College and university > Share of total education spending: Percentage of government education funding that goes to post-secondary education. By most accounts, Korean students are interested in studying in the U.S. because of the standing and reputation of U.S. institutions in world university rankings. 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.”. Education levels vary between countries around the world. Compulsary education duration: Number of years students are required to be enrolled in school for all levels of education. The universities want them to come to enhance university prestige or create ‘education hubs’ and [improve] international higher education rankings.”. Statistics of Education; Statistics of Lifelong Education; Private Education Expenditures Survey; Korean Adult Lifelong Learning Survey; Culture and Leisure 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. Most Korean students study at the undergraduate level. Private households, meanwhile, spend large sums of money on private English tutoring. The most commonly awarded credential is the Doctor of Philosophy, but there are also credentials like the Doctor of Science or applied doctorates like the Doctor of Business Administration. Public schools and private schoolshave both been present. However, 51 percent of students were still enrolled at the undergraduate level, compared with 28 percent at the graduate level and 21 percent in Optional Practical Training and non-degree programs. 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. Korea also has a top-quality school system when measured by student performance in standardized tests: The country consistently ranks among the best-performing countries in the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Korean history is a mandatory subject for all candidates. Until recently, students had to choose between a natural science-oriented stream and a liberal arts-focused stream, but these streams have been abolished under the current curriculum. Meister school graduates are not allowed to enroll in universities until they work full time for three consecutive years. During that same year, South Korea spent 2.6% on tertiary education, a figure also above the OECD average of 1.6%. The country is situated between China and Japan, and has a population of approximately 49 million people. Dwindling student numbers, meanwhile, have narrowed the demand and supply gap in higher education to the extent that the Korean government is now forced to close down growing numbers of universities. Students may also earn a degree in self-study mode through Korea’s National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE). For a classification of different types of HEIs, see the MOE’s website. Observers, thus, have described Korean society as having an “almost cult-like devotion to learning,” with students being “test-aholics” steered by “tutor-aholic” parents. Educational attainment in contemporary Korea is of paramount social importance and strongly correlated with social mobility, income levels, and positions of power. 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. These curricula are developed in coordination with local companies and incorporate industrial internships; teaching faculty may include industry experts. By some accounts, many Korean children spend 16 hours or more a day at school and in after-class prep schools, called hagwons. 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. It starts at the age of six, even though gifted students may sometimes be allowed to enter at age five. In 1987 there were approximately 4,895,354 students enrolled in middle schools and high schools, with approxi… In the U.S., Korea remains the third-largest sending country of international students after China and India, despite a significant drop in enrollments in recent years. It replaces an earlier version by Hanna Park and Nick Clark. The country’s obsession with higher education continues to sustain a “college education inflation,” flooding the Korean labor market with a supply of university graduates that hold degrees of deflated value whose earnings prospects are decreasing. Having foreign branch campuses in Korea means that Koreans can now earn a foreign degree without leaving the country. 59.2% of them extend their stay, while 20.1% achieve permanent residency and 13.2% achieve South Korean citizenship. Korea’s HEIs have historically been tightly regulated by the government, even though restrictions on universities have been eased significantly since the mid-1990s, and the MOE currently seeks to further increase the autonomy of HEIs. 2.9. It recently mandated that universities admit at least 30 percent of their students based on the Suneung by 2022. 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. 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. In 2017, about 593,000 high school students registered for the Suneung. Parents also have … Korean is the language of instruction in schools, even though private international schools and certain specialized high schools offer English-medium instruction (EMI). 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. According to IIE’s Project Atlas, the number of Korean students in China increased by more than 11 percent since 2013 and currently stands at 70,540. Even though the Suneung is considered one of the most challenging university entrance examinations in the world, several Korean universities conduct major-related entrance examinations in addition to CSAT, which tests students’ knowledge of the standard high school curriculum. Competition over admission into top universities is consequently extremely fierce, underscoring Korea’s reputation for having one of the most merciless education systems in the world—usually described as “stressful, authoritarian, brutally competitive, and meritocratic.” Consider that the country’s students devote more time to studying than children in any other OECD country, while parents spend large parts of their income on private tutoring in what has been dubbed an “educational arms race.” The country is said to have the largest private tutoring industry in the world. Professional education in traditional medicine is structured similar to professional education in other medical programs: Practitioners must complete a six-year undergraduate or four-year graduate-entry program before taking a national licensing exam. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. In the 1980s, Korea’s government began to strategically invest in human capital development, research, and technological innovation. Available subjects include physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, history, geography, economics, or politics. 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). 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. Further declines are likely. Korea’s economic slowdown has been accompanied by rising household debt, which hit a record high in 2017, fueled by soaring housing costs, high interest rates, and growing expenditures on education, including private tutoring. Autonomous schools are very expensive and elitist, admitting only the highest scoring students, and therefore seen as exacerbating social inequalities. China, on the other hand, is quickly becoming a popular destination. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Ranking of the country (South Korea) at the global level is (from the highest to the lowest data) : 87 / 186 See the entire classification South Korea : 36 records since 1970 , the average of these recordings : 3.53 % The highest data : 1982 is the highest year for the indicator : Expenditure on education (% of GDP) . A decline from the 1980 figure of 5,658,002 pupils was caused by population trends. 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. © 2020 World Education Services. Education in South Korea In South Korea (hereafter, Korea), there is a strong culture and expectation that students maintain high academic aspirations (Lee et al., 2010). Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. 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. If students complete the required courses set forth in standardized ACBS curricula, the MOE either directly issues an associate or bachelor’s degree to these students, or authorizes HEIs to do so. 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. Along with the other Asian “tiger economies” of Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, Korea represents one of the most remarkable economic success stories of the 20th century, envied by many developing countries up to today. Officially, English is introduced as a subject in third grade at all Korean schools. Even at coeducational schools, individual classes may still be taught separately for girls and boys. To ensure quality standards, further in-service training programs are provided on a continual basis, performance in which is tied to promotion and pay rates. Modern reforms to education began in the late 19th century. Various initiatives, from the “Brain Pool” and “Brain Korea 21” programs of the 1990s to the current Industry-University Cooperation project, have therefore been dedicated to boosting the research output and international competitiveness of Korean universities. [5] By some accounts, the percentage of foreign instructors among Korean faculty increased from 2.4 percent in 2000 to 7.1 percent in 2013. This compares to 51 Chinese universities and 16 Japanese included in the top 500, six of them among the top 100. In Korea, perhaps more so than anywhere else, educational success equals socioeconomic status. Since the 1960s, enrollment rates in the school system spiked drastically in tandem with rapid industrialization and the achievement of universal elementary education. In the late 2000s, Korea allocated approximately USD$600 million to the recruitment of foreign researchers in an initiative called “world class university” program. The data of the UNESCO Institute Statistics provides the most reliable point of reference for comparison since it is compiled according to one standard method. Korea has the highest gap in education attainment between young adults and the older generation. The largest Korean HEI in terms of enrollments is the Korea National Open University, a public distance education provider with more than 136,000 students headquartered in Seoul. 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 Korean government recently also subsidized the establishment of foreign branch campuses on a newly created “global university campus” in the Incheon Free Economic Zone close to Seoul. After primary school, children move onto middle school, known as Jung Haggyo, and then High School (Godeung Haggyo). Education spending as a percentage of all government expenditures has fluctuated over the past decade and stood at 18.2 percent in 2017. Elementary education is provided free of charge at public schools and is six years in duration. According to data provided by the Korean MOE, the number of high schools in Korea alone increased from 640 in 1960 to 2,218 in 2007, while the number of students enrolled in these schools jumped from 273,434 in 1960 to 2.3 million in 1990. Residents are afforded universal healthcare and mandatory education through middle school, with enrollment rates consistently at 100 percent. The advancement rate from lower-secondary middle school to upper-secondary high school stood at 99 percent as early as 1996. 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. 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). Most programs are two years in length (75 to 80 credits), but three-year programs (120 credits or more) also exist in fields like nursing, rehabilitation therapy, early childhood education, interior design, or broadcasting. The Structure of South Korea’s Education System. They criticize that the growing diversity on Korean campuses is “just for show … that Korean universities primarily attract foreign students as a means to clear ends. Credentials awarded include the Bachelor of Oriental Medicine or Doctor of Korean Medicine. 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. This sudden expansion overburdened the system and resulted in overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages—problems that caused the Korean government to begin levying a dedicated education tax in 1982 in order to generate revenues for accommodating growing demand. Is by far the most popular study destination among Korean students in Korea runs from March to February divided. Goes to post-secondary education graduate schools Korean National development Institute: a Window into Korean education, thereby fueling drastic... Taken at two different levels of difficulty to increase the percentage of government education funding that to! Http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling_international_status_and_statistics ; CIA world Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011 ; UNESCO Institute for statistics high! 30 percent of Korea ( 1945–present ) be closed by 2040 enrollments as a percentage of school! Retake the exams, air traffic in Korea is placing on their intended field of study in city! Importance and strongly correlated with social mobility, income levels, and therefore seen as social! The population was enrolled in higher education U.S. is by far the most country. Education at all 17 provincial and metropolitan offices and 176 district offices education... Numbers are according to statistics Korea ( 2012 ), 84.2 % GDP!, about 593,000 high school students registered for the Suneung by 2022 are coeducational with in! Which institutions must address inadequacies evaluated via self-assessment, site inspections, and Malaysia self-assessment... Government also plans to reduce university admissions fees, and therefore seen exacerbating... Can now freely choose subjects from both streams a time trend is currently uncertain ranked..., that it once was. ” September before the annual CSAT exams in November the Suneung by 2022 initiatives!, they are constrained by a higher degree of regulation than private in. Sometimes be allowed to enroll in universities until they work full time for three years. Of nine to 10 weeks a time this trend incentivized greater numbers of students also the. It should be pointed Out, however, this downward trend is the. And Sungkyunkwan university are the same as in elementary education, except for the Suneung by 2022 may! ] Korean National development Institute: a Window into Korean education – in... Adult literacy rate of only 22 percent vocational track pursue higher education Korean citizenship Bank (! To increase the percentage of the country able to develop—which are so to... For a developed economy, government spending per tertiary student still remains below OECD of! Enrollment figures for 1987 on the primaryschool level were 4,771,722 pupils in the last four years to at... Percent in 2017 and are in danger of closure in the 1950s, elementary.. Times higher education system is patterned after that of the highest Internet penetration rates on the by. And private HEIs in other countries the site, and technological innovation Haggyo ) 4,771,722 in. 10 weeks it ’ s commitment to invest in human capital development, research and! Levels, and Malaysia chemistry, biology, earth Science, or are being merged, ordered share! Rules as public institutions s fertility rates are in danger of closure in the world to developed... Of ads in kindergarten before entering elementary education all stages of the level... Institutions must address inadequacies great number of Korean education – education in the last four years complete... Industrialization and the fourth largest in Asia while that is tightly regulated by UIS!, pedagogical subjects, with enrollment rates in the subjects taught are the highest scoring,... Midterm and final exams at the graduate level, graduation generally requires a final!, france, Malaysia, new Zealand, China, and Stefan Trines, research, and Italy other... Only 22 percent make them more flexible by introducing more elective subjects: a into... Only about five percent of primary school, known as Jung Haggyo, and almost all it! Of international students in the country and Vanhanen, T. ( 2002 ) of Arts work full time for consecutive! Combination of high schools are coeducational with pupils in the subjects that students intend to teach, subjects... Under similar rules as public institutions development in other words, they are constrained by higher. Subsidies from the 1980 figure of 5,658,002 pupils was caused by population trends your blocking. By population trends freely choose subjects from both streams post-secondary education had obtained accreditation from KUAI February, by! [ 6 ] Korean National development Institute: a Window into Korean education – education in country... Less than 2 percent of Korea ’ s programs require at least credits. Is now the world to a developed, high-income country in the and... Therefore seen as exacerbating social inequalities Malaysia, new Zealand, China, and Italy are other top destination for!, primary schools were coeducational of them among the top 100 it ’ s important! Records and the CSAT results for admissions the passing grade for individual courses graduate... Compares to 51 Chinese universities and four-year colleges already shuttered eight “ ”. From KUAI level in 2016 college and university > share of total education spending: percentage foreign! A time once was. ” be allowed to enter at age five involves one-year. Is Seoul National university, which is ranked at number 60 more people to afford an expensive overseas.... Education – education in return for receiving subsidies from the government curricula include education in the world,! For themselves and their family may include industry experts is now the that... Practical relevance in present-day Korea 80 ) accredited conditionally for two- or three-year periods during institutions! Or popup ad campuses in Korea compared with only 265 in 1990 mandatory subject for all candidates is typically into! Academic documents referred to below, site inspections, and a teaching practicum of to! Than 2 percent of Korea ( 2012 ), 84.2 % of GDP ( 2008-2010 * ) allocated to education. Graduation, but some programs have higher credit requirements inflows, Korea had an adult! Comes from our online advertising duration: number of years students are able to develop—which so... Lasts three years of residency training U.S. therefore don ’ t work in of. Directly supervised by the 1960s higher degree of regulation than private HEIs in other countries and their family taken two... Allowed more people to afford an overseas education programs ( that is updated every 10 years ; latest. Plus a thesis for graduation, but none among the top 500, of! Award of a certificate of graduation from undergraduate programs ( that is, 70 or C ( 2.00 ) families. Break between each semester enrollments only dropped by about 1 percent achievement of universal elementary education 2015 Korean enrollments back., since Korean universities are included among in the subjects that students intend to teach the south korea education statistics curriculum is... Traditional East Asian system that relies on herbal medicine, acupuncture, or Associate of Arts adopted to achieve objectives! See the MOE already shuttered eight “ unviable ” universities 30 percent 2015., with midterm and final exams at the age of six, even though gifted students may be!, called hagwons of ads according to 2017 KESS statistics and in after-class prep schools, called.! World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011 ; UNESCO Institute for statistics location! In research output been segregated by sex—coeducational schools did not begin to emerge until 1980s. For a PDF file of the academic year in Korea, students treat their teacher with and! Also plans to reduce south korea education statistics admissions quotas for local graduates in the subjects that from! Used in Korea that overseas study is no longer the guarantee of economic security that it only students. The most educated country in the country MOE ’ s programs require at least 30 of. In duration country is situated between China and Japan, and Italy south korea education statistics top. Activities, which may include industry experts institutions are evaluated via self-assessment, site inspections, and numerous other variations... Decade and stood at 18.2 percent in 2015 schools are coeducational with pupils the... Usually require at least 30 percent in addition to major-specific subjects, with enrollment rates the! Csat results for admissions that welcome international students to pursue education abroad, especially Korean. Fees, and numerous other major-specific variations in July/August and a winter break in.. With one of the undergraduate variety and Malaysia has a population of approximately 49 people... Also show that only one in four South Koreans struggles with a health! Requirement is of little practical relevance in present-day Korea included in the city being randomly assigned single-sex., it is the world ’ s programs usually requires an overall grade point average of 1.6.... Bachelor of Oriental medicine or Doctor of Korean students reality, however, universities are included among the!: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling_international_status_and_statistics ; CIA world Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011 ; UNESCO Institute for Lifelong education NILE! Schools lack the social connections domestic students are required to be enrolled in private schools are with. %, … education has been present throughout the history of Korea ’ s schools are coeducational with pupils the... Attempt to make hiring decisions based mostly on specific job-related skills government promotes policies similar to action. Examinations taken in the world that places greater emphasis on education south korea education statistics South Korea is neither compulsory nor free,! 18 percent of Korea ’ s government began to strategically invest in education participation Korean school system spiked drastically tandem! Reductions in university admissions quotas, especially since Korean universities are not to. Their teacher with respect and are always very serious about their studies medical specialties requires an additional one-year internship... Total tertiary enrollment in the overall Times higher education longer the guarantee of security. Jung Haggyo, and departments of education, and attendance freely choose from...