The Status of Education in South Korea

UN Secretary-General Commission Meeting

Today I would like to address the status of education in South Korea. As you

may know South Korea was once a united Korea with its neighbor in the North and

has been struggling with its governmental structure since the mid- 1940s.

Surprisingly, South Korea has come out on top and proven to be a powerful, driven

country. The three global education initiatives: 1. Put every child in school, 2.

Improve the quality of leaning, and 3. Foster global citizenship have been extensively

reviewed and compared to data put out by The World Bank and nation-based

sources. The Republic of South Korea, despite many struggles economically and

politically, has proven that exceptional education will lead to long-lasting success.

South Korea has a strong legacy that links their desire for success to high

educational standards. Some believe that the “East Asian Confucian culture has

provided [South Korea] with high levels of social capital in the form of strong family

structure and norms of frugality, hard work, and a high valuation of education”

(Sorensen, 1994). South Koreans believe that education is a key element in their

society and some may even argue determines the social status of families. This

begins by putting every child in school. Programs such as “Head Start” enables

students who are developmentally delayed to improve language and other skills

before being placed in a classroom. Even minority populations such as the disabled

are given extra resources and services to help them go to school, including

exceptional schools for those with disabilities. Data shows that one exceptional

school is located in each province (Sorensen, 1994). Referring to Figure 2, one can
see that the rate of school attendance has steadily increased since 1970. By

providing students with a wide variety of resources and options no student is left

behind.

The Republic of South Korea nationally prides themselves with a tradition of

deep values and a sense of morality. In order to improve the quality of learning for

all students administrators and national leaders alike allocate proper funding in

order to adequately pay teachers, manage resources, and provide incentives to

teachers to do the best job possible. Teachers are educated citizens with degrees

who pride themselves on their passion and experience. Schools are constantly being

improved and evaluated “based on a Ministry of Education evaluation plan, which

sets directions and standards” (‘System and school’, 2013). Schools are set to the

highest standard possible and ironically enough they spend statistically less then the

U.S. per institutions (See. Figure 3). By providing teachers with benefits such as the

ability to become “Master Teacher, which entitles effective seasoned teachers to a

small monthly stipend in addition to their normal salary”, teachers are more likely to

provide the best education possible (‘System and schools’, 2013). South Korean

students are far passing their U.S. allies in mean testing score averages. Students are

statistically scoring higher in all content areas, and referring to Figure 1 you can see

that students far surpass the global average as well. This raises the question, what is

South Korea doing differently?

Korean students are well-rounded individuals who have a sense of family

pride and a desire for educational success. Students are fostering global citizenship

in the classroom because teachers are providing students with the resources to do
just that. Students can attend vocational schools and participate in global

internships. Schools also place an emphasis on relationships between businesses

and schools, so that when students complete their schooling they are more likely to

actively participate in the workforce and the economy. Many students outside of the

country are also invited to participate in South Korean study courses to learn about

the culture. Students learn from an early age to foster understanding and respect for

others.

Why is South Korea so successful in educating their students, is it because

they place a higher importance on education or something more? The UN initiatives

lay the groundwork for students all around the globe to be successful, educated

individuals. In order to achieve these goals, countries need to work together and

help each other change the future for today and generations to come.
Figure 1: Mean scores by country for Reading, Math and Science
South Korea scores statistically higher in all educational categories
See: http://www.ncee.org/programs-affiliates/center-on-international-education-
benchmarking/top-performing-countries/south-korea-overview/ for more info

Figure 2: Chart from The World Bank: Education statistics showing the
average years of primary schooling for ages 15- 24 in South Korea
There has been a steady increase since the 1970 as more children are in school.
See: http://data.worldbank.org/topic/education for more information and maps
Figure 3: Educational Expenditures, South Korea spends statistically less
money per student. Source: http://www.ncee.org/programs-affiliates/center-on-
international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/south-korea-
overview/south-korea-system-and-school-organization/

Works Cited

South Korea Overview. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.ncee.org/programs-

affiliates/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-
countries/south-korea-overview/

Sorensen, C. (1994, February). Success and education in south korea. Retrieved from
http://faculty.washington.edu/sangok/education.PDF

System and school organization. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.ncee.org/programs-

affiliates/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-
countries/south-korea-overview/south-korea-system-and-school-organization/