President Moon’s education reform agenda is no doubt ambitious and groundbreaking, but it remains to be seen if the government can prevail in realizing all its objectives, given the vested interests of elitist “old-boy networks” in chaebols and top universities. During the first two years, pupils study Korean, mathematics, ethics, and general social formation subjects called “wise living,” “pleasant living,” and “we are first graders.” English, social studies, science, arts, music, and physical education are added in the third grade, at which point the social formation subjects are no longer offered. Its standard structure includes associate degrees awarded by junior colleges, and four-year bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and doctoral degrees awarded by universities. Korea’s education system underwent a tremendous expansion since the end of the Korean War. In the 1980s, Koreas government began to strategically invest in human capital development, research, and technological innovation. In 2000, Korea used to be the largest sending country of international students, but it has since been taken over by China and was in 2010 pushed to third place amid surging enrollments from India. It starts at the age of six, even though gifted students may sometimes be allowed to enter at age five. Exploding demand for university education over the past decades has been accompanied by a rapidly growing number of private providers springing up to accommodate this demand. Another goal is to stimulate economic development in other parts of the country. In 1996 only about five percent of Korea's high schools were coeducational. Nowadays, the level of literacy in Korea is nearly 100%. Increasing numbers of students also retake the exams to improve their scores or because they wish to switch majors. The teach children to respects parents and teachers, they explain how to eat, brush your teeth, how to communicate and pay respect to each other. As a rule, in primary school, there is only one mentor who teaches children all subjects. Pre-school (which is optional), is offered from age three, in South Korea, with compulsory schooling from the age of five or six. As NAFSA’s International Educator notes, geographic proximity, cultural similarities, and lower tuition costs than in Western countries are other draws for Korean students. Quality criteria stipulated by the KUAI include adequate financial and management structures, teaching staff, facilities, student retention rates, learning outcomes, research output, student satisfaction, and commitment to quality improvement and social contributions to local communities and economic development. In fact, it’s hard to find another country in the world that places greater emphasis on education than South Korea. It is worth to note that without the governmental support, the education system in the country would not be as successful as it is today. Most universities are multi-disciplinary institutions that comprise multiple departments, but there are also mono-specialized universities like the engineering-focused Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Per UNESCO, public education spending as a share of GDP grew from 4.86 percent in 2011 to 5.25 percent in 2015. In the latter case, programs usually take at least three years to complete, including two years (30 credits) of course work, a passing score on a comprehensive examination, and the defense of a dissertation. Educational attainment in contemporary Korea is of paramount social importance and strongly correlated with social mobility, income levels, and positions of power. Students must also demonstrate proficiency in two foreign languages and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better. Academic transcripts usually provide detailed information about academic performance, class ranking, and attendance. [3] See: Ministry of Education: Globalization of Korean Education – Education in Korea, 2017, Sejong, pp. [6] Korean National Development Institute: A Window into Korean Education, 2017, p.22. Korea’s high educational attainment levels are but one sign of the country’s singular transformation and meteoric economic rise over the past 70 years. Students study the standard academic core curriculum in grade 10 before specializing in a vocational field, such as business, agriculture, engineering, technology, fishery, or marine transportation in grades 11 and 12. According to statistics from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), there were 23,050 Korean students in Canada in 2017—25 percent less than in 2007 when enrollments peaked at 36,800. Some programs may be studied in part-time mode. In reality, however, this minimum requirement is of little practical relevance in present-day Korea. The academic calendar at universities is typically divided into two four-month semesters with a two-month break between each semester. In August 2018, the Korean government announced that more than 50 HEIs will face cuts of up to 35 percent in their student intake in 2019. After rapidly increasing by 419 percent between 1980 and 2000, the total number of tertiary enrollments in Korea, likewise, has recently decreased from 3.7 million in 2013 to 3.4 million in 2017, as per the Korean Educational Statistics Service (KESS). This education profile describes recent trends in South Korean education and student mobility and provides an overview of the structure of the education system of South Korea. All parents want to provide their child with the best possible training, expand their knowledge, and increase the opportunity to enter a prestigious university. Korea today has four times as many international students than in 2006, and it is becoming an increasingly important international education hub in Asia. Less than 2 percent of the population was enrolled in higher education. [2] When comparing international student numbers, it is important to note that numbers provided by different agencies and governments vary because of differences in data capture methodology, definitions of “international student,” and types of mobility captured (credit, degree, etc.). While all high school programs last for three years (grades 10 to 12), they are taught by a variety of different schools, such as general academic high schools and special-purpose high schools, that offer specialized education in areas like foreign languages, arts, sports, or science. As a rule, in the Korean organizations of preschool education, teacher frequently communicate with parents. Sports activities are based on strengthening the muscles, training balance, learning to play games in a team. About 30 percent of lectures at Korea’s top 10 universities were taught in English as of 2013—a sign that EMI is being pursued vigorously by Korean universities, partially because it affects international university rankings and makes Korean institutions more attractive to international students. Lower-secondary education lasts three years (grades seven to nine) and concludes with the award of a certificate of graduation from middle school. Seoul National University ranks 36th worldwide and is the 11th highest ranked institution among Asian universities, followed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (rank 40), Pohang University of Science and Technology (83), Korea University (86), and Sungkyunkwan University (100). Korea’s demographic decline has since shrunk the college-age population and reduced the number of Korean students, affecting not only domestic enrollments, but also the total number of students heading overseas: The country’s outbound student mobility ratio[1] has dropped from 3.8 percent in 2011 to 3.3 percent in 2016. There are 1,153 graduate schools, almost all of which are incorporated into universities, but may also operate as stand-alone institutions. In devising policies, the MOE relies on advice from the Educational Policy Advisory Council, a body consisting of rotating experts from various fields in education. This craze for learning English has become so excessive, that the Korean government in 2018 banned the teaching of English prior to third grade, since it appeared to slow pupils’ proficiency in Korean. Subscribe to WENR, and discover other tools and publications. Many continue their studies at junior colleges rather than at four-year universities. The State University of New York at Stony Brook, George Mason University, the University of Utah, and Belgium’s Ghent University now operate branch campuses in Incheon. Korean households simultaneously devoted much of their resources to education, thereby fueling a drastic expansion in education participation. 48-53. Graduates of Korea’s top three universities dominate the country and occupy the majority of high-ranking government posts and management positions in Korea’s powerful business conglomerates (chaebols). Typical grading scales include 0-100 numerical scales with 60 (D) being the minimum passing grade for individual courses at the undergraduate level. In addition, unemployment among university graduates is not only high, it exceeds unemployment rates among graduates of vocational high schools, leaving many families doubting if an expensive university degree is still worth it, according to MGI. Promotion and graduation are based on internal school-based tests and assessments at all stages of the Korean school system. HEIs ranked excellent were allowed to voluntarily reduce their student intake, while all others became subject to mandatory capacity cuts, funding cuts, or merger or closure, depending on their ranking. Since China is Korea’s most important trading partner, fluency in Mandarin is a considerable asset in Korea’s job market. Having foreign branch campuses in Korea means that Koreans can now earn a foreign degree without leaving the country. The country’s fertility rates are in rapid decline, and its college-age population is shrinking. Meister school graduates are not allowed to enroll in universities until they work full time for three consecutive years. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 70 percent of 24- to 35-year-olds in the nation of 51.5 million people have completed some form of tertiary education—the highest percentage worldwide and more than 20 percentage points above comparable attainment rates in the United States. The system contains national, public, and private schools. Teaching is a well-respected and highly paid profession that is tightly regulated by the Korean government. Teachers are respected in Korea. Korea currently pursues an internationalization strategy that seeks to increase the number of international students in the country to 200,000 by 2023. In the decades leading up to the 2011 peak, the number of Korean youths completing upper-secondary school surged, drastically increasing the pool of potential international students, while simultaneously exacerbating supply shortages that made access to quality university education increasingly difficult and competitive. The majority of vocational high schools currently use learning modules developed by the MOE and the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training on the basis of Korea’s National Competency Standards framework. South Korean students have very little time for creative or personal growth as … [1] International enrollments as a percentage of the total tertiary enrollment in the country as reported by the UIS. About 60 percent of these students are enrolled in undergraduate programs at universities, 30.5 percent at junior colleges and other institutions, and 9.5 percent in graduate programs. At the graduate level, graduation generally requires a minimum final GPA of 3.0 (B or 80). It shows that with respect to educational attainment, the middle class is the most privileged class among four social classes: the capitalist class, the petty bourgeoisie, the middle class, and the working class. In addition, there are A-F letter grading scales, of which there are two variations with either 4.3 or 4.5 as the highest grade point (see below). France, Malaysia, New Zealand, China, and Italy are other top destination countries for Koreans. South Koreans view education as the main driver of social mobility, for themselves and their family. Korean youths will likely find it much easier to find employment, but they will shoulder the heavy burden of supporting the country’s rapidly growing elderly population. Click here for a PDF file of the academic documents referred to below. Groups in kindergartens are not too big, around ten children per teacher. In 1999, the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) was established, combining the Korea Multimedia Education Center (est. Pros and Cons of Korean Education System South Korea enjoys a very high reputation in the world as far as its education system is concerned. All Korean high school students who intend to apply to university must pass the national University College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), commonly called Suneung in Korean, administered by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE). The Korean government seeks to promote labor market entry directly after high school and strengthen vocational skills training with an “employment first, advancement to university later” approach. Universities in provincial regions are being supported through the imposition of mandatory employment quotas for local graduates in local industries.[3]. Graduation from undergraduate programs usually requires an overall grade point average of at least 70 or C (2.00). The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) noted in a 2013 study that more than 50 percent of middle class households were “cashflow-constrained” and that Korea now has the lowest private savings rate in the OECD. Between 2016 and 2017, the number of Chinese students spiked by more than 13 percent, while enrollments from Vietnam skyrocketed by 96 percent. This stage of education prepares pupils to enter a higher education institution. Even at coeducational schools, individual classes may still be taught separately for girls and boys. Between the early 1980s and the mid-2000s, the countrys tertiary gross enrollment ratio increased fivefold, while the number of stude… Korea’s Confucian-influenced system has also been criticized for relying too much on rote memorization and university entrance prep at the expense of creativity and independent thought. If a student does not want to enter university, he has an opportunity to study at a Professional Institute. Here we tell you all you need to know about the higher education system. Students are assessed by examinations taken in the middle and at the end of each semester. The proportion of coeducational schools has increased by almost ten percent. South Korea education system is considered to be the best in the world. Students who complete all required 204 credit units are awarded a certificate of graduation from high school. In an article entitled "An Assault Upon Our Children," Se-Woong Koo wrote that "the system's dark side casts a long shadow. Higher education in South Korea includes several different kinds of institutes: Junior colleges, four-year colleges, universities, Open University (which allows you to take academic courses via the Internet), cyber colleges and colleges in workplaces. South Korea's higher education system has expanded rapidly over the last 50 years and there are now several different types of institution offering post-secondary qualifications in the country. This compares to 51 Chinese universities and 16 Japanese included in the top 500, six of them among the top 100. Lower-secondary education is provided free of charge at both public and private schools and is open to all pupils who have completed elementary education—there are no entrance examinations. Credentials awarded include the Bachelor of Oriental Medicine or Doctor of Korean Medicine. Korean is the language of instruction in schools, even though private international schools and certain specialized high schools offer English-medium instruction (EMI). The current Korean government considers the CSAT the most objective and socially equitable admission criterion; it is seeking to increase use of the test in university admissions. Overall, public spending on education has increased significantly in recent years, causing the share of private expenditures to drop by 24 percent between 2008 and 2013, according to the OECD. Given the ubiquity of private tutoring, students from rural regions and lower income households tend to score lower in the CSAT and are disadvantaged in university admissions in general compared with students from affluent metropolitan centers like Seoul. In 2018, the number of international students enrolled in degree and non-degree programs reached a record high of 142,205, after growing by 70 percent over 2014. The Korean government sets national curriculum standards. Specialty training involves a one-year internship and three years of residency training. That said, local autonomy is limited and overall education policies are set at the national level, while higher education remains under the auspices of the national MOE. The Korean school system is a 6-3-3-4 system; that is, six years of primary school, three years of junior high, three years of senior high school and four years of college. The government also plans to reduce university admissions fees, and decongest school curricula and make them more flexible by introducing more elective subjects. Traditional medicine is widely used in Korea; it is officially recognized and regulated in the same way Western medicine is. There are two Korean universities ranked among the top 100 in the current 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings – the flagship Seoul National University – SNU (ranked at 63rd place) and Sungkyunkwan University, a private institution said to be East Asia’s oldest university, at position 82. Institutions are evaluated via self-assessment, site inspections, and other objective criteria. 1996). The advancement rate from lower-secondary middle school to upper-secondary high school stood at 99 percent as early as 1996. A laser focus on education was an important pillar of this extraordinary economic rise. At the same age, children are involved in studying the basics of mathematics. Well-known for its high-achieving students, South Korea’s education system is quite demanding. While the vast majority of candidates pass the test, students who fail can retake it. In the QS World University Rankings, Korean universities have advanced noticeably in recent years – there are now five Korean universities featured among the top 100 compared with only three in 2016. The curriculum is divided into a general education component of about 32 percent. You wouldn’t … In Seoul, about one-third of high schools are coeducational with pupils in the city being randomly assigned to single-sex and coeducational schools. However, universities are not obligated to use the CSAT results for admissions. Education in South Korea is 9th in the QS ranking of the best education systems in the world, surpassing many developed countries, such as Japan, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and New Zealand. Credential names include the Master of Arts, Master of Science, and numerous other major-specific variations. Many pupils attend private kindergartens, often for the entire day, but the government has over the past decades expanded public options, and since 2012/13 provided universal, free, half-day preschool programs, so as not to disadvantage children from lower-income households. South Korea’s commitment to invest in education pays off South Korea performance in education in the last four years has been masterful in execution. Two-year master’s programs usually require at least 24 credits plus a thesis for graduation, but some programs have higher credit requirements. The doctoral degree is a terminal research degree awarded by graduate schools. Cram schools like the one I taught in — known as hagwons in Korean — are a mainstay of the South Korean education system and a symbol of parental yearning to … As the New York Times put it, the “edge that a foreign degree gives a South Korean graduate” has worn off in the wake of ever-increasing numbers of Koreans earning foreign degrees. If you search for the world’s strongest or hardest education system, the top result will always be the same—South Korea. Trends in Korean outbound mobility are driven by a number of influences, including economic factors, increased participation rates and demand-supply gaps in higher education, demographic trends, and the rising demand for English language education. Given Korea’s high level of economic development and its strong focus on education, Korean top universities don’t fare as well in international university rankings as Korean policy makers would like them to. Even though only 4 percent of high school students were enrolled in Meister schools as of 2013, these well-funded schools have raised the public’s awareness of vocational high schools in Korea and made them more attractive, especially since the partnering government agencies and companies—which include chaebols like LG Electronics—typically guarantee employment for graduates. If a student wants to enter university, he needs to pass examinations at high school, as well as to pass a national entrance examination. Korean students are also eligible for government loans. Integrative and convergence education is promoted through the adoption of the new curriculum. Every Korean child knows where to call in case of fire and how to call an ambulance. Per UIS, the number of Korean students enrolled in degree programs in Japan has plunged by more than 50 percent since 2011 and decreased from 25,961 students to only 12,951 students in 2016, although Korea is still the fourth-largest sending country in Japan overall. KERIS has been developing high quality software and an electronic platform to support the research activities of teachers. The Ministry of Education has been responsible for all types of education in South Korea since 1948. Year-over-year enrollment growth from Korea has persistently declined since 2011/12, whereas year-over-year growth for China and India increased by approximately 12 percent and 7 percent, respectively. All Rights Reserved. The Korean public education structure is divided into three parts: six years of primary school, followed by three years of middle school and then three years of high school. For a classification of different types of HEIs, see the MOE’s website. Education in the United States of America, Photocopy of graduation certificate or diploma issued in English—submitted by the applicant, Academic Transcript issued in English—sent directly by the institution attended, Academic transcript issued in English—sent directly by the institution attended, For completed doctoral programs—a written statement from the awarding institution indicating the date of degree conferral and the major, Certificate of Graduation from High School. School in Korea starts at 9 am and ends at 5 pm. In the case of shortcomings, institutions and programs are accredited conditionally for two- or three-year periods during which institutions must address inadequacies. The growing unpopularity of the U.S. in the Trump era, and opportunities to participate in research collaborations and scholarship programs, may also have played a role. Secondary school teachers have a greater variety of study options and can study at departments of education at regular universities where programs also require a thesis. Today, it is the world’s 12th largest economy and the fourth largest in Asia. Since then, the number of degree-seeking Korean international students has decreased by 15.8 percent to an estimated 108,608 students in 2017. In the 1980s, Korea’s government began to strategically invest in human capital development, research, and technological innovation. (Note that Project Atlas data, like other data cited below, are not directly comparable to UIS data, since they are based a different method for counting international students).[2]. Elite private high schools (autonomous schools) and international schools that teach foreign curricula are slated to be turned into tuition-free schools that teach standard national curricula in order to rein in elite schools. The credit system and grading scales used by Korean HEIs closely resemble those of the United States. As of 2016, there were 430 HEIs in Korea compared with only 265 in 1990. Australia, likewise, saw Korean enrollments in degree programs drop by 23 percent between 2011 and 2016 despite a record-breaking surge in international enrollments in general. Programs in standard academic disciplines are four years in length (at least 130 credits), while bachelor’s programs in professional disciplines like architecture, pharmacy, or medicine take five or six years to complete (see also the section on medical and dental education below). Only 5 percent of Korea’s schools were coeducational as of 1996. The compulsory period lasts nine years and includes education in primary and secondary schools. In addition there is the special autonomous city of Sejong, which was recently created to become Korea’s new administrative capital in an attempt to reduce the influence of Seoul, Korea’s towering economic and administrative center. To promote quality in higher education and establish criteria for the inevitable downsizing and closure of HEIs, the government of former President Park Geun-hye also introduced a new evaluation system for HEIs that ranked universities in five different categories, from excellent to very poor (A to E). Completion of the program requires at least 24 credits of course work, a thesis, and a grade point average of B (3.0) or better. However, the future of these autonomous institutions is currently uncertain. After three or more years on the job, teachers must complete an additional 180-hour training program to earn a higher-level Grade I Teacher Certificate. In 2017, about 593,000 high school students registered for the Suneung. Graduates are awarded certificates of graduation that are formally equivalent to high school diplomas from other types of schools and that provide access to tertiary education. Curricula typically include a general education component of about 30 percent in addition to major-specific subjects, with an increasing emphasis on internships. Foreign Western faculty, meanwhile, reportedly feel unintegrated; many of them leave after short tenures. That said, as of this writing no concrete steps have yet been taken to form this new committee. The Moon administration has criticized autonomous schools for being little more than exclusivist prep schools for admission into top universities, and seeks to convert them into regular schools. While that is pretty high for a developed economy, government spending per tertiary student still remains below OECD average. Active support for classes in need of special consideration Korea’s educational system is now enhancing its support … Different areas of the country have slightly different systems, including the processes for allocating spots, which might be by lottery (especially in large, densely populated cities), or throug… Notably, pupils now enjoy a “free semester” in which they don’t have to take written examinations or pass other school assessments—a change that was introduced to promote “happy education for all children.”. These developments created a fertile environment for Korean outbound student mobility. Their results in standardized testing and their student’s ability to advance towards college graduation is the model over 200 nations, are chasing to be the best in education. Other sending countries include the U.S., Uzbekistan, Taiwan, France, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This is based from the 2009 PISA or Programme for International Student Assessment for 15-year old students. 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