The organisations responsible for educational administration in Korea comprise three layers of administrative authority: the Ministry of Education at the national level, Offices of Education at the municipal and provincial level, and District Offices of Education at the county level. To implement local educational autonomy, each municipal or provincial Office of Education has a Board of Education as a decision-making body which makes major decisions on important education matters. In addition, every school has a School Council to guarantee the autonomy of the school’s management and to maximise community participation.
Primary (known as elementary school) education for students aged six to 12 years (Years 1 to 6) is compulsory and free (that is, government-funded). Junior high school education, for students aged 12-15, is gradually becoming free and compulsory throughout the country, but is currently compulsory and free in some regions only. Urban area junior and senior high schools (students aged 12+) charge tuition fees to supplement government funding and funds come from parents and regional entities.
Private schools exist at every level of education, often run by religious foundations. Private schools are financed by tuition fees, support from national or regional entities and resources from the schools' founding bodies. Reliance upon parental tuition fees remains high. The national curriculum is mandatory for all schools from kindergarten to upper secondary, including private schools. Of the 19,258 education institutions in Korea, 6,146 are in the private sector. However the majority of these are in the pre- and post-compulsory phases.
The official language by custom and practice is Korean, which is the language of instruction.
Education is compulsory between the ages six and 15. The school system is linear 6-3-3-4: six years of elementary school (six- to 12-year-olds), three years of junior high school (or middle school) (ages 12-15), three years’ senior high school and four years of university education. The national curriculum is proclaimed in the form of Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development (MOEHRD) circulars, and is mandatory for all schools from kindergarten to upper secondary, including private schools. Entrance examinations to junior high schools were abolished in 1969 and there are now various ways of selection, such as recognition of school activities’ records. General high schools (students aged 15+) have selected students through a multiple application lottery system in each school district since 1996.
Kindergarten education is provided in national, public and private kindergartens for pre-school children aged three to five years. Kindergarten education aims to provide an appropriate environment for nurturing children and promoting their development through various activities, and diversified content and methods of instruction on the basis of the kindergarten curriculum provided by the state. This curriculum comprises five domains: health, society, expression, language, and exploration. As of April 2003, 29.1 per cent of kindergarten-aged children (or 46.9 per cent of the population of five-year-old children) were enrolled in 8,292 kindergartens nationwide.
Middle school graduates or those with equivalent academic background may enter high schools at age 15. The period of study is three years and students bear the expenses. In 2002, statistics showed that 99.5 per cent of middle school graduates went on to high school.
There are various different types of high school including general/academic high schools; vocational/technical high schools (offering vocational training in areas such as: agriculture, technology, commerce, fishery and oceanography, industry and home economics); science high schools; and specialist high schools. All students study moral education, Korean language, mathematics, social studies, science, physical education, music, fine arts, practical arts and foreign languages as compulsory subjects. In addition, some time is allocated to extra-curricular activities and to the study of optional subjects.
Students wishing to progress from high school to higher education take the College Scholastic Achievement Test (CSAT) (at around age 18). See sub-heading 14.
Education laws in Korea provide that one or more special schools for handicapped children should be established in each province. The number of special schools offering elementary school education (for children aged six to 12 years) and secondary level education (for those aged 12+) has increased steadily during recent years. Many special schools are 'all-through' schools providing education for students of all ages - from kindergarten to high school.
Special needs provision is not exclusive to special schools. Only students with severe special needs are catered for in such schools; others are enrolled in special classes, or receive integrated education, in mainstream schools.
In 2002/03 there were 137 special schools with a total enrolment of 24,192 children with severe special educational needs. In the case of students with less severe needs, 26,868 children receive their education in 4,102 special classes for special needs students in mainstream schools and 19,399 integrated in mainstream classes in such schools.
Some school districts also offer special education programmes for gifted children in subject areas such as science, mathematics, foreign languages, computer science, the arts and athletics. These programmes receive strong governmental support and aim to identify the gifted at an early age with a view to stimulating their creative thinking, motivating their learning and ensuring that they achieve their potential as future leaders in their specific area of expertise.
The school year runs from March to the end of February, organised over two semesters. There are 34 school weeks a year during which students receive between 830 and 1,156 instructional hours.
There is a statutory national curriculum which is revised regularly to reflect new demands of the education system, emerging needs in a changing society and new frontiers of academic disciplines. The (current) Seventh Curriculum, revised in 1997 and introduced gradually during the period 2000-2002, is based on eight common subjects, plus autonomous activities and special activities, which cover the ten years from the first year of elementary school through to (and including) the first year of high school. In the final two years of high school, elective/optional subjects are introduced in addition. The eight common statutory subjects are: Korean language, mathematics, social studies, science, physical education, music, fine arts, and foreign languages. Autonomous and special activities are decided at the school’s discretion.
Private schools may include religious education in their curriculum; publicly-funded schools may not.
Moral education (combined with social studies and taught as 'disciplined life' in Years 1 and 2) is a compulsory area of the curriculum for all school phases. The general goal of moral education is to introduce students to core moral norms, and to build civic and national consciousness. It is also intended to encourage students to develop moral judgments to assist them in their daily lives.
The Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development (MOEHRD) compiles and authorises textbooks which are classified into three types: government-copyrighted textbooks which are compiled by the MOEHRD; textbooks produced by private/commercial organisations which are authorised by the MOEHRD; and textbooks which are approved by the MOEHRD at the request of school principals (headteachers) or superintendents of municipal and provincial Offices of Education.
Textbooks for elementary school students are provided free of charge by the MOEHRD and students may keep them. In other phases, parents or students pay for textbooks, which are usually provided at a low cost.
There are various types of assessment systems in Korea. These include the nationwide assessment system of scholastic achievement tests (SATs) and continuous classroom assessment by teachers. SATs take place once a year (usually in September), while classroom evaluation/continuous assessment can be conducted at any time by the class teacher. In the SATs, two subjects are tested each year for a sample of between 0.5 and one per cent of the total student population in Years 6, 9 and 10 (ages 11-12, 14-15 and 15-16 respectively).
'Student School Records' or 'School Activities Records' provide summative, but also diagnostic and informative information on each student's academic achievement and social development.
At elementary school level, results in the national scholastic achievement tests (SATs) (see above), or in continuous assessment, do not generally influence whether a student moves up to the next phase or year of education.
Students wishing to progress from high school to higher education take the College Scholastic Achievement Test (CSAT) at around age 18. Entry to higher education is usually governed by the results of this test, combined with high school records (and possibly interview). Institutions of higher education in Korea are divided into various categories including colleges and universities, industrial universities, universities of education, junior colleges, air and correspondence universities, and technical colleges.
Teacher training is offered by universities of education and colleges of education, and also by general colleges and universities with teaching certificate programmes. Universities of education are teacher training institutions established to train elementary school teachers. There are 11 such institutions in Korea. Training lasts four years.
Graduates of teacher training institutes are required to be licensed and are licensed in accordance with the following classifications or categories: teachers (1st Grade and 2nd Grade), assistant teachers, professional counsellors, librarians, training teachers and nursing teachers.
Special school teachers are recruited from the graduates of the special education departments in universities and graduate schools of education.