globally as a country that achieved amazing economic development
through education. However, this would not have been possible without the help of the international
community.
Experience of receiving aid
▷
Korea has since its independence in 1945, received about USD 12.7 billion in aid from the international
community until 2000. In the field of education, Korea got diverse support, including aid for the construction
of school facilities and textbook printer in 1951 from UNESCO.
Korea’s will to contribute to the international community
▷
Korea is working hard to return all the support it got from the international community so far. By becoming
a member of OECD DAC in 2010, Korea is enhancing its role in international development cooperation
projects of the international community. For this, Korea has promised to continue increasing its Official
Development Assistance (ODA) to the international community.
Direction for educational development cooperation
▷
Korea values education as a basic human right as stipulated in Article 1 of the UNESCO Charter and the
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations (UN). In addition, Korea promises to
work hard to realize education that promotes activities in the international community that would promote
communication between countries and consolidate global peace.
▷
Korea promises to further contribute to the educational goal of “achieve universal primary education” as
one of the Millennium Development Goals. Korea will work hard to realize the “policy of putting foremost
priority on education”of the UN Secretary-General Ban, Ki-moon. Furthermore, Korea promises to work hard
to realize the Post-2015 educational goals to be set in 2015.
▷
In particular, Korea is deeply aware of the importance of “Education for All” (EFA) led by UNESCO. Hence,
Korea promises to contribute to setting the educational agenda that would lead the international community
in the next 20 to 30 years at the World Education Forum to be held in Incheon in 2015. Ultimately, Korea
will contribute to reaching the international goal of eradicating poverty through education and guaranteeing
the right to education for all.
▷
Based on past experiences of having successfully used foreign aid in the 20th century for economic and
educational development, Korea will contribute to the educational development of developing countries
through international education cooperation projects.
Vision for the educational development of the
international community
23
Education, the driving force for the development of Korea
Korean Education System
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Schooling year
Age
Higher EducationSecondary EducationElementary Education
Preschool
Education
Special School
Graduate School
University
Industrial University
Air & Correspondence
University
College in
Company
Technical
College
High School
Middle School
Kindergarten Elementary School
Cyber College &
University
Junior College
University of
Education
Air & Correspondence
High School
Middle School Attached
to industrial Firms
Special Classes
(Industrial Firms)
High School Attached
to Industrial Firms
Special Classes
(Industrial Firms)
High Tech School
Miscellaneous
school
Civic High School
Miscellaneous
School
Civic School
Miscellaneous
School
Polytechnic College
Miscellaneous School
24
Education, the driving force for the
development of Korea
