South Korea

Basic Data
Official Country Name:	Republic of Korea
Region:	East & South Asia
Population:	47,470,969
Language(s):	Korean, English
Literacy Rate:	98%
Academic Year:	March-February
Number of Primary Schools:	5,721
Compulsory Schooling:	9 years
Public Expenditure on Education:	3.7%
Foreign Students in National Universities:	2,143

Libraries:	304
Educational Enrollment:	Primary: 3,794,447
	Secondary: 4,662,492
	Higher: 2,541,659
Educational Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 94%
	Secondary: 102%
	Higher: 68%
Teachers:	Primary: 122,743
	Secondary: 192,947
	Higher: 114,231
Student-Teacher Ratio:	Primary: 31:1
	Secondary: 25:1
Female Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 94%
	Secondary: 102%
	Higher: 52%

History & Background

The Korean peninsula is situated in northeast Asia between China and Japan. Korea, one country for more than 1,000 years, has been divided between North and South since 1945. The South is officially called the Republic of Korea (ROK) (Han'guk or Taehanmin'guk ) and hereafter referred to also as Korea. Korea had a population of 47,275,000 as of 2000 (KNSO 14).

Korea's strategic location amid east Asia has been a crucial factor in its political and cultural history. Korea has figured greatly in east Asian civilization, mutually prospering with her neighbors but also falling prey to their ambitions at times. Since antiquity, Koreans have studied abroad in China, India, and Japan, frequently acting as a bridge between nations. In spite of foreign invasions, Korea remained independent until succumbing to Japanese domination (1910-45). Shortly after liberation, Korea suffered the further agony of national division and a cruel civil war (1950-53), which is still not officially ended. Over the half century of division, reunification has been a constant wish for all Koreans and an important political cause in both North and South Korea. Meanwhile, rapid economic progress, accompanied by extreme patterns of migration, urbanization, and democratization, following the dissolution of the traditional class system, radically transformed Korean society.

The most important characteristic of Koreans is their zeal for education (Ch'oe et al. 380). This fervor for learning, often labeled the "education syndrome," is not a new trend but comes from the Korean people's traditional respect for knowledge and belief in continuous human development. Probably the most important characteristic of Korean culture is its tenet that only the most learned should rule the country and society. Donald S. Macdonald summarizes this tradition:

The enormous importance attached to education in Korea is a principal reason for the nation's rapid development. This attitude, however, is only partly motivated by current realities: it springs from the Confucian tradition, in which entry into government service was by superior merit obtained through years of study of the Confucian classics, proven by examination. Government position and scholarship were intimately related: the social ideal was the scholar-official, and scholarship in effect served the state. At a time when government positions were the only way to rise in the world, education thus was key to fame and fortune. (84)

Educational attainment has long been accepted as a fair measure of a person's worth, and scholars are still called upon to fill some of the highest government positions. It is also seen as an effective, essential instrument for nurturing national strength. The South Korean government thus takes a strong interest in the country's education, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) is one of the most important executive branches. In a continuous effort at amelioration, a series of governmental reforms has greatly altered the educational system over the last few decades. In January 2001 the MOE was restructured and renamed the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development (MOEHRD), indicating its expanded scope.

Originally intended by the elite for its own edification, education was at first provided to prospective leaders from aristocratic families to ensure high quality of leadership. The graduate would gain not only wisdom but also a sense of morality in governance. It served as a check against incompetent or cruel government. Education perpetuated the elite's exclusivity through self-improvement, thereby justifying their special status even more.

Modern education, born at a time of a great influx of Western democratic ideals, has become accessible to everyone. Ironically, democratic education has now become a mechanism of creating and legitimizing new classes, albeit offering a chance of upward mobility even for people of the humblest origin. In recent times, as literacy has neared 100 percent, the focus has shifted from "basic literacy" to "life skill literacy" or "functional literacy" education.

Cultural History: Korea's recorded history goes back about 2,000 years and can be divided into four major political periods: antiquity (57 B.C.-A.D. 918); the Koryô dynasty (918-1392); the Chosôn Dynasty (1392-1910); and the modern era (1910-present). Regarding education, another tripartite division is often preferred: pre-modern (fourth to nineteenth centuries), modern (1880-1945), and contemporary (1945-present) eras (Kim-Renaud 1991).

Korean tradition has arisen in close association with various influential belief systems. Earliest was a polytheistic form of animism (shamanism), which involved finding a spiritual presence in everything living and nonliving that was thought to control people's lives. Shamanism emphasizes spirituality and ethics, especially goodness and piety. Legends, fables, and other linguistic expressions demonstrate Koreans' faith in inevitable retribution for good or bad intentions and deeds, and their optimism that a person's sincere wishes will be fulfilled.

Buddhism was introduced in A.D. 372 through China, first to the Koguryô, but was soon embraced by both aristocrats and commoners throughout the peninsula. It became the national religion for 865 years (527-1392). Buddhism, with its tenet of benevolence, its spirituality and sacredness, and its sense of democracy, has offered a respite from different forms of suffering. Chinese characters were imported with Buddhism, and art and scholarship flourished. Buddhist temples served also as centers of learning. Great scholar-monks developed important Buddhist schools in east Asia. In particular, Great Master Wônhyo, who strove to harmonize the doctrinal differences of various schools, is considered "the originator of the ecumenical tradition characteristic of East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhism" (Lee 1993, xix-xx).

Confucianism arrived in the Korean peninsula much earlier, but it was the Chosôn Kingdom or Yi Dynasty (Chosôn Dynasty) that adopted the neo-Confucianism of Chu Xi (1130-1200) as the official code for maintaining social and political order and for promoting harmony. Korean Neo-Confucianists believed in the transcendent dignity and goodness of man, and in human perfectibility (Lee 1993). They laid special emphasis on education aimed at sagacity and moral rectitude. Human emotionality and rationality alike were viewed as needing cultivation and control (Ching). Koreans first established and then rigidly adhered to principles of propriety, earning the country the nickname of "the Eastern nation of etiquette."

Confucianism emphasized fairness and meritocracy. The Koryô Dynasty's official religion was Buddhism. As the dynasty advanced, however, Confucianism became the guiding principle of social organization. The civil service, for example, created to check abuses of power by the ignorant and immoral, increasingly emphasized the Confucian classics, which naturally became the focus of its examination-driven educational system. Passing the civil service examination carried great prestige and the guarantee of social success.

Taoism, an important thought system in East Asia, provided a cosmology emphasizing the cyclic, dynamic, and basically harmonious character of man and nature. Many Taoist tenets are manifest in other religious practices in Korea, not only Confucian, but also shamanistic, Buddhist, and even Christian. Taoism has thus been a guide throughout Korean history as well as east Asian history in general (Grigg).

Western ideas were first introduced to Korea by Roman Catholics in the late eighteenth century and reintroduced by Protestant missionaries in the late nineteenth. Clearly it was not through proselytizing but rather on their own initiative—bringing treatises from China, such as "First Steps in Catholic Doctrine" (Ch'ônhak ch'ôham )—that Korean Catholics developed a profound interest in the new religion (Lee 1984, 239). With it came new democratic ideals and respect for Western pragmatism. The old reverence for knowledge, traditionally identified with competence gained through humanistic and liberal education, has now come to encompass fields previously considered less noble: medicine, engineering, mathematics, manufacturing, commerce, foreign languages other than Chinese, professional (as opposed to amateur), fine and performing arts, and others.

Since the war, South Korea has been in close contact with foreigners. Many of today's leaders have had extensive experience with other cultures. Contacts with Americans have facilitated much of the fifth year globalization of Koreans. Many have gone to study in the United States and returned with terminal degrees in practically all fields. More recently elite and non-elite Koreans also have studied and lived in Japan, China, Australia, Russia, European countries, and elsewhere.

Until the sixteenth century, foreign ideas and beliefs arrived in Korea mainly through China. In modern times, however, Japan emerged as a strong modern military force in northeast Asia. By the end of the sixteenth century, not only were the Japanese equipped with long years of combat experience from the many campaigns of their Warring States period, but, unlike the Koreans, they possessed firearms. In 1592, Japan embarked a bloody campaign in Korea with the ultimate goal of conquering China. War raged sporadically for six years with a disastrous impact upon both Chosôn Korea and Ming China. Korea lost not only population but also cultural treasures, including major palace and temple structures, books, and historical records.

In the early seventeenth century, amid the numerous social and political ills following the invasion, one critical cultural development was a movement called sirhak (Practical Learning). Sirhak thinkers, mostly southerners (namin ) outside the political process, meant to censure those with political power and criticize such age-old systems as the civil service examination. Serious about changing the traditional order to achieve what they viewed as an ideal society, sirhak scholars stressed the need for popular education and the promotion of realistic thinking and technocracy. Their inquiries extended to social sciences such as politics and economics and far beyond Chinese classical studies to historiography (especially Korean history), geography, linguistics, astronomy, natural sciences, Western technology, agriculture, medicine, martial arts, and many more including virtually every branch of learning (Lee 1984, 232-33).

An outstanding scholarly activity in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries thus was the compilation of encyclopedias, both general and specialized. Yi Su-gwang, the first Sirhak scholar to display an interest in Korean history, began the trend with his encyclopedic work called Chibong yusôl (Topical Discourse of Chibong, 1614). Yi discussed astronomy, geography, botany, and Confucianism, inserting his own views on society and government during earlier Korean dynasties (Lee 1984, 236, Han 331-32). Greatest among sirhak thinkers was Chong Yagyong or Tasan. During his 18 years of exile following the Catholic Persecution of 1801, Tasan wrote many works criticizing the conditions of his time and proposing various reforms. Had the sirhak scholars been heard by the ruling aristocrats, many Koreans feel that the nation's modern history would have been totally different.

Koreans continued to struggle to correct all kinds of societal ills until eventually they were conquered by the newly westernized, industrialized, and imperialistic Japan. In 1905, immediately after the Japanese defeated Russia—one foreign rival for hegemony over the peninsula—in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), Korea became a Japanese protectorate and in 1910 completely lost its independence for the first time in its 2,000 year history. During 35 years of colonial rule (1910-45), Koreans were subject to harsh colonial policies.

The government of Japan turned to formal education as a nonmilitary means of ensuring the proper implementation of its policy of educating only as many Koreans as needed, i.e., to improve "market worth" of the colonized to the Japanese interests. The harshest policy was that of assimilation under the slogan of naesôn ilch'e ("Japan and Korea are one entity"), which the Japanese government adopted from 1930 to 1945 in a sweeping campaign to eradicate Korean national identity (Lee 1984, 353). Koreans were forced to change their names, even family names, to sound Japanese, and the Korean language was prohibited in all official situations, especially at schools and in publications. Thus, ironically, the colonial relationship brought the Japanese and Korean cultures, which already shared a good deal, including close linguistic and philosophical foundations, even closer.

Other byproducts of the Japanese occupation include the Koreans' thirst for modernization and increased appreciation of Western culture—aspects Koreans perceived as having strengthened Japan. Even before occupation, though, many Koreans had been interested in Western ideas and practices as possible solutions to the many ills in their legacy. Therefore, the question of whether Japanese rule actually helped accelerate Korean modernization or interfered with it is much debated.

The religion that has emerged as a strong new thought system in Korea is Christianity. Catholicism, introduced to Korea in 1784, was first studied as a Western philosophy and later as heterodoxy, subversive and harmful to the nation. Protestantism arrived exactly 100 years later, just as Koreans began embracing modern Western civilization. Christianity soon became a patriotic religion of the Korean people, offering them hope. The number of Christians in Korea has exploded over the recent years. In the early 1960s, there were barely one million Christians. As of 1997, there are 11 million Protestants and 3 million Roman Catholics, making up one-third of the total population (Korea Web Weekly).

Determined to rebuild following the Japanese occupation and the Korean War, the nation has undergone dramatic changes. Pragmatism, perceived as helpful to advancement, has become not only inevitable but also respectable. Economic development was the focus of the first national agenda, especially during the 30 years of military government (1961-92). As Koreans' economy and politics required constant contact with foreigners, their international awareness intensified.

The nation's division and economic agenda have often been excuses for different regimes to become dictatorial, against which the now fiercely democratic Korean populace continuously protested. With a new confidence based on their rapid economic development and the return of the presidency to a civilian, Koreans mean to be players on the world stage. In the information age, the society has given added respect to science and technology, while the gifted and talented in other specialized fields are also now esteemed.

Educational History: The Korean educational tradition has been shaped by two main cultural characteristics. First is the extreme class consciousness of the Korean people. Birth into a good family was regarded as a heavenly mandate or at least a reward for merit in a previous life. In pre-modern times nobility was strictly hereditary, and upward mobility into a higher class was not possible, except in very rare cases of merit. The second and most important characteristic is that Koreans have long believed society's leaders to be the most educated.

Formal education in Korea started in the Three Kingdoms era. It is recorded that the people of Koguryô (37 B.C.-A.D. 668), the kingdom closest to China, were already studying the Five Classics of Confucianism, as well as Sī-ma&#x0306 Qiān's "Historical Records" (ShȈı jì) and Bāngù's "History of the Han Dynasty" (Hàn shū), the Yùpiān Chinese character dictionary, and an anthology of Chinese literature called the Wén xuaȈn (Lee 1984, 58).

The first public educational institution, called T'aehak (Great Learning, Highest School of Learning, or the National Confucian Academy), was founded in 372 by King Sosurim of Koguryô. This was the first formal school in East Asia outside of China (HEK). The king, who officially adopted Buddhism, embarked on a series of reforms to speed national recovery from devastating invasions by educating youth for officialdom. T'aehak was modeled upon Chinese institutions, teaching the Chinese language and the Confucian classics (Han 63).

Soon after the establishment of T'aehak, private schools called kyôngdang were erected in each locality at a main crossroads, in order to educate the unmarried, non-aristocratic youth of Koguryô. Kyôngdang, like T'aehak, emphasized a balanced education in letters and martial arts. The curriculum at both institutions typically consisted of the reading of Chinese texts as well as archery practice (Lee 1984, 58).

Paekche, the second to Sinicize of the three kingdoms, had a curriculum for the Paksa (Savant or Erudite Scholar), a term now used to refer to the holder of a doctorate, which was given to teachers of the Chinese classics, as well as philosophy and history.

Shilla (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), being the farthest from China, is thought to have been the most authentically Korean kingdom. It had a well-organized and original educational system, called hwarangdo (The Way of Flower Knights), to train young men for beauty and strength of mind and body with the eventual objective of national defense; this, indeed, led to the unification of the three kingdoms by Shilla in 668. Confucianism came relatively late to Shilla as compared with Koguryô and Paekche. Not long after unification, Confucianism appeared to rival Buddhism as a distinct system of thought in the establishment of Kukhak (National Learning) in 682. Around 750, this state institution was renamed the T'aehakkam (National Confucian University) and offered three different courses of study with the "Analects" and "Classic of Filial Piety" as required subjects in each course. A kind of state examination system was established in 788 for selecting government officials (Lee 1984, 83).

The goals of the national educational institutions were twofold: (1) attainment of general knowledge, especially in Confucian classics for able leadership; and (2) training of bureaucrats. At first both aims were equal, but later, education became largely certification and test-oriented (Kim-Renaud 1991).

During the Three Kingdoms period, students went to study in China. The students typically stayed about 10 years in China and then returned home, unlike those going abroad in recent times. At least 59 students from Shilla passed the Chinese civil service examinations (Kim-Renaud 1991).

Koryô Dynasty: The Chinese-style civil service examination was first administered in Korea in A.D. 958 during the Koryô Dynasty and served for recruiting government bureaucrats who were much needed to solidify the new dynasty. The dynasty's national school was founded in 930 specifically to train future bureaucrats. A full-scale national school called the Kukchagam (National University) was established in 992. This system, although based on the Tang model again, was accessible only to aristocrats, who were further distinguished by their family's social rank. Programs training lesser bureaucrats enrolled the offspring of lower bureaucrats, while higher level trainees had a curriculum mainly involving Confucian classics. Technical fields were to be studied only by those of lower social position. The stipulation of such entrance qualifications offers still another insight into Koryô class consciousness.

The Kukchagam came to resemble a modern university at the time of King Injong (1122-46). It was comprised of a number of colleges, namely the so-called Six Colleges of the Capital: University College (Kukchahak), High College (T'aehak), Four Portals College (Samunhak), Law College (Yurhak), Writing College (Sôhak), and Arithmetical College (Sanhak). Students' familial social status rather than their interest decided in which school they would be matriculated (Lee 1984, 119-20).

New to the Koryô was the rise of private, rather than public, academies as the principal agencies for the education of aristocratic youth. The first and most famous of Twelve Assemblies was the Kuje haktang (nine course Academy), established by Ch'oe Ch'ung, called haedong kongja ("the Confucius of the East"), during Munjong's reign (1046-83). Ch'oe Ch'ung and the other masters of the Twelve Assemblies had officiated at the state examinations. These facts, together with the emphasis placed on lineage, made it a greater honor for the sons of aristocratic families to attend one of these private academies than the government's Kukchagam (Lee 1984, 129-30).

Chosôn Dynasty: As the Chosôn Kingdom or Yi Dynasty adopted neo-Confucianism, the goal of education was to create moral men, who would practice proper judgment in actions—qualities thought essential in all leaders, including the king himself (Haboush 1985). Respect for knowledge and scholarship was absolute. Members of the Chiphyônjôn (Hall or Academy of Worthies), a royal research institute founded by King Sejong (r. 1418-50), the inventor of the Korean alphabet, enjoyed exceptional privileges, including the freedom to pursue their individual intellectual interests at home or in remote areas (Hejtmanek 21).

A national school called the Sônggyun'gwan (National Confucian Academy) was established in 1398 shortly after the dynasty's foundation in 1392 for reasons similar to those inducing Koryô to found a national institution at its outset. Again Confucian classics became a major educational focus. However, the system became increasingly examination-oriented and continued to serve mainly the aristocrats with the specific goal of passing the civil service examinations. Although in principle anyone could sit for these examinations, in actuality opportunities to prepare for them were available only to the offspring of yangban aristocrats.

At an early age, a yangban youth entered a private elementary school (sôdang ) that could be found in any community nationwide. There he achieved literacy in Chinese characters. At the age of seven, he would advance to one of the Four Schools (sahak ) in Seoul or to a county school (hyanggyo ) elsewhere, which prepared students for their first examination. After a few years, youths passing the "licentiate" examination were admitted to the Sônggyun'gwan in Seoul, the highest institution of learning. Only those who attended this National Academy could sit for the highest level examination called munkwa.

The private academies, called sôwôn, emerged in the mid-sixteenth century and prospered through the late nineteenth, when their number reached about 300. These schools seem to have differed from the national college in detail and scale only. Again, liberal, humanistic, and Confucian studies were considered the ultimate, while technical subjects such as agriculture, manufacturing, commerce, mathematics, and medicine were despised as caphak or "miscellaneous learning." Practical knowledge was considered merely "functional," allowing people to perform limited and superficial activities, while a liberal education was thought to offer general competence to handle unanticipated situations.

Many sôwôn were established by ex-officials out of court favor or in retirement. Some historians see their development largely as the result of the withdrawal of the Confucian literati collectively known as the sarim (forest of scholars) from national politics to avoid persecution, pursue their studies of neo-Confucian philosophers, and lead a quiet rural life. Others view the rise of private academies rather as a manifestation of the rise of sarim, a new breed of scholar-officials, ambitiously committed to the cause of neo-Confucianism and determined to realize the goals of the Confucian thinkers. As sôwôn were perceived as centers of neo-Confucian scholarship and moral cultivation, every administrative district had at least a private academy, and many had two or more by the middle of the seventeenth century (Ch'oe 27).

Because women were supposed to stay within the boundary of the home in Chosôn Korea, they were excluded from formal education meant to prepare men for public service and scholarship. Even in an increasingly confucianized Korea, however, the notion persisted that women, as essential figures in family and society, needed proper education (Haboush 2000, 46). A textbook entitled Naehun (Instructions for Women, 1475), by Queen Sohye is an example of how elite women of Chosôn Korea sought, within the constraints of the Confucian gender system, to define a space wherein they could play meaningful social, cultural, and political roles (Duncan).

Modern Era (1880-1945): In the late Chosôn, patriotic leaders and members of the enlightenment movement saw education as a key to modernization and national independence. The government established the English School in 1883 and Yugyông Kong'wôn (Garden of Youth Education) in 1886. King Kojong authorized, in the Royal Decree of 1895, the establishment of other state-run modern schools, comprising primary, normal, and vocational schools. He emphasized the importance of education for the training of competent citizens and national revival. In 1895 the government established Hansông Normal School, a foreign language school, and a training school for various government officials and bureaucrats, including army officers, teachers, and trade officials (Han 427).

The first modern school in Korea, however, was the Wônsan Haksa (Academy), a private school founded in 1883 by Chông Hyôn-sôk, a county magistrate in Wônsan, at the request of the Wônsan traders' group and other locals. Korea's first modern school was thus established at the initiative of the residents of a newly opened port city with their own resources in response to a challenge from abroad (Lee 1984, 332).

Koreans also welcomed foreign missionaries who brought modern medicine and the liberal arts. In 1886, under King Kojong's patronage, American missionaries started three private schools: Paeje haktang (Hall of Learning), Kyôngshin School, and Korea's first educational institution for women, Ewha (Ihwa) haktang, which is today's Ewha Women's University. In 1890, Chôngshin Girls' School was added.

In 1905, Posông College, which is today's Korea University, was founded by Yi Yong-ik. The first two departments—Law and Commerce—were intended to introduce Western legal, commercial, and technical knowledge to the Korean people struggling to maintain their country's independence (MOE).

By 1908, two years before the country succumbed to Japanese colonial domination, Korea's 5,000 vocational schools enrolled about 200,000 students (Kim-Renaud 1991). Of these schools, 796 were established by Christian missionaries; schools for girls outnumbered those for boys (HEK). Modern-style education thus began for women at the same time as for men in Korea (Kim-Renaud 1991).

The medical school of today's Yonsei (a portmanteau name originating from Yônhûi-Severance) University goes back to 1885, when King Kojong opened the first modern hospital, the Kwanghoewôn, under the direction of Dr. Horace N. Allen of the Korean Mission Presbyterian Church in the United States. In March 1886, the Kwanghoewôn accepted 16 students to be trained as Korea's first modern medical doctors. In 1904 the medical center was renamed the Severence Union Medical College and Hospital. In 1915, the Chosun Christian College was founded through the efforts of Dr. H. G. Underwood, a pioneering Protestant missionary and the College's first president. Two years later, renamed Yônhûi College, it became Korea's first modern college.

Throughout the colonial period, the democratic ideals and individuals' self-esteem heralded by private schools offering Western-style education became a catalyst for Korea's independence movement. Conservative elements, which comprised the great majority of the society, considered the new education inappropriate and corrupting, especially for women; nevertheless, private schools for both genders continued to flourish, producing a new elite class, as the traditional belief in educated leaders persisted. Thus, even for women, education became a means of upward social mobility. New fields besides Confucian classics became important, such as medicine, mathematics, geography, and foreign languages. Women began to have a professional life outside the home. Women participated fully in the 1919 independence movement, which was initiated by Yu Kwansun, a young woman from Ewha Haktang. Taking notice of the private schools' nurturance of nationalist thinking, the Japanese Government General began controlling them and closed many.

After the aborted 1919 independence movement, however, the Japanese established new schools to prove their "cultural administration," which was adopted under the pressure of world opinion, to make deceptive gestures in the direction of liberalizing their rule in Korea (Han 479). The most significant was Kyôngsông Imperial University, which is today's Seoul National University, founded 1924. Even there, however, more than twothirds of the students (68-70 percent in 1935) were Japanese (Ono). Furthermore, secondary schools emphasized menial skill training; the majority of boys' schools had adjoining land for farming practice, and sewing and embroidery occupied much of girls' curriculum (HEK). However eager Koreans were to learn, they could not meet the challenge of Japanese imperialism, and the harsh Japanese rule of 35 years left the majority of Koreans illiterate.

Contemporary Era: No sooner were Koreans liberated from the Japanese than the country was artificially divided. There were new occupational forces on the peninsula: Soviets in the north and Americans in the south. To overcome Japanese influence, the U.S. military occupation (1945-48) undertook a drastic revision of the basic educational structure and curricula using the American system and democratic ideology as a model. Initially Koreans ardently studied American educational theory by scholars such as John Dewey, E. L. Thorndike, William Kilpatrick, and Harold Rugg. Equal educational opportunity for all was their primary concern (HEK). Since 1945, the Korean language has been used exclusively for classroom instruction, except in foreign language classes.

Once the Korean War (1950-53) ended, Koreans embarked on a major recovery. The explosive expansion of Korean education at all levels in less than 50 years produced drastic changes in both the quantity and the quality of education. Whereas once the goal was to make education available to everyone, now the aspiration is to produce enlightened and efficient future citizens who will contribute to national welfare and reconstruction.

Constitutional & Legal Foundations

The MOE is in charge of all education—general as well as professional or technical. However, the Ministries of Finance and Economy (MOFE), Science and Technology (MOST), and Labor (MOL) all participate in formulating and implementing policies related to education and professional training. For example, the MOFE allocates government funds for education, setting economic and social development as its priority. MOST's priority is science and technology, in accordance with the government's determination to make Korea an advanced nation in basic research and technology. MOL, with reducing unemployment its priority, engages in vocational training.

The Education Law promulgated in 1949 adopted the motto Hong'ik in'gan ("to benefit humanity")—attributed to Korea's legendary founder Tan'gun—as the guiding principle of Korean education. The prevailing contemporary philosophy, however, is a strong sense of egalitarianism.

The Constitutional Law of the Republic of Korea (Article 31) declares:

• All citizens have an equal right to receive an education corresponding to their abilities.
• All citizens who have children to support are responsible at least for their elementary education and other education as provided by law.
• Compulsory education is free of charge.

• Independence, professionalism, and political impartiality of education and the autonomy of institutions of higher learning are guaranteed under the conditions as prescribed by law.
• The state promotes lifelong education.
• Fundamental matters pertaining to the educational system—including schools and lifelong education, administration, finance, and the status of teachers—are determined by law.

The Education Law, promulgated in 1949, stipulates a school system on the 6-3-3-4 plan with extra years offered for kindergarten and graduate work (including medicine and dentistry) and other variations in the case of special schools. The following levels of education are chartered:

• Preschool education: kindergartens
• Elementary education: elementary schools and civic schools
• Middle school education: middle schools and civic high schools
• High school education: high schools and trade high schools
• Special schools
• Miscellaneous schools.

The law specifies goals for the schools by level and regulates their administration and supervision. The elementary and secondary school curricula, established by MOE by 1955, were amended in 1963, 1973 and 1981. Both public and private schools have adopted standardized school curricula and time allotments for each subject. The revised curricula for elementary and middle schools was published on 30 December 1997 and those for kindergartens and special schools on 30 June 1998. They are being implemented, starting with kindergartens in 2000 and continuing through 2002.

Following the initial pursuit of the ideal of democratic education, the Korean government turned its attention to producing highly select academic talents who would excel in teaching and research and be internationally competitive in the "knowledge-based" twenty-first century. Such an elite was deemed necessary not only for educating the future generation but also for the sake of international exchanges and cooperation in the global environment.

One of the government's most daring education plans for the twenty-first century has been what it calls Brain Korea 21 (BK21). This policy, launched in the spring of 1999, aims to lift a handful of institutions of higher education to the rank of world-class research universities. The government allocated 1.4 trillion won (about US$1.2 billion) for higher education over 7 years. This budget made it possible for graduate schools to hire faculty with reduced teaching loads, teaching only graduate courses, so that they may concentrate on basic research. It also gave graduate students in those selected schools generous grants for tuition, living allowances, and study abroad. Funds also were used to improve the infrastructure for academic research. Funds are provided to research teams within an institution or between colleagues of different institutions domestically and internationally, after a rigorous evaluation of the education reform carried out by the institution the team belongs to. Through this project, the government hopes to nurture three to four internationally known research universities.

Another $285 million, 7-year project, which was begun in 1999, promotes specialized programs in each regional university to meet the needs of local industry and, it is hoped, to be highly competitive internationally. An important benefit of this project was thought to be decentralization of programs of excellence, which traditionally have been concentrated in Seoul.

However, the BK21 project is severely criticized by many as elitist or as a scheme that will make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Although some support has been provided for provincial graduate schools, most special funds have gone to those few in Seoul. This, combined with the continuous growth in the number of higher education institutions in Korea, has contributed to what is viewed by some as a minor crisis in the university system, especially at less prestigious private universities in the regions, due to the "domestic brain drain," more from rural areas to Seoul (Fouser 15).

Educational System—Overview

Compulsory Education: Primary education is compulsory. It has been free since 1979. At the age of six, children are admitted to a school in their residential area. By the late 1960s, the primary school enrollment rate reached 100 percent. Once children enter primary schools, they automatically advance to the next grade each year.

Middle school education is compulsory for all students ages 12 to 15, but free only to a limited number of students. Free middle school education began in 1985 in farming and fishing areas and is to be expanded nationwide step by step (MOE). The middle school enrollment rate reached 99.9 percent in 1994. The high rate is attributed to the policy dropping the entrance examination in 1969.

Educational Attainment: Since the Korean War, education has expanded enormously. As of 2000, there were 536 higher education institutions with 1,434,259 students in a country of 47 million; and in 1945, there were 19 such institutions with 7,819 students (in 1949 the population was just a little over 20 million). This means that the number of tertiary schools increased by a factor of 28 and students by a factor of 18.3, while the population only doubled. Korea boasts a literacy rate near 100 percent and one of the highest levels of education anywhere in the world. This is a dramatic change over the past 70 years. In the late 1930s the adult literacy rate stood at less than 30 percent, in spite of the Confucian respect for learning and the easy to learn Korean writing system, han'gûl. In 1995, it was about 98 (UNESCO).

As of the late 1990s, almost all Koreans of school age were able to finish high school. Even at college level, the enrollment reached 61.8 percent in 1996, compared with 6.7 percent in 1966 (UNDP). The enrollment rate in primary education reached 100 percent as early as the 1960s. The dropout rate is negligible in secondary schools. In 1985, the transition rate from primary school to middle school reached 99 percent. The transition rate from middle to high school exceeded 91.4 percent at the onset of the 1990s and 98.7 percent in 1996.

The transition rate from high school to higher education has also been increasing. Until the late 1980s, however, the government, while trying to make universal education available to precollege students, strongly controlled the expansion of higher education for fear of creating an oversupply of college graduates for available jobs. Following the government's relaxation of such control beginning in the 1990s, the transition rate from high school to higher education reached 79 percent in 1996. As of 2000, upon birth, a child has a 77 percent probability of receiving a higher education. Though the rate of high school graduates advancing to college has been increasing for both men and women, 92 percent of male high school graduates ages 18 to 21 went on to colleges in 1998, whereas the share for women was just 55.5 percent. Some scholars point out that concentration of male and female students in specific areas of study leads to gender discrimination and employment inequality (Shim).

Almost all high school graduates would be attending an institution of higher education were the quota increased and financing available. The overwhelming majority of Korean parents want nothing less than a college degree for their children. For example, in 1993, about 86.5 percent of the Korean parents expected their sons to get a college or university degree and 79.4 percent, their daughters (KEDI 1994, 33). Many who cannot pass their preferred institution's examination study abroad.

As of 1995, about 28 percent of Koreans ages 25 to 29 had college degrees. This figure can be roughly compared with percentages of college degree holders in other countries among those ages 25 to 34: Canada, 20.1 percent; France, 12.4 percent; Germany, 12.9 percent; Italy, 8.3 percent, Japan, 22.9 percent; the United Kingdom, 15.2 percent; and the United States, 26.5 percent (National Center for Education Statistics).

As of 1999 the number of students enrolled in higher educational institutions was 3,154,245 compared to 2,343,894 in 1995, a 35 percent increase in just 4 years (MOE 2000, 68).

The ever-increasing frenzy for education and the extent of Korean educational attainment are most evident in the number of doctoral degree holders. In 1966, the ratio of doctoral degree holders numbered 35 per 1,000,000. It increased to 200 per 1,000,000 in 1980, to 945 in 1995, and to 1,144 in 1997 (KEDI). The number has continued to explode; as of 2001, Korea had a total of 90,983 doctoral degree holders—70,360 from Korean institutions and 20,623 from abroad—meaning almost 1 in 500 Koreans held a doctorate.

Academic Year: Elementary and secondary schools have more than 220 school days (34 weeks) per year. Considering daily class hours and calendar length, as well as after school instructional hours (academic and extracurricular), the amount of time spent by each student on education becomes significantly higher. On top of five full weekdays of instruction, students also attend school half the day on Saturdays. A high school student in Seoul typically starts school at 7:30 A.M. and ends at 5:00 P.M. Some students also undertake a year or more of extra college preparatory work when they do not at first pass their desired college's entrance examination. Although it has sporadically been declared illegal, high school students have been forced to remain at school for "self-study" as late as 9:00 or 10:00 P.M. to prepare for the college entrance examination.

College-level institutions provide classes for no fewer than 32 weeks per year. The academic year typically consists of two semesters: 1 March through 31 August and 1 September through 28 or 29 February. Summer vacation generally lasts for about 45 days during July and August; the winter vacation lasts about 70 days from mid-December to the end of February.

Public & Private Institutions: In curriculum and administration, at the primary and secondary levels, there is little difference between public and private educational institutions other than their founders. Admission to high schools in equalized areas is randomized.

The public educational system has experienced a shortage of financial resources due to an increasing number of students. Limited government budgets have led to an increase in private schools and an increased reliance on private lessons or tutoring.

In 1994 the Presidential Commission on Education Reform (PCER 1994) suggested basic principles and guidelines for private school reforms. The PCER recognizes three categories: independent private schools, private schools with public financial support, and semipublic private schools under the jurisdiction of MOE. The governmental subsidy will be provided only to semipublic and subsidized private schools. Independent schools will enjoy more autonomy in their admission and tuition policies.

Under the new "School Choice Program," students and parents play an active role in choosing schools when applying to middle and high schools. In 1997, PCER noted that, despite the vital role private schools have played in Korean education, they are disadvantaged compared to public schools. While recommending increased government support for private institutions, PCER also emphasized the need for their responsible, accountable, and transparent administration (PCER 1997, 118-21).

Curriculum & Textbooks: To further democracy, Education Law 155 establishes the standard curriculum for each level up to high school and the criteria for textbooks and instructional materials. The national curriculum and regional guidelines allow schools to implement criteria and adopt textbooks according to their individual characteristics and objectives. MOE and the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) are responsible for developing the national curriculum at elementary, middle, and high school levels.

The national curriculum is subject to periodic revisions (seven times since 1945). The seventh national curriculum, devised in 1997, came into use in 2000. Some of the main objectives in the sixth and seventh national curricula are democratization and local autonomy to allow flexibility to meet individual needs and to enhance character, creativity, and diversity, while imparting basic knowledge.

Until recently, precollege students had little freedom to choose specific courses for themselves. In high schools, students learn all subjects in small increments at each level rather than concentrating on a few chosen subjects at a time as in the United States. Primary and secondary schools require extracurricular activities, although the degree of emphasis varies from school to school. These include journalism, chorus, orchestra, athletic groups, calligraphy, or fine arts. All are supervised by regular faculty members.

Formerly one's college major, including premedical, was decided at the time of admission, and it was almost impossible to change majors after admission. More recently, colleges have shown some flexibility in allowing students greater freedom in changing majors and specific courses.

To correct what was viewed as monopolistic textbook standardization, MOE revised its textbook publication policy in 1995. Textbooks and teachers' manuals compiled within the new framework are classified into three types: Textbooks published by MOE, called Category One (iltchong ) Textbooks; those published by private publishers and authorized by MOE, called Category Two (ijong ) Textbooks; and those published by private publishers and recognized by MOE or superintendents as relevant and usable, called Category Three Textbooks.

Individual schools have the freedom to choose textbooks in the second and the third categories to meet student needs. Total Category One and Two textbooks published for fall 1999 and spring 2000 amounted to 137,636 volumes in 2,439 titles. Of these, 75.1 percent were Category One textbooks (KEDI 2000). Because of its open-ended nature, the exact number of volumes is not available for Category Three.

Instructional Technology: Contemporary Koreans are firm believers in and users of technology. Korea is making various efforts to provide a national information infrastructure with a view to joining the ranks of the advanced information societies in the twenty-first century.

According to the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), the information technology (IT) industry has become a core sector of the national economy, accounting for 11.8 percent of GNP in 2000 and 12.8 percent in 2001. There were 15.34 million Internet users in South Korea as of July 2000, representing approximately one-third of the population. As of 2000, there was 1 computer per 13.7 students in elementary schools, 1 per 10.2 students in middle schools, 1 per 11.2 in general high schools, and 1 per 3.5 in vocational high schools (KEDI). The nation's progress in the adoption and use of information technology has been remarkable. By April 2001, every teacher had his or her own PC, and every elementary and secondary school in Korea was connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) and the Internet—the first such achievement in the world. According to NetValue, as of April 2001 more than half of South Korean Internet users enjoy broadband connections, ahead of any Western economy, while 10,700,000 house-holds—almost every household—had a computer. The number of Internet users rose explosively to 27 million, or more than 1 out of 2 Koreans as of April 2001, compared to 1.6 million in 1997.

The MOE established a computer education development plan in 1988, which supported computer assisted instruction in schools and computerization of school administration. In the same year, the Educational Technology Research Center was established under the KEDI to conduct research in computer education and develop instructional computer software. MOE has provided computers to schools since 1989. Between 1989 and 1994, KEDI developed and distributed about 600 computer assisted programs to schools (OECD 34).

To meet the demands of a high-tech industrial society in the 2000s, several policy measures have been adapted, which include recruiting bright students into science and technology via scholarships and other privileges. Faculty members are also encouraged to conduct joint research, promote internship programs, and conduct seminars. Scholarly exchanges with other technically advanced countries are encouraged. Resources have also become available for research facilities, and the government facilitates cooperation between schools and industry (MOE).

In 1999, the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) was established, combining the Korea Multimedia Education Center (est. 1997) and the Korea Research Information Center (est. 1996). KERIS has been developing high quality software and an electronic platform to support the research activities of teachers. It also operates the Cyber School for student self-instruction and a certification system for excellence in commercial educational software.

Beginning September 2001, Ewha Women's University's Multimedia Education Institute is to administer Korea's first ever "international cyber university," with online courses to 30 institutions around the world. The international Cyber University, in collaboration with eight other local colleges, is to provide five courses, mainly in women's and Korean studies. These will initially be taught via the Internet and later complemented with videoconferencing and field trips to East Asia (Cohen). Information technology has also been an excellent solution for lifelong education and those who cannot attend school for various reasons.

Women's Education: Modern Korean women have had the same opportunity as men for education, although cultural factors account for their somewhat lower educational attainment. Nevertheless, contemporary Korean women are highly educated and share a thirst for study with their male compatriots. The proportion of women with college and advanced educational backgrounds has steadily increased from 2.4 percent in 1975 to 13.1 percent in 1995. In the case of men, the share of those with college and higher educational backgrounds was 26.6 percent of the total male population in 1995 or twice that for women. In 1999, women made up 37.2 percent of students enrolled in professional colleges and 35.8 percent in academic higher educational institutions.

Ewha Women's University, started as a school for young girls in 1886 under the name of Ewha Haktang, achieved full university accreditation in 1946. As of 2001, with an enrollment of 17,000, it was the world's largest institution of higher education for women. With 14 colleges, 13 graduate schools, and special graduate courses, it offers 56 majors. The graduate school offers master's degree courses in 55 areas and doctoral degree courses in 42. Each year, more than 900 candidates graduate with master's degrees and 80 with doctorates.

Despite Ewha's remarkable record, Korean women in general do not get the same education as men. Not only do they receive fewer years of education on average than men do, they pursue what have traditionally been considered women's fields. As of 1998, female students were a majority in such traditional fields. For example, 73.1 percent of all students at teachers' colleges were women. Female students accounted for 64.8 percent in educational departments, 57.3 percent in arts and athletics departments, 56.1 percent in humanities departments, and 44.2 percent in departments of medicine and pharmacology. In social and natural sciences departments, the share of female students were 32.9 percent and 22.1 percent, respectively. Gender inequality at higher educational institutions was particularly acute in the sciences and engineering. In the natural sciences, the share of women earning M.A. and Ph.D. degrees is very low. In engineering, female students accounted for only 5 percent of all recipients of B.A.s, 4 percent of M.A.s, and 2 percent of Ph.D.s. This trend of gender separation makes it all but impossible for women to explore various career paths without regard for gender restrictions while substantially increasing the likelihood of women being employed in traditional women's areas. In an age when science and engineering are key, the paucity of women in those areas is viewed as a grave problem for women's advancement in society. Underlying causes include separate curricula for men and women, textbooks that reinforce traditional gender role divisions, and teachers' attitudes discriminating between male and female students (2000).

The situation for women is rapidly changing, however. As of 2001, more than 35 percent of high level information technology positions were held by women and more than 100 of Ewha's Information major graduates held chief executive positions at companies specializing in new technologies (Cohen).

Special Education: The Special Education Promotion Act, enacted in 1977 and amended in 1994, guarantees that students with disabilities receive appropriate and equal educational opportunity with special educational curricula and approaches to enhance their personal development, future employability, and social participation. According to the September 2000 National Assembly Report, special education's share of the budget ranged from 1.5 to 1.9 percent between 1995 and 2000.

It is estimated that 2.4 percent of all school age children need special education. Only about half of severely handicapped children are enrolled in special schools. Some 44 percent of the mildly handicapped are enrolled in special classes at regular schools; the rest attend regular classes (OECD).

To better serve the disabled, several measures have been adopted since 1988. Training programs in special education are offered to regular teachers, and special education courses are compulsory in teachers' colleges. The revision of the Special Education Promotion Bill in 1994 guaranteed early education for the disabled at regular kindergartens. Furthermore, reflecting public sentiment, a law to promote vocational employment of the handicapped was enacted.

In 1999, some 123 special education institutions served a total enrollment of 24,091 severely handicapped children, who were taught by 4,244 special education teachers—a student to teacher ratio of less than 6 to 1. Children with lesser impediments are taught in special education classes in regular schools; in 1999 there were 26,178 such students taught by 3,812 teachers in 3,764 special classes, which were offered by 2,990 regular schools (MOE). As of April 2000, according to the National Assembly Report, there were 129 special education schools—13 times the 1962 total of 10 schools and more than double the 53 in 1979, only 2 years after the passage of the Special Education Promotion Act in 1977.

The National Institute for Special Education, established in 1994, which is in charge of research and development in special education, supplies teaching and learning materials and trains teachers of students with disabilities. Special education teachers, who are deemed qualified either by passing an examination for special education or through supplementary in-service training for special teachers, are assigned to kindergartens and elementary and secondary schools. In addition to 20 graduate schools of education, 4 national colleges, 10 private colleges, and 3 special graduate schools train special education teachers.

Programs for the Gifted & Talented: Abolition of middle school entrance examinations in 1969 caused worries that extreme standardization and democratization of curricula would not produce outstanding leaders. Many felt unusually gifted and talented students need special attention as well as those with disabilities. MOE designated specialized high schools in the 1990s for science, foreign languages, the arts, and athletics. With strong governmental support, these schools aim to identify gifted and talented youngsters at an early age and develop their potential in these specialties. These schools enjoy autonomy in their admission processes, faculty recruiting, curriculum development, and financial management. The Education Law was revised in 1995 to promote special education for the gifted and talented and accelerated grade advancement and graduation programs in regular schools.

For the education of scientifically talented youth, Kyônggi High School of Science was founded in 1983. In 1994, about 9 percent of primary schools, 17 percent of middle schools, and 8 percent of high schools offered special education for the gifted and talented in science, mathematics, the Korean language, foreign languages, arts, and computer science (OECD 39). In 1996, nationwide there were 15 science high schools (16 in 1999), 14 foreign language high schools, 16 arts high schools, and 13 athletic middle and high schools. Those completing two years in a science high school are eligible for admission to the exclusive Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST). Other such institutions include the Kwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul National University, and the Pohang Institute of Technology (MOE).

As of 2001, KAIST had about 7,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. KAIST was established in 1971 by and remains under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology, not MOE as is the case with all the other universities. The original institution, then called the Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIS), was founded in a specific governmental effort to reverse the brain drain to foreign countries and to create an environment conducive to the return of scientific researchers active abroad.

It soon expanded its mission and size to maintain a closer relationship with industry while pursuing basic scientific research and education. It merged first with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in 1981, under the new designation KAIST, and again with the Korean Institute of Technology (KIT) in 1989. KIST had been a research institute and KIT an undergraduate college established in 1985 to educate scientifically gifted students. In 1989, the KAIST campus was relocated inside the strategically located Taedôk Science Town, in which are gathered not only other universities, but also public and private research institutes and venture businesses. Thus KAIST, as Korea's best research-oriented science and engineering educational institution, plays a leadership role in developing and advancing the nation's science and technology. By 2001, KAIST had produced about 18,500 graduates, including 3,800 Ph.D. degree holders who occupy key positions in science and technology in both the public and private sectors, at home and abroad.

Role of Education in Society & Development: Although not actually decreed by law, the Korean government tried to instill anti-communism into children's socialization as an important ideology (Yoo). Policies of President Kim Dae-jung and his dramatic encounter with North Korea's Chairman Kim Jong-Il in 2000 have considerably altered the South Korean stance on this issue. The future of the Korean peninsula is, however, still too volatile for anyone to be overly enthusiastic or pessimistic about current political developments.

More important than anti-communism have been the South Korean educational ideals of democracy and freedom. Korean students, especially at the college level, have felt that they were the ultimate and just arbiters of the corrupt government and adult society. Students have been an important part of the Korean political process toward the democratization of Korea.

Scholars have often indicated that during the past four and half decades, Korea's overall development has largely resulted from the growth of a well educated population. Even in the very early phase of economic development in the 1960s, Korea's educational level was far above those of other developing countries with equivalent incomes, such as Hungary and Italy. Even in the 1960s, the nation's illiteracy rate was only 27.9 percent and primary school enrollment measured 59 percent. Moreover, over the past 45 years, enrollments at secondary and tertiary schools have exploded, providing a sufficient pool of modestly paid but well educated workers needed for economic growth. Human resources are acknowledged as the key factor in both economic and social development. The key to Korea's rapid development was the rapid expansion of the educational system, coupled with relatively high educational attainment (UNDP).

Increasingly Korean leaders, performers, visual artists, and scholars—a significant number of whom have earned doctoral or terminal degrees in foreign countries—are active on the world stage. As Korea becomes more and more visible internationally, its scholarship and culture will gain the world's attention as much as its products. In this age, when knowledge and material goods are exchanged around the globe, education takes on added significance for South Korea.

Preprimary & Primary Education

Preschool: Early childhood education in South Korea is designed for the national interest—that is, not only to prepare young children to become healthy and intelligent citizens, but also to protect the welfare of poor children and of working mothers, whose number has increased with rapid industrialization (Yoo 156ff).

Early childhood education has developed partly from the nursery system, the structure of which is entwined with welfare policy. The nursery system was established in 1952 and in 1962 put under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Welfare in accordance with the Act for Infant Welfare. During the Fifth Republic in the early 1980s, the Integrated Plan for Infant/Early Childhood Education was developed as part of a national agenda to enhance the image of a "Welfare State." The new Act for Infant/Early Childhood Education in fact stipulated that infant and early childhood education facilities in South Korea be made up of kindergarten under the jurisdiction of MOE and the New Village Nursery under the Ministry of Interior. It is also important to note that infant education via nursery facilities was instituted, in the wake of Korea's full-scale industrialization, for the relief of working mothers. Hence the wealthier classes have chosen mostly private kindergartens and preschools and the poorer classes, mostly the government-run nurseries, such as the Children's House and New Village Nursery.

Kindergarten education is not subsidized and depends on private resources. The ratio between private and public kindergartens is 7 to 3. Preschool education, a rather recent phenomenon, has mostly been initiated by religious, social, and private organizations. Because it is often considered inessential, the preschool enrollment rate has generally been low. In an effort to raise enrollment, the government has enacted legislative bases for preschool education, such as the Kindergarten Facilities Standard Ordinance (1969), Kindergarten Curriculum Ordinance (1969), Preschool Promotion Act (1982), and the first and second Promotion Plans for Preschool Education. To raise the level of preschool education to that of other advanced nations, the government has also developed and disseminated teaching materials and tools and created teacher training and administrative support systems.

The number of preschoolers increased dramatically in recent years. In 1980, there were only 901 kindergartens with 60,665 children attending them or only 7.3 percent of 5 year olds. The number of kindergartens grew almost tenfold to 8,828 by 1999 with 535,379 children (43.2 percent of 5 year olds) attending. MOE projects enrollment will reach 100 percent by 2005.

Elementary School: Primary education has been compulsory since 1945 but free only since 1979. At age six (or earlier, by choice), children must enter a primary school near their residence; they then automatically advance to the next grade each year. An accelerated grade advancement system was recently introduced to allow a gifted and talented child to skip a grade.

The curriculum is focused on nine subjects: Korean language, mathematics, science, physical education, social studies, moral education, music, fine arts, and practical arts. As part of a globalization policy adopted by the government of President Kim Young Sam, MOE made an important innovation in Korean elementary education. Since 1997, English has been taught two hours a week in elementary schools, beginning with the third grade.

In the 1970s and 1980s—amid rapid industrialization—the school-age population was heavily concentrated in urban areas, while rural schools became underpopulated. Overcrowded classes caused some city schools to resort to the double shift system, which was considered a major setback.

The government imposed an education tax in 1982 to improve school finances and raise teacher pay. As a result, the number of elementary school students per class has dropped to 35.8 in 2000, compared with 62.1 in 1970. In 2000, the student to teacher ratio in elementary schools was 28.7 compared with 56.9 in 1970 (KEDI).

By the late 1960s, primary school enrollment rates reached practically 100 percent and stayed there. In 1945, the year of liberation, elementary schools numbered 2,807 with the total enrollment at 1,570,000. As of 1999, elementary and branch schools numbered 5,544 and 739, respectively, with a total enrollment of 3,935,000. Thus, while the number of schools doubled, the enrollment rate of the relevant cohort rose from 64 percent in 1945 to almost 100 percent in 1999 (MOE 2000).

Middle School: The program is divided into compulsory subjects, elective subjects, and extracurricular activities. Basic required courses consist of moral education, Korean language, mathematics, social studies, science, physical education, music, fine arts, home economics, technology and industry, and English. Elective subjects include Chinese characters and classics, computer science, environmental studies, and others.

Since 1995, native speakers have been hired to teach English in middle schools in an effort to enhance English acquisition and prepare students for the "Age of Globalization."

As of 2000, average class size remained large at 38, but had hugely improved over 1970, when there were 62 per class (KEDI).

In 1969 entrance examinations by individual middle schools were abolished and all applicants have been assigned to schools near their residence by lottery in an effort to democratize secondary education. Before then, middle schools had clearly been ranked. A person's eventual elite status was guaranteed upon his or her admission to a top-ranked middle school such as Kyônggi Boys' or Kyônggi Girls' Middle School in Seoul. The school bond continues to be so strong and prestigious that, even decades after abolition of the middle school entrance examination, an older person's worth is measured by the secondary school he or she attended.

By 1998, almost 100 percent of elementary school graduates went on to middle schools. As of 1999, middle school students, usually ages 12 to 15, numbered 1,896,956—an increase of 2,347 percent from 80,828 in 1945. The number of middle school teachers increased even more dramatically from 1,186 in 1945 to 93,244 in 1999—a 7,862 percent increase (MOE 2000, 34).

Despite the superficially democratic appearance, the current situation gives advantage to those students residing in affluent areas over those who live in poorer areas or rural districts. For example, there still exists a Kyônggi Girls' Middle and High School, and it is still considered a first-rate school. However, while the former Kyônggi Girls' School admitted students based on a strict entrance examination open to candidates from the whole nation, students today are there thanks to the economic status that allows their families to reside in that particular locality.

Secondary Education

Middle school graduates or those with an equivalent academic background, usually about age 15, are admitted to high schools. Students bear the expenses of their high school education, which lasts three years.

Traditionally, entrance examinations to individual high schools for most students were largely symbolic, as a middle school and high school carrying the same name were in effect a single entity sharing a single campus. Examinations were extremely challenging only for those who tried to move upward into a better-rated high school. The progress of a middle school graduate to high school was more the function of parents' financial ability.

Entrance examinations by individual high schools were abolished in 1974. Instead, admission was based on middle school grade point average (GPA) and records and on the scores on the national qualifying or "selection" examination, established in order to limit the number of high school students.

While successful applicants for general high schools are assigned to a school by a lottery system, applicants to vocational high schools compete based on the school's own examination or the student's middle school record.

In actuality, however, the national selection examination has lately become meaningless, because the size of the group entering high school has been decreasing, thus no one is turned away from high school. In 1999, about 99.4 percent of middle school graduates advanced to high school, compared with 90.7 percent in 1985 (KNSO 61). The number of high school students, usually ages 15 to 18, in 1999 was 2,251,140, an increase of 5,590 percent over their total of 40,271 in 1951. (High school teachers numbered 105,304 in 1999 compared with 1,720 in 1951—an increase of 6,122 percent.)

Since 1995, high schools have been able to consider many factors besides selection examination scores in admissions. A new phenomenon for private schools is their right to self-governance, which allows for operation and maintenance by a school foundation and by student tuition and fees. Since 1998, private schools, if they so desire, have been given the right to set tuition and select students themselves; in such a case they would lose their customary government subsidy (MOE 2000, 62). Since 1998, some cities or provinces have started to admit new high school students based simply on their Middle School Activities Records. Students are also to have much greater opportunities in selecting their schools.

The Education Law stipulates that high schools must furnish both general and specific education to middle schoolers. Article 105 establishes these objectives:

• To educate students to be equipped with fine character and competence expected of good citizens by continuing to provide general education.
• To improve students' capacity to understand and form sound judgments on social and political issues.
• To promote students' awareness of national missions, to seek to improve physical conditions of the students, to help them choose future life courses appropriate for themselves as individuals, to heighten the level of their culture, and to increase their professional skills.

First year students in high schools must all take identical courses, but from the second year students take electives as well as requirements. They choose from four different tracks, according to their abilities, interests, and future career plans: humanities, social science, natural sciences, and vocational training. Common compulsory courses for high school students are ethics, Korean language and literature, basic mathematics, social studies, history, basic science, physical education, music, fine arts, and English. Electives include Chinese and Korean classics, foreign languages, non-basic mathematics, non-basic science, ancient civilization, philosophy, ethics, logic, psychology, education, economics, religion, environmental science, drama, and dancing. Among general high schools, several specialized institutions concentrate on particular areas, such as foreign languages, science, and physical education.

High school enrollment increased almost fourfold from 590,382 in 1970 to 2,251,140 in 1999. As of 1997, there were 764 vocational high schools with 868,395 students. In 1998, there were 1,085 general high schools with 1.4 million students. Of middle school graduates, 98 percent advanced to high school in 1997.

Higher Education

Higher education institutions are increasingly diversified. In addition to regular undergraduate programs, there are industrial universities, universities of education, junior colleges, the Air and Correspondence University, technical colleges, seminaries, and other schools that students attend after graduating from high school. Military, Naval, and Air Force Academies provide leadership in national defense. Medicine and law are studied at regular universities. All college level programs last four years except for medicine and dentistry, which require six. All (except for KAIST, which reports to MOST) are under the jurisdiction of MOE, which controls such matters as student quotas, qualification of teaching staff, curricula, and degree requirements. For other matters, universities comply with decisions made by a consortium called the Council for Higher Education. Deans and presidents of national and public universities are appointed by the president on the minister of education's recommendation. The presidents of private universities are elected by the boards of trustees, which are subject to the approval of MOE. As of 1998, there were 350 institutions of higher learning with a total of 2.95 million students, taught by 5,410 faculty members.

Regular Colleges & Universities: In 1994 universities were allowed to decide their own school affairs, including the calendar and graduation requirements, and incrementally were given more control over student quotas. In 1996, the government granted autonomy to seven provincial universities with the most superior educational conditions. The objectives of the new education system, as laid out by PCER, include full autonomy by higher educational institutions, while the necessary support for high quality research is provided by the government (1997, 23).

Each university sets the requirements for each credit (usually one semester hour), the minimum credits necessary for graduation, and the number of credits students may carry per semester. The curriculum consists of general and professional courses and includes required and elective courses.

To help universities diversify, as each carry different strengths, government grants have been increased. Furthermore, the government has made it possible for private foundations to establish small, specialized colleges, graduate schools, and universities. Seventeen such colleges were approved in 1996.

Government financial support for universities has increased to 1,013.6 billion won in 1996 from 329.7 billion won in 1993. With the introduction of post-doctoral training, government research grants also increased to 90 billion won in 1996 from 27.2 billion won in 1993. The support has been unevenly distributed, depending on in stitutions' and individuals' performance.

Junior Colleges: Junior colleges, providing two or three years of postsecondary education, were established in 1979 to educate and train mid-level technicians. As of 1999 there were 161 junior colleges with an enrollment of 589,720. Emphasis is on practical education, including hands-on training, in close cooperation with industry through internships. Students concentrate on their specialties in preparation for the National Certification Examination. They can major in humanities and social studies, natural sciences, engineering, arts and physical education, nursing, clinical pathology, physical therapy, radiology, dental and other medical technology, mechanics courses, or aquaculture.

Junior vocational colleges emphasize practical education, but it is not necessarily an endpoint. Students who so wish could continue their education at the university level. For employed students, junior colleges provide channels for continued education.

Graduate Schools: The purpose of graduate education is to offer an in-depth study of a specialized field and to enhance creativity and leadership in academic research. The Education Law stipulates that, to be called a university, an institution must have at least one graduate school. As of 2001, there are 115 academic graduate schools, 8 professional graduate schools, 514 evening special graduate schools (including 14 special graduate schools established in industrial universities), and 15 independent graduate schools without undergraduate programs.

The minimum requirement for a master's degree is 24 semester credits, as well as a required thesis, in most cases; students normally finish in 4 semesters. The minimum requirement for a doctoral degree is a doctoral dissertation after completing 60 credits of coursework, which is usually completed in 3 academic years. Doctoral candidates must first complete the required credits and pass two foreign language examinations and a comprehensive examination before writing their dissertations (MOE).

Enrollment: The enrollment rate for higher education was 68.8 percent of 18 to 21 year olds in 1997. As of 1999, higher education students numbered 3,154,245—400 times the number of 7,819 in 1945. The total would be much higher were more spots available for higher education, especially at prestigious schools in Seoul. The college entrance examination is fiercely competitive, and Korea is probably the only country in which numbers of applicants to specific schools are announced daily by public media during the application period, as candidates are frantically calculating the probability of their matriculation at choice institutions.

Admissions Procedures: As students compete fiercely for limited college spots, studying for tests is far more important than trying to build one's character. In a major reform program, MOE thus proposed a new college entrance system called the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) to root out these problems and to cultivate students' individual talents and characteristics. The CSAT has three versions, one for students on the humanities track, the science track, and the sports and arts tracks.

The new system has been conceived under the slogan of "diversification, specialization, and professionalization," which allows each university or college to develop its own admissions criteria. Each may require varying application materials from students to determine their talents, such as School Activities Records, essays, interviews, and letters of recommendation. Applicants with unusual circumstances, such as living in a rural area or fishing village, being an orphan, or winning prizes at concerts, may receive preference. This reform measure is intended to enhance creative and professional human resources, to ensure more flexible primary and secondary schooling, and to lessen the need for private tutoring.

The college entrance system has become a public issue, especially since the disappearance of entrance examinations for secondary schools. College admission policies have been changed more than 10 times since 1945. Initially (1945-1953), college admission was based uniquely on applicants' national test scores; later, high school grades were also considered. These criteria have put tremendous pressure on students and their parents, as whole families go through "examination hell." Students concentrate all their energy on test preparation, and families sacrifice much time and money to support their college preparatory students, trying to improve the study environment, provide private tutoring, and help in other ways.

Since the early 1990s, higher educational institutions have generally used "total" or "comprehensive entrance examination scores," which include the results of aptitude tests and students' high school profiles. Until then, college admission was largely based on individual schools' achievement tests. In 1988, MOE embarked on reforming the college entrance examination system to reflect changes in the educational and social environments. In 1993, MOE started to administer the CSAT once a year nationally in an effort to provide reliable and objective data in selecting students for colleges and universities, hoping to improve the quality of high school education as a result (KICE). Since 1998, electives have been added, including mathematics, sciences, and foreign languages besides English. In general, the CSAT score is one of the most important pieces of data for college level admission, counting 40 percent of the total scores in the decision process.

To promote the autonomy of higher educational institutions and to reform examination oriented high school education, a new entrance examination system went into effect in 1994. Public institutions obligatorily weighted high school grades at 40 percent but were allowed leeway concerning the CSAT and their own entrance examinations. As of 2002, the Korean Military Academy most heavily weighs CSAT scores (70 percent) in admissions, along with high school activity record (20 percent) and interview (10 percent).

A special policy applies to foreigners and Korean nationals returning from a sojourn of longer than two years abroad. Each college or university may admit 2 to 10 percent of total incoming students from this pool; in 2000, 5,249 students at 127 colleges and universities benefited. Each institution sets its own criteria, but in general these students are exempt from certain subjects or allowed a lower passing score for such courses. Usually, subjects tested include Korean, mathematics, foreign languages, and expository writing (essay), with interviews part of the selection process. Information on this policy's implementation by institutions is collected and published by MOE and distributed to embassies, consulates, and overseas Korean schools (MOE).

Korean Studies: Koreans have been studying Western culture and scholarship with ardor since the end of the nineteenth century, but since their liberation from the Japanese and with their increased status on the world stage, interest in Korean culture, history, and intellectual and political life has steadily grown both within and outside Korea.

With this in mind, the Academy of Korean Studies, a graduate school for a select group of highly specialized Korean studies fields, was founded on 30 June 1978. Through its publications and numerous national and international conferences and workshops, the Academy has been critical to internationalizing the field of Korean studies. As of 1998, the Academy had graduated 349 master's degree candidates and 87 doctoral degree candidates in 7 fields—philosophy and religion; history; arts; language, literature, and classical studies; society and folklore; politics and economics; and education and ethics. As of 2001, some 60 students were enrolled in each of the Academy's master's and Ph.D. programs.

The government has supported many universities abroad that offer courses in Korean language and studies. As of 2001, some 167 universities and research institutes in 37 countries conduct research in Korean studies. The Korean government developed the Korean [Language] Proficiency Test (KPT) for foreigners and overseas Koreans. A total of 1,722 people passed the first test, administered in 1997. In 1999, the test was given in seven countries.

As of 2001, Korea has bilateral agreements with some 80 countries. The government has also been an active participant in exchange programs initiated by international organizations, including APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), and UNESCO. The Korean National Commission for UNESCO has also been active in promoting international cultural understanding and exchanges of personnel, hosting international conferences and training programs, and supporting the exchange of academics, professionals, and students.

Students Abroad: For decades, Koreans have thought their education was not really complete without study abroad. In 1999, there were 154,219 students studying abroad: 96,778 in North America, 20,577 in Europe, 36,552 in Asia-Pacific countries, 138 in Africa, and 174 in South America (MOE). The United States continues to lead in popularity, but Koreans' foreign study destinations have become diversified. As of 1999, the share of those who went to the United States to study was 27.81 percent, considerably lower than 1997's rate of 42.9 percent. Even so, as of 2000, the 41,191 Korean students studying at American colleges and universities made up 8 percent of all international students studying in America and ranked fourth after those from China, Japan, and India (Open Doors).

Previously students generally completed their basic education through college or at least high school in Korea and went abroad for higher degrees. As the government relaxed its control on students going abroad, however, demand for overseas studies has grown so much that even young children are sent away from home to start their education early, albeit in only insignificant numbers.

It is no longer uncommon for precollege students to go abroad to study. Since September 2000, youth study abroad has been limited to middle school graduates only. From March 1999 to February 2000, some 11,237 precollege students went to study abroad, mainly in the United States. In 2000, more than 20,000 precollege students studied abroad, usually at their own expense. Since 2000, the government has provided 70 college graduates evidencing outstanding achievement with full scholarships—$18,200 per year for two to three years—to study at overseas institutes of higher learning. In addition, a fellowship of $38,000 per year per person for 3 years was available for those in doctoral programs at overseas institutions. Furthermore, elementary and secondary schoolteachers have also been given additional opportunities for overseas training and short term study tours. The number of students going abroad on government scholarships between 1977 and 1999 amounted to 1,639 (MOE). The Korea Research Foundation is usually responsible for facilitating research and activities for scholars and students who wish to study abroad.

To help students returning from abroad reintegrate into domestic schools (elementary, middle, and high schools), international schools have been established in Seoul.

Administration, Finance, & Educational Research

Education ranks first in the government budget and draws substantial nongovernmental funds. Education in Korea is funded largely by the central government from tax revenues, but also by local government and private or school foundations. A supplemental education tax instituted in 1982 and made permanent in 1991 became an important financial resource for the central government budget, as it represented 26.2 percent of MOE budget in 1999. From 1996 to 1998, educational policy secured an allotment of 5 percent of the GNP for education; in 1999 it measured 4.3 percent.

The central government budget funds offices of elementary and secondary school education, operating funds for the national universities, some support for private universities, and money for education-related administrative and research organizations. Elementary and middle school education is compulsory. Elementary school is free, but as of 2001, only 19.5 percent of middle school students—those in farming and fishing areas—received their education gratis. Middle schools in urban areas, high schools, and higher educational institutions charge tuition to supplement government funding. Funds also come from private sources, mostly from parents but also from private organizations. By 2004 compulsory education will become completely free (MOE).

Of elementary and secondary school education, 85 percent is funded by the central government; 15 percent by parents and local government. About 80 percent of junior colleges and universities are private. Private school financing heavily depends on tuition from parents and other organizations, both private and public.

As of 1994, private education expenses amounted to 464 billion or 5.75 percent of GNP. If costs for kwa-oe (literally, "extracurricular")—private tutoring and other out of school supplementary education—are added, an additional 2.7 percent of GNP is spent by families with primary and secondary school students (KEDI 1996, 13). As of 2000, more than half (55 percent) the total households said that the kwa-oe was burdensome for their family budgets. The education reform of 1999 was perceived as encouraging even more private lessons.

Expenses for out of school education are the highest at elementary ages (OECD 43). Preschool and postsecondary education is entirely covered by individuals. In 1994, private kindergartens made up 77.8 percent of preschools. The share of private colleges and universities amounted to 81.9 percent in 1995 (OECD 28).

Hardly any secondary school student has a paying job and regular college students rarely do. When they do work, it is usually privately at such jobs as tutoring or as office assistants. All precollege costs and also many higher education costs are borne by students' parents or guardians.

The Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI), a quasi-governmental think tank established in 1972, has played a principal role in Korea's emergence as an educationally advanced nation. The Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation (KICE), a governmentfunded educational research center established in 1998, strives to improve school education through research and development for school curriculum, textbooks, instructional materials, and educational evaluations. KICE develops tests (administered by the Metropolitan/Provincial Educational Authorities) and analyzes and reports results.

The Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET), established in 1997, carries out policy-oriented research in vocational education and training and helps people prepare for lifelong learning and gain employment in industry.

The Korea Research Foundation, Korea's foremost funding agency for basic research, was established in 1981 in accordance with the Korean Scholarship Promotion Act. It incorporated the Korea Institute for Educational Exchange in 1984 and the Korea Scholarship Foundation in 1999. KRF has expanded its mission beyond supporting basic research to offering scholarships and conducting its own research to act as a clearing house on research and activities for the entire academic world (KRF).

The Korea Foundation (KF), established by the Korea Foundation Act in 1991, endeavors to contribute to a better understanding of Korea in the international community and to promote international goodwill between Korea and foreign countries. Unlike the Korea Research Foundation, which belongs to MOE, KF is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between 1992 and 2000, KF helped create Korean studies professorships at 37 universities worldwide: 27 in North America, 4 in Europe, 5 in Australia and New Zealand, and 1 in Asia. In addition, KF granted support for establishing Korean studies courses at 60 universities in North America, Latin America, Europe, Oceania, Asia, and the Middle East. KF has also funded both basic and applied research, textbook projects, exhibitions, performances, and numerous international academic conferences and supported visiting scholars and students who come to do research or study in Korea. It also publishes journals on Korean studies.

In 1997, in accordance with the national slogan of segyehwa ("globalization") of Koreans and Korean life, the government provided special funds to nine graduate schools of international studies (GSIS) to promote research and specialized training necessary for international trade and relations, which require the students to deal with a wide variety of world affairs and people from different cultures with different strategies. All subjects are taught in English by outstanding specialists in particular fields. There are more than 200 international students in these schools.

Area studies, encompassing Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, Central and South America, and Africa are gaining momentum at institutes of higher learning. Foreign languages have become an integral part of international studies. A whole range of foreign languages are taught in Korean universities: African languages, Arabic, Czech, Chinese, Dutch, English, German, French, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Malay, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

Nonformal Education

Almost all Koreans believe that they need supplemental education to excel in their educationally competitive society. Those who can afford to take private lessons in music, fine arts, information technology, and sports do. But more students take supplemental academic courses, such as math and foreign languages, in cram courses offered at commercial outfits called hagwôn ("academies"). Because of the concern that extra instruction could give unfair advantage to those who can afford more and high quality private lessons, the government has tried to control private tutoring in an effort to democratize education. For example, the 1980 Education Reform banned private tutoring in anything other than artistic subjects. This was criticized, however, as usurping parents' rights to educate their own children and also as depriving some poor college students of their opportunities for extra income by becoming private tutors—the most popular part time work (called by a German word, arbeit ) for students. Hagwôn and private tutoring have been allowed, as people expressed their dissatisfaction with the quality of formal education, which has suffered from the high student to teacher ratio, poor instructional quality and facilities, and low morale of the teachers.

According to the 1998-2000 MOE-KEDI report, hagwô totaled 57,935 with 3,412,430 students enrolled in performing arts (45.2 percent), technology (11.6 percent), liberal arts (24.2 percent), and administrative business (19.0 percent). The share of the students taking liberal arts courses was 40.7 percent; technology, 13.8 percent; performing arts, 28.9 percent; and administrative business, 16.6 percent.

During the year 2000, each student spent 889,000 won (approximately $800) compared to 1999 in which they spent 865,000 won; 34.5 percent of the total households surveyed reported they spent more than 20 percent of their income on private tutoring in 2000, compared to 31.8 percent in 1999.

Adult Education: The Social Education Promotion Act was enacted to meet the demand for alternative educational opportunities, particularly of employed youths and adults who have not been able to attend regular schools. By law the government is to provide support for the promotion of lifelong education. Industry also actively responded to this program, establishing schools and special classes to meet the educational needs of their employees.

The so-called para-schools, which give equivalence certificates to regular school programs, include civic schools (elementary school equivalency), civic high schools (middle school equivalency), industry-attached schools (middle and high), school-attached evening classes (middle and high), air and correspondence high schools, and industrial universities.

Even in higher learning, there are various degree alternatives that may not be available in other countries. One option is the Bachelors' Examination System by which students may earn a degree simply by passing a set of examinations administered by the government. Another option, called the Academic Credit Bank System, allows students to bank the credits earned in any accredited institution of higher learning. The government grants a pertinent degree, after KEDI certifies that a particular student has earned the required number of credits at qualified institutions (Wiedman and Park).

Distance learning institutions—Air and Correspondence high schools and the Air and Correspondence University—and industrial universities have been founded, followed by numerous private institutes established by social and religious organizations. An examination system has been institutionalized to qualify those who have not gone through a regular school system for progress to formal schools. In 1999, some 13,724 enrolled in 40 Air and Correspondence high schools, offering 308 classes taught by 1,188 teachers.

The Korea Air and Correspondence University (KACU) was instituted in 1972, first as a branch school of Seoul National University with a two-year junior college program in five departments. In 1981, it had grown to a five year program, offering coursework leading to B.A. and B.Sc. degrees. In 1982, it became an independent national university with nine departments. In 1992 the entire university became a 4-year degree program with 17 major fields. In 1999 the university had 203,246 students in 18 departments with 168 faculty members. As of September 2001, a legal foundation is being laid such that the university may offer a graduate program. The university has conducted its lectures via distance education systems, using such media as satellite TV, CDROMs, video conferencing, the Internet, printed materials, radio, and audiocassettes. Therefore, regardless of their location, students can have access to an open, flexible education environment and one to one educational opportunities with their lecturers. The university also has 13 regional centers. The majority of students enrolled are workers in industries, government officials, soldiers, and teachers (MOE).

The number of industrial universities, which offer mid-career education, grew to 19 with 158,444 students in 1998—only 6 years after the first of its kind, Kyônggi Open University of Technology in Seoul, was founded by a private foundation in 1992. Classes are held in the evening, which allows students to be employed full time while attending classes.

Vocational Schools: Vocational high schools provide advanced general education as well as vocational training in agriculture, technology, industry, commerce, home economics, fishing, and oceanography, among other subjects. Since the 1980s, vocational high schools have offered diverse field training to provide a skilled labor force that can respond to the rapid changes in industry and society.

In the 1970s, technical education was driven by manpower needs in heavy and chemical industries. In the 1980s, in step with rapid change in technology and development, technical education aimed at producing multiskilled technology workers. As of 2000, all vocational schools emphasize cyber-communication, information processing skills, new managerial skills, and foreign languages in order to prepare students for practical work in an industrialized and globalizing society. While financially supported by the government, vocational high schools enjoy greater autonomy than other high schools.

To address rural labor shortages caused by migration into industrialized urban areas, agricultural education in high school focuses on scientific farming and mechanization and training future cadre and experts in agriculture. Candidates for agricultural schools are given incentives such as tuition waivers, free housing, settlement funds, and preferential treatment in military service and scholarships. Fishery and oceanography high schools, located in the harbor cities along the coasts of the Korean peninsula, use maritime resources to teach navigation technology. Practical experience at sea with six months of on-site training is required for graduation.

The curriculum at vocational high schools consists of both general courses, which make up 40 to 60 percent, and vocational courses.

In rural areas or small and medium-sized cities, there are schools which combine academic and vocational courses, called "comprehensive high schools" (MOE 2000, 66).

Educational Broadcasting System: The Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) was established in December 1990 by KEDI to support and complement school education, with a mission of cultivating and strengthening national identity. EBS thus incorporates the air and correspondence education programs, which offer the opportunity for lifelong education and general education programs for children, youth, teachers, parents, and the general public. While MOE sets up general policies and offers administrative and financial support (50 percent of the total budget), EBS plans, organizes, and produces the actual broadcasts.

As of 2001, EBS has 1 TV and 1 FM radio channel, which were operated by a staff of 630. The Korean Broadcasting System transmits the program on television 8 and a half hours daily (18 hours on Sundays) and on FM radio 20 hours a day. In step with the national agenda for the new knowledge-based global century, EBS gives special attention to information technology and foreign language education in its programming (MOE).

Edunet: Edunet, a free educational information system that gives teachers, students, and parents easy access to high quality educational information through PC communication, began on 11 September 1996. It had a membership of 860,000 in March, 1999, and has provided both text and Web service so that users will not be limited by their computer equipment. Sixty-four percent of subscribers are students and 18 percent teachers; the rest are parents, guardians, and others.

Teaching Profession

All teachers have the status of national civil servants in Korea, and teacher training is centrally regulated. However, teachers' affairs are delegated to the superintendents at the metropolitan and provincial offices of education. University professors still enjoy the prestige given to teachers traditionally. Although teachers at the precollege level are no longer loved and respected as formerly, they are still considered key to the system's proper functioning.

As part of the goal of excellence in the educational system and to ensure the sense of professionalism and commitment to teaching, licensure under legal criteria is required of graduates of teacher training institutes. Teachers are classified into teachers (first and second level), assistant teachers, professional counselors, librarians, training teachers, and nursing teachers. They must meet specific standards for each category and be licensed by the Minister of Education, as regulated by presidential decree.

Teacher education is offered by universities of education, colleges of education, graduate schools of education, general colleges and universities with departments of education and teaching certificate programs, junior colleges, and the Air and Correspondence University, from which approximately 25,000 teachers are recruited every year. To enhance professionalism in educational leadership, the government established the Korea National University of Education in 1985. This university was designed to conduct research on kindergartens and elementary and secondary schools, as well as to produce an elite corps of dedicated teachers—not only future teachers but also in-service trainees.

Teachers are recruited locally on the basis of apparently rather mechanical selection tests administered by district education authorities. College students concentrate on preparing for these exams rather than studying the subjects they intend to teach or other classroom management skills. OECD reviews have also found no direct links between teachers' expertise and the subjects they teach. Major fields in colleges and universities have not been found to match important subject fields in the secondary school curriculum. In 1995, about 55 percent of all secondary teachers came from universities that were not specifically designed for teacher education (OECD 136).

As attention is increasingly directed toward the quality of education rather than its quantity, general teachers' qualifications have become one of the core issues in Korean education. Many believe the teaching profession suffers from mediocrity and is often unable to cope with the fast-changing society. Lack of professionalism is diagnosed as due to poor training and to the difficulty of recruiting bright young people into the profession, which is little respected in modern Korea. Therefore, the goal of the 1995 Education Reform was to train excellent teachers who could meet the challenges of increasingly assertive students, the information age, globalization, and the changing field itself. The training programs emphasize pedagogy, ethics, and information management ability, as well as class management and counseling skills (MOE).

The PCER thus recommended reforming teach certification and in-service training to encourage lifelong education and initiate diversified, learner-oriented education. The PCER proposed a contract teacher program, increased use of circuit teachers, and diversification and enrichment of in-service training (PCER 1997, 111).

To make space for young talented teachers, the retirement age for teachers was adjusted from 65 to 62 in the fall of 1998. As a result, an estimated 16,000 teachers retired, and the vacancies were filled with new skilled teachers. Superior teachers among those retiring were invited to return to teach with fixed contracts. Many competent teachers with a variety of titles such as lecturers and business school partnership teachers have thus been recruited into the school system as well as teachers with fixed contracts and native speakers for language courses (MOE).

Because most teachers are still very young, in-service training has become an urgent need. Various opportunities and incentives have been offered for those who were retrained. Between March 1997 and February 1998, in spite of the Korean financial crisis, 356,335 teachers underwent in-service training, including 545 who received overseas training.

In higher education, the government sponsors refresher programs abroad, especially in science and technology to help professors keep up with the rapidly changing times. From 1978 to 1998, a total of 106 professors went abroad to do research with government support (MOE).

Another incentive for teachers' dedication and high performance is a merit-based salary system based on the evaluation of individual teachers, which also has direct implications for promotions and various privileges.

Unions & Associations: The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) is an umbrella organization for the nation's teachers' associations. KFTA was established in 1947 and, as of 2001, about 250,000 teachers are members (60 percent of all teachers). Its main tasks are to improve teachers' work sites, to conduct research on teachers and training, to protect and enhance teachers, to publish educational books, and to provide benefits for members. A special 1991 law on Improving Teachers' Status allows KFTA to negotiate with the government twice a year to improve the position of teachers. Among KFTA's publications are The Korea Education Newspaper (weekly) and New Education, an annual report on education (MOE).

Forming nongovernmental teachers' unions was long illegal. But new legislation passed in January 1999 guaranteed the teachers' right to organize and bargain collectively, and the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers' Union commenced full-scale official operation. Thus teachers and educational workers at primary, middle, and high schools can organize unions at metropolitan, provincial, and national levels. Teachers' unions may bargain collectively on matters of wages, terms of employment, and benefits to improve their members' economic and social status. However, they are not supposed to exercise the right of collective action, in view of the special status the general public has historically bestowed upon educators (Koilaf Publications).

Summary

Korea has long retained a Confucian notion that man is perfectible through education. With the traditional class system's obsolescence, educational attainment has become the principal measure of a person's worth. The government plays a central role in terms of educational policy and research and their implementation, although recent educational reforms have emphasized the need for more autonomy for individual schools or regions. Under democratic ideals, the traditionally neglected population with disabilities has also been getting increased attention from government and society. Koreans have achieved remarkable progress in making education available to all, and the literacy rate quickly reached almost 100 percent. Koreans are among the most educated people of the world.

Having achieved the urgent initial goal of equity in educational opportunities, the Korean government and people have set for themselves a new aim of global competitiveness in the information-oriented twenty-first century. Research and development have been promoted, especially in science and technology, while the gifted and talented in other areas—including the humanities and the fine and performing arts—have also been given special encouragement. Applied research, with close cooperation between academic researchers and industry, as well as basic research, were promoted. Koreans have joined the ranks of the advanced nations in information technology despite the severe financial crisis of 1997 from which Korea has not completely recovered.

International Programs: The rapid ascendance of northeast Asia has given each country of the region a more distinct image. Korea is increasingly regarded as a key area of East Asia both historically and at present. As Korea's international visibility has increased, Korean studies has emerged as an academic field. Foreigners traveling to study in Korea have mushroomed. In 1971, 7,632 students from 42 foreign countries studied in Korea; by 1999, there were 154,219 from 71 countries. Of these 96,778 were from North America, 36,552 from other Asia-Pacific countries, 20,577 from Europe, 174 from South America, and 138 from Africa (MOE).

The government has also provided scholarships for foreign students and overseas Koreans to study in Korea for advanced degrees or to attend a short term language and culture study tour program. It also affords various conveniences to foreigners engaged in education and research activities in Korea. Between 1977 and 1999, a total of 607 foreign students studied in Korea under Korean government scholarships.

The Fulbright grant program in Korea began in 1950, and the bilateral Korean-American Educational Commission (KAEC) was established in 1963. It is the only program funded and sponsored by both the Korean and U.S. governments. Fulbright grants support the exchange of more than 100 students, researchers, and teachers annually. The U.S. Education Center informs Korean students and scholars of educational opportunities in the United States. It also provides various official testing services to students who want to study abroad and helps U.S. institutions seeking to meet students or learn about institutions in Korea.

A fairly new international exchange program involves youth. In 1988, during the Korea-Japan summit conference, a Korea-Japan youth exchange agreement was signed. A Korea-America youth exchange agreement was signed in 1993 during a summit meeting between the Korean and U.S. presidents in the United States, as proposed by the governor of California.

Korea and Japan have exchanged 150 university students and teachers annually since 1990. From 1999, other Korean university and secondary school students were sent to Japanese universities of engineering. Four hundred seventy secondary students were to be sent to Japan each year over a decade. One hundred university students were sent to Japanese universities of engineering in 1999, and the number was to be increased annually until reaching 1,000 in 2010. To promote better understanding and goodwill between Koreans and African-Americans, the Korean government has invited 50 to 70 African-American students annually since 1994 for 4-week programs on Korean culture and society. Korea-Japan exchange students are responsible for their own airfares, while the host country provides room and board and their programs of study. The Korean government has provided all expenses for the African-America students. Between 1990 and 1996, some 1,042 Korean students went to Japan on this program, while 1,101 Japanese students have gone to Korea. Fifty-three African-American students were invited into this program in 1994, 68 in 1995, 40 in 1996, 36 in 1997, and 31 in 1998 (MOE).

Korean studies has emerged as a new, steadily developing academic field of study abroad. As of 1996, some 100 institutions of higher learning in the United States offered Korean-language programs as part of their regular academic curriculum (Sohn 70).

Heritage Education: To help overseas Koreans—emigrants, dependents of diplomats, and other short term foreign residents—cultivate a sense of identity and learn about their cultural roots, the Korean government established "Korean Schools," where Korean language, culture, and history are taught. As of 2000, there were 23 Korean Schools in 14 countries with more than 5,000 students taught by 660 teachers. In addition to these schools, there are various "Saturday schools" often called han'gûl schools (Korean Language Schools), which are established mostly by independent volunteer groups including religious organizations. As of 2000, there were 1,664 Saturday schools in 95 countries with 96,784 students taught by 10,531 teachers (KEDI 2000).

The National Institute for International Education Development (NIIED), originally established as part of the Seoul National University Korean Heritage Education Center in March 1962, came under the jurisdiction of the MOE by presidential decree in 1992. NIIED's many programs support international exchanges, including scholarships for students from newly developing countries. As of 2000, approximately 85 percent of overseas Koreans who study the Korean language with NIIED's 9 month program are given scholarships. Of students taking a 3 month language program, 60 percent receive scholarships. As of 2001, overseas Koreans from Japan, China, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Russia, Kazakstan, Germany, Bolivia, Suriname, Denmark, Chile, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, and Ecuador have taken this course. NIIED also provides language programs for Koreans living abroad and foreigners studying Korean on the Internet, called "Kosnet."

Needs for Changes—Future: Koreans, both intellectual leaders and ordinary citizens, have shown disparate reactions to the ambitious scope and dizzying speed of recent educational reforms. The current debate centers on the theme of equity versus the need for elite education for national competitiveness, which has created a new ruling class. Some extreme measures were taken to eliminate elite education by abolishing the severely stratified secondary school structure. Students competed fiercely to get into top-ranked schools, whose admission depended uniquely on entrance examinations. Now that education has become egalitarian, some have fretted about the lack of elite education; there have been only limited attempts to address this perception. While the former elite education through select high schools emphasized general liberal arts training, the new elite education seems to be bent on highly specialized skill acquisition, although interdisciplinary work seems to be encouraged to some extent. Many also fear that, outside the few select schools and programs, the general school system will suffer from low morale among both teachers and students, reduced funds, and a general drop in quality in those institutions not chosen for such privileges.

The eager Korean government has been listening to proposals for education reforms from both domestic and international sources. Some frequently discussed suggestions concern decentralization of higher educational institutions, school autonomy, escape from exam-oriented education, the need for educating the whole person, and promoting creative thinking in education, as well as the need for practical education that includes technological savoir-faire for global competitiveness. All these issues seem, in fact, related, and various attempts at meeting the current challenges seem reasonable.

However, the Korean education system suffers from a thorny structural problem—the excessive weight it carries in Korean society. Extreme reliance on educational attainment as the sole or primary criterion of a person's worth must be repudiated. Next, education reformers must consider measures for promoting a new standard of personal qualifications. As long as there is no major change in perception, children growing up in such an atmosphere cannot avoid concentrating on means of getting themselves to the next distinguished diplomas and certifications. Abolishing the examinations altogether does not seem to be a solution either. In such a competitive environment, if the admission process were completely based on overall records, recommendation letters, and personal essays, then the possibility of subjective assessment and the lack of safeguards against corruption could be major threats to fair evaluation.

Promoting creative thinking is, of course, crucial and frequently presented as a problem in Korean education. Traditional thinking in Korea, as was often the case in most traditional liberal studies, emphasized "achievement" of creativity based on instilling the basics with a heavy reliance on the classics. The mantra of "creativity" should not be misunderstood as eliminating the rigor and formal nature of Korean educational tradition, which some Western educators envy. Often Korean educational methods have been accused of depending mainly on rote memory, but it is crucial for Koreans not to abandon these methods altogether, just because some learning appears to be less than a creative activity.

The new trend for specialization at a precollege level may be viewed as early preparation for expertise. However, broad and balanced curricula at all levels of primary and secondary schools are desirable to provide solid, basic education at formative ages and, more important, to make it possible for students to find their own talents and preferences, rather than choosing a field by its reputation or some other perception.

One of the crucial problems has to do with dispiritedness among teachers with their class sizes, workloads and, worst of all, examination-oriented schooling. Teacher morale should be restored by strengthening professional preparation and by offering teachers better working conditions, which are commensurate with traditional respect for teachers. In-service training should be provided and innovative teaching materials and methods encouraged and rewarded. Teachers' unions, which have recently become officially recognized, will contribute to ameliorating the situation.

Despite a huge improvement in the higher education gender gap, women still tend to concentrate in traditionally female fields. Girls from poor families tend to be forced into vocational schools, which is much less true for boys from the same economic milieu. Political and economic leadership positions are still dominated by men. Express measures to help change the mentality of the society in this regard are needed.

Koreans bear a tremendous financial burden for their education. However, a significant proportion of that goes to private education (kwaoe ), which is money not being contributed to the overall national educational developmental. One way of overcoming this waste might be to institute school-based initiatives for private education, so that some of the financial investment now going to kwaoe could be put towards improving school facilities, among other uses.

Current reforms, including educational reform, aim at granting maximum autonomy to local governments and schools. However, the involvement of the central government in setting general standards in education policy, curriculum, and implementation is not necessarily bad. What is highly desirable, though, is that actual educators play a key role as both advisers and participants in planning and as part of an evaluation mechanism.

Finally, to correct structural problems, it will be necessary to institute some kind of affirmative action for those whose excellence is apparent without their necessarily having obtained advanced degrees. In a very un-Korean way, leadership positions might be filled based, not on educational attainment, but on other general criteria, such as experience, community service, innovative openness of mind, and a person's well-rounded character.

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—Young-Key Kim-Renaud