Education Curriculum System

in South Korea From

Elementary School until
Vocational High School

Written by : Siska Rizki Abilaia

(2283160019)

The Republic of Korea, or called

South Korea, is located in Northeast Asia.
The national territory of South Korea estends
99,392 square kilometers, which is slightly
smaller than Guatemala and than Portugal.
The size of the Korea Peninsula, which
combines both South and North Korea, is
222,154 square kilometers, similar to the
United Kingdom and Romania. Seoul is the
capital city and the remaining land of South
Korea (hereinafter reffered to as “Korea”) is
divided into 16 areas administered by
respective local goverments; six metropolitan
cities, eight provinces and one special self-
governing province.

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 South Korea has a unique education
system. The division of the system is divided
into four. There are pre – school, primary
school/초등학교 (chodeung haggyo), middle
school/중학교 (jung haggyo), and secondary
school/중고등 학교 (jung-godeung haggyo).
Pre-school in South Korea isn't
compulsory, so if you want your child to
attend you have to enrol directly with the
school you have chosen. Places are available
for children aged between 3 and 5, with fees
payable. The cost of pre-school varies
enormously, and the best schools are
oversubscribed. There are both government
run and private options, with many private
schools teaching in English for families who
want their children to have a head start in the
language.
From the age of five or six (depending
on space and a child’s ability), it’s
compulsory to attend primary school in South
Korea. This stage of schooling is provided
free of charge. If you have a child of this age,
registered with authorities, you’ll get a letter

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automatically telling you which school your
child should attend. You’ll receive this letter
even if you're homeschooling, or have your
child at a private school, and you’ll have to
contact the authorities to explain the situation
if you don’t intend to take up the place
offered.
Primary school lasts for 6 grades, and
the curriculum is broad, covering basic skills,
physical education and languages. From the
third grade, English is taught an hour or two a
week for all students. To attend school, your
child must have had several vaccinations,
which are offered free at medical centres.
Teachers can check medical records online to
make sure that this has been done.
Wrap around care is usually on offer
from early in the morning until late in the
evening. Additional before and after school
care is charged for, although some families
are entitled to free support if they're lower
earners and both parents work.
Middle school begins when students
are around 12 years old, and lasts for three
years. Middle school is free of charge in

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South Korea, and covers both compulsory
and elective subjects.
The curriculum at this stage remains
broad, covering math, Korean and English
languages, social studies, science, art and PE.
There are also ‘moral education’ classes.
At this stage schooling starts to
intensify, with more pressure on children to
get good grades. In areas where entry to high
school is done on an academic basis, the
pressure is on to make sure that they can gain
entry to one of the more prestigious schools.
Students are streamed according to their
ability in many subjects, and competition can
be fierce.
For the purpose of entry exams into
higher secondary education, the student’s
whole middle school career is considered.
This takes the pressure off the final exams
somewhat, but still requirs children to get
consistently high grades. No surprise then,
that at this stage many students start to have
additional tuition outside of class.
There are several different options
for secondary education in South Korea.

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Students can choose to go to a school which
specialises in foreign language, arts or music,
for example, although they'll face stiff
competition and have to take tests to enrol.
Otherwise, there are also general schools, in
which admission is arranged according to
your home address.
At this stage, education must be paid for by
parents - although there are some concessions
for lower earning families. Included in the
cost of tuition are school meals. This level of
education, from around age 15 to 18, isn't
considered compulsory in South Korea,
although the take up is high.
If students want to go to university,
they must take the College Scholastic Ability
Test (CSAT), which is notoriously difficult.
It’s typical to take extra tuition or go to a
‘cram school’ in order to ensure good grades
at this stage.

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A. Primary Education

Primary education in Korea is free

and compulsory providing the general
rudimentary education necessary in life.
Enrollment rate at primary schools is as
high as 99.9%. The quantitative expansion
of primary education is due to the high
public zeal for education and the
educational policies of the government.
The sudden increase in the number of
students and the migration of the rural
population into cities has prompted the
government to create an education tax in
1982 to finance the expansion and
modernization of physical facilities and to
improve the socio-economic status of
teachers. As a result, the number of
students per class dropped to 34.8 in 1990.
Overcrowded schools have been divided
into smaller ones and the double shift
system of classes has been terminated. The
government will continue to strive to
improve primary education. With the
revision of the regulation that prohibited

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 children under six from entering primary
school, even five year olds who are
thought to have the ability became eligible
to enter school if there is space. In
addition, to expand foreign language
education, English has been taught as a
part of the regular curriculum starting in
1997, one hour per week for third and
fourth graders, two hours per week for
fifth and sixth grade students.

B. Secondary Education

High school course in Korea

consists of three years. Individuals who
graduate from middle schools or pass a
qualification exam and/or an assessment
that offers equivalent credits can be
admitted into high schools. There are four
types of high schools- General High
Schools, Special-Purposed High Schools,
Vocational High Schools, and
Autonomous High Schools. Student
selection procedures differ by school types
and/or school location (e.g., metropolitan

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or provincial areas). Students are required
to pay admission fees and tuition since
high school is not considered compulsory
education in Korea.
General High Schools provide
general education across diverse areas,
which account for the major part of all
types of high schools. Students are
commonly selected based on their
academic records and selection
examination scores of the region.
Special-Purposed High Schools
aim to provide professional education
and/or training in specialized areas.
Special-Purposed High Schools can be
divided into multiple specialty tracks.
Science high schools raise intelligent
learners in science, foreign language high
schools raise talented learners in foreign
languages, international high schools raise
internationally renowned professionals,
arts high schools raise artists, sports high
schools raise athletes, and high school
customized to industrial needs provide
curriculum that is directly linked to

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industrial sectors. Students for Special-
Purposed High Schools are selected based
on transcripts, teacher recommendations,
interviews, performance examination
results, evaluations that assess students'
self-directed academic skills, and so forth.
Vocational High Schools aim to
provide education that raises creative and
intelligent learners in specialty areas
through field-based experiments and
experienced-centered education in
accordance with students' skills, talents,
and aptitudes. Diverse vocational
education including agriculture/life
industry, industry, commercial
information, fishery/marine,
housework/business and so forth are
provided other than general courses such
as Korean language, math, English, and
social studies based on the characteristics
and aims of the high school. Students are
selected based on their academic records,
interviews, performances, and so forth.
Autonomous High Schools are
high schools that have more autonomy in

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 implementing a curriculum compared to
other high schools. They employ diverse
and specialized educational programs with
more autonomy and accountability in
school management. There are
Autonomous Public High Schools and
Public High Schools are selected based on
academic records and selection
examination scores of the region, and
students for Autonomous Private High
Schools are selected based on transcripts,
teacher recommendations, interviews,
evaluations that assess students' self-
directed academic skills, and so forth.

C. Basic Curriculum From Ministry Of

Education South Korea

Refer to the table above the rules

about the basic curriculum are :
1. Number of class hours proposed above
shows the minimum number of hours of
34 school weeks as the National Basic
Education Period.

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2. Number of hours for curriculum for the
1st grade, independent activities and
special activities are based on a 30
week period. The number of hours for
"We Are 1st Grade" is that for March
only.
3. One class period for primary school,
middle school and high school is 40
minutes, 45 minutes, and 50 minutes,
respectively. The periods, however,
may be adjusted depending on weather
conditions, seasonal conditions,
academic achievement level, and nature
of learning.
4. The number of hours for special
activity and annual class hours for 11th
and 12th year are to be completed in
two years.

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Table 1. Basic Education Curriculum in
South Korea

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 We can see the subjects from 1st
grade until the 12th grade. In the 1st grade,
the students studying Korean language
arts, mathematics, ethics, wise living,
pleasant living, we are 1st grade,
independent activity, and special activity.
In the 2nd grade, the students will
be study korea language arts, mathematics,
ethics, wise living, pleasant living,
independent activity, and special activity.
In the 3rd and 4th class, the subjects are
Korean language arts, ethics, social
studies, mathematics, science, physical
education, music, arts, foreign language
(English), independent activity, and
special activity.
On the 5th and 6th grade, the
students study Korean language art, ethics,
social studies, mathematics, science,

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practical course, physical education,
music, arts, foreign language (English),
independent activity, and special activity.
In the middle school, south korea
has 7th grade, 8th grade, and 9th grade. 7th ,
8th , and 9th grade will study Korean
language arts, ethics, social studies,
mathematics, science, technical
education/home economics, practical
course, physical education, music, arts,
foreign language (English), independent
activity, and special activity.
In the 10th grade of high school, the
subject as same as in the middle school.
But in the 11th and 12th grade, the subjects
only the selected subjects and special
activity.

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D. Vocational Education in South Korea

Vocational education policies in

Korea were established in full-scale from
the 1960s along the implementation of the
5-year National Economic Development
Plan. the government played a key role in
the development of VET since the
economic development plan was
established in the 1960s.
The key features of the VET
system include:
1. Education is regarded with a high
priority in Korean society
2. Vocational education and vocational
training are not mutually integrated
3. Existing education and training systems
are mostly led by the government.
4. (Currently) the government is
committed to the strengthening of
vocational education and training;
Meister High School (MHS), National
Competency Standards (NCS), and
Work-learning dual system

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5. Workplace training is not
systematically provided under the VET
system.
6. Lack of standards to control the quality
of workplace training (OECD
recommendations, 2013).
We can see the structure of
education and training in south korea
below this.

Picture 1. Education and Training in

South Korea

Since 2010, the employment rate of

vocational (industrial) high school
graduates has been on the rise. The
government put high priority on the full-

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fledged incorporation of vocational
education into high school curriculums as
part of its policies to develop vocational
education, the employment rate of
vocational high school graduates has
rebounded since 2010 which is shown in
picture 2.

Picture 2. Vocational Education and

Training in Korea

Vocational Education and Training

in Korea shows positive progress made by
VET policies, which is considered as the

17
outcome of endeavors to transform Korea
from an academic background-oriented
society into a competency-focused society.
Several policies in Korea, such as Meister
High School (MHS) and “Employment
first, College later” policy, were typical
models of vocational education. The main
advantages of these models are defined as
follows:
1. Independent curriculum that respond to
industrial demand
2. Establishment of school-work links.
In addition, graduates from
vocational high schools found more
employment opportunities in promising
sectors and industries and large
companies. It seems that the employment
of high school graduates has improved
both quantitatively and qualitatively. On
the other hand, there were also some
concerns that graduates from vocational
high schools may still face disadvantages
compared with university graduates in
terms of promotion, pay raise, etc. Such
discrimination against high school

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 graduates, associated with lower academic
background, used to be a long-standing
tendency of Korean employers. In order to
address the issue and conduct the
"Employment First, College Later" policy
effectively, the following measures were
taken:
1. Consistently increase the number of
specialized high school students.
2. Promote high-quality supportive
systems and policies to encourage
students who want to go to college with
a certain job experience.

E. Specialized (Vocational) High School

The education system of

specialized high schools is divided into 5
major courses; agriculture industry,
manufacturing industry, IT business,
ocean/fisheries and vocational home
economy. Current Status of Specialized
High Schools shows the status of
specialized high schools in 2013. As
shown in the table, the most common

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course taught in specialized high schools
was manufacturing industry (194 schools,
41.28%), followed by IT business (186
schools, 39.57%) vocational home
economy (8.72%), agriculture industry
(8.51%), and ocean/fisheries in that order.

Table 2. Current Status of Specialized

High Schools

Specialized high schools are

described as:
1. Vocational education school at the
secondary level

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 2. To produce high-quality technical
workforce
3. To strengthen students’ specialization
in major industries; agriculture
industry, manufacturing industry, IT
business, ocean/fisheries, and
vocational home economy.
In 2008, the Ministry of Education
and Science Technology (MEST) re-
categorized existing vocational high
schools into specialized (vocational) high
schools on the basis of the major courses
they were specialized in. On the other
hand, vocational high schools which lack
competitiveness were turned into general
high schools.

F. New System and Policies in Vocational

Education
1. Development and Expand of National
Competency Standards (NCS)
The context of NCS development
is an endeavor to foster a competence-
based society instead of an academic
background-oriented society in Korea. The

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background of NCS development is as
follows:
a. Nowadays in Korea, due to many
difficulties to get a job and worries
about getting a job, the majority of
young job seekers look to acquire job-
related qualifications such as foreign
languages and IT or gain overseas job
experience.
b. There is an excessive supply of
workforce with higher education in the
labor market of Korea and therefore
people are landing their first jobs in life
at a later age than before, while the
mismatch between job and education
still remains unattended . Meanwhile,
the vocational qualification system in
Korea has been operated separately
from National Occupational Standards
(NOS) and Korea Skill Standards
(KSS) by the Korean government.
There were concerns that it could
undermine international recognition of
Korean standards in mutual recognition
with national qualifications and human

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 resources exchange. 16 In this regard,
the Korean government plans to unify
these standards into National
Competency Standard (NCS). Key
features of NCS are:
c. The national standard system of
knowledge, skills, and attitude which
are required for workplace.
d. Scientific and systemic standards to
measure the competency of employee,
such as planning capability,
professional knowledge, work
performance, and ability of market
analysis.
e. Development of human resources to
satisfy employers’ requirement Under
NCS, all industries are categorized into
24 sections, 77 divisions, 226 groups,
and 856 classes. It is available for all
companies in Korea. About 240 priority
fields, such as chemistry, electric, and
electronic, were developed in 2013. In
2014, other undeveloped fields (318)
except the number of developed fields
(269) are developing.

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Table 3. Category of industrial fields at
NCS development

Standard levels of NCS span from

basic knowledge required in each industry,
such as literacy and calculation, to the
creation of new theories by using the most
advanced knowledge in each industry. As
shown in NCS is comprehensive standard
which are available to employers,

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 vocational educations, and qualification
exams. Advantages of NCS for these
stakeholders are:
a. Companies and employers can
accurately evaluate the work
performance of each employee by
utilization of NCS. ▪ Employees can
check competency requirement for
promotion and their own competency
by using self-diagnosis tool available
on the NCS website

Table 4. The Utilization of NCS

Job, Education Certification

Workplace, dan training authority
Employer institute
 Developm  Developm  Estabilishi
ent of ent of ng new
lifelong vocational type of
career path education qualificati
model and on
 Checklist training  Developm
for course ent and
employme  Developm reformatio
nt, ent of n of

25
 placement, teaching qualificati
promotion plan, on
 Self- contents, guideline
diagnosis and  Making
tool of textbook questions
work  Developm and
performan ent of methods
ce training for the test
standart

The launch of a NCS-based

education system is expected to bring about
changes in various aspects from curriculum
to evaluation, teachers, industry-school
cooperation and education environment as
shown in Table 5.

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 Table 5. Education system after
introduction of NCS

Traditional NCS-based
education education
system system
Contents of Achieve
text books performance
are delivered criterion
within time based
limit competency
(set by
NCS)
Designed to Designed to
achieve achieve
general human
education resources
Curriculum
objectives development
centered on object ves
industries centered on
jobs
Curriculum Curriculum
irrelevant to to meet the
industrial demand of
fields industrial
fields
Disconnectio Connection
n between between

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 school school
education education
and job and job
certification certification
Passive Active
education education to
with a set develop
number of capabilities
subjects suggested by
NCS
Learning Learning in
only within and outside
school school
Evaluate Evaluation
understandin on centered
Evaluation
g of text on
books performance
Evaluation Outside
by teachers institutions
and school (industries)
participate
in evaluation
Use Use
evaluation evaluation
result to on result to
coach prove
students students job
learning competency

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 perfomance
Deliver the Design and
contents of operate
text books school
curriculum
Required to Required to
Teachers
effectively have the
deliver the ability to
contents of plan and
text books design
curriculum
Industries Industries
make passive actively
participation participate
in school in overall
Industry – education education
school co process
operation (curriculum
planning,
development
, operation,
evaluation)
Teaching Focus on
hours and partical
Education
student training.
environmen
headcountper Reduce
t
class : out to teaching
develop hours and

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 individual student
students headcounts
talens per class to
improve
students
skills
Use learning Use learning
facilities in facilities in
school only school and
local
communities

The work – learning dual system

is an apprenticeship system based on the
concept of “Work-based learning”, with
some modifications to fit the Korean VET
system. Key features of the work-learning
dual system include:
a. Company that selected by government
provide NCS-based systemic training
program and textbook with field trainer
(not school teacher) to trainees. After
complete the program, trainees can get
a national certification according to
their training result which is evaluated
by company.

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b. When selected as trainees, young job
seekers and students take
apprenticeship at companies or training
institutes to improve their
competencies.
c. Existing field training programs in
Korea take no more than 6 months. On
the other hand, the new system will
take 1 – 4 years, as long-term training
programs.
d. To improve the utilization of this
training program in the labor market,
trainees that complete the course will
be granted a degree or certification.

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