Summary:
Christian missionaries had a great influence on the spread of Westernization. Korea soon adopted many Western political and social ideas into their own society. This then led to the education opportunities for women. Education for South Korea was forever changed after 1905 when Japan occupied Korea.
In any society, education of the people is important for the growth and development of the country. As the education level of the population increases, the country grows as a whole toward a large economy. South Korea, for instance, had many events in history that influenced and developed the country to what it is today. In this paper, I will provide a background on the education system of South Korea and show changes that occurred across history. Numbers on human development and government expenditures will further support my argument.
During the Choson Dynasty, the education system was based on Confucian heritage, similar to that of many other Asian countries. In the early stages of Korean Education, many people did not have the privilege to attend any type of school; formal education was only available to the males in the elite class. The educated people had more social prestige and were allowed to skip on military service. State schools had poor quality, however, private academies helped reform the whole education process.
During the late nineteenth centuries, both Koreans and foreign Christian missionaries started massive amounts of private schools. Christian missionaries had a great influence on the spread of Westernization. Korea soon adopted many Western political and social ideas into their own society. This then led to the education opportunities for women. Education for South Korea was forever changed after 1905 when Japan occupied Korea.
Korea was an independent kingdom under Chinese rule for most of the past millennium. Following its victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan occupied Korea. After World War II, a republic was formed in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula (South Korea), while a Communist government was set-up in the north (North Korea). During the Korean War which consisted of the years of 1950 - 1953, the United States and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks. A peace agreement was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along the middle.
During Japanese rule, the abdication of Emperor Kojong gave more power to Japanease officials in Korea. As the Korean government fought to propose a better school system, Japanese officials vetoed any of the plans. This led to the rapid growth of private schools which also led to the making of specific standards and regulations officials by Japan concerning private school operations.
Since the Korean language was officially outlawed, classes were taught in Japanese during the early years of the annexation period. Also, common school subjects such as Korean history and language were removed from the curriculum. During the whole colonial period, Korean students were required to pay respects at a Shinto shrine, swear an oath of loyalty, and support to the Emperor of Japan. Elementary, middle, and high school teachers were dressed in military uniforms and armed with swords; this was practiced to enforce the power over the students and to cause intimidation. It was also during the Period of Japanese Rule that hair length regulations and regular corporal punishment was introduced. Even today, to a degree, this form of education and style of teaching is practiced. Today, many regulations and policies are changing, making the school system less strict.
Students also played a major role in Korea's independence movement, particularly on March 1, 1919. A country wide demonstration was carried out that were harshly suppressed by the Japanese military police. Students protested against the Rhee and Park regimes during the 1950s, 1960, and 1970s. Heavily influenced by Marxism, Western "dependence theory" and Christian "Liberation theology, Most student activists have adopted these ideologies.
The after-effect of Japan's colonization influenced Korea in almost every way, especially in education. Resulting after the introduction of Japanese school systems led to more Korean children seeking some type of education. "In May 1942, the number of elementary schools built in Korea counted 4,945, the number of the students totaled 1,876,455, and the school enrollment rate went up to 60%, which was about 42 times greater than the number at the beginning of the annexation period. There were also 75 junior high schools, 75 girl's high school, 133 trade schools, 145 trade continuation schools, 16 teacher's schools, 24 vocational schools, and 1 prep school in May 1944."
When United States military forces occupied the southern half of the Korean Peninsula in 1945, they established a school system based on the American model. Other reforms included coeducational for all levels of school. Before, males and females learned in different schools and also learned different subjects.
The Korean public education system is similar to that of the United States. Their education system is divided into three parts: six years of primary school, three years of middle school, and three years of high school. Prior to this, most children attend kindergarten for 1 or 2 years if the parents wish. Every school year is divided into two semesters: the first term is from March to the middle of July and the second term is from September to the middle of December.
In high school, the course of study is divided into either a general course consisting mostly of the education required for entering into a university or a business course which is made up of a vocational education relating to agriculture, engineering, business and general education.
After finishing with their high school education, students take a "learning capacity" test and can go on to a university based on their test scores and school records. As the acceptance rate for universities is under 30%, it is rather difficult to get into a university. There are two types of school in Korea, universities that offer four year programs and colleges offering two year programs. After graduating from a university, students interested in further studies can pursue postgraduate courses.
Higher education determined a person's social status and economic advancement. A college or university education guaranteed a middle class standing and a decent job for the citizens. Similar to that of the Unites States and other countries, high school students have to face "examination hell." Students are influenced to cram endlessly and memorize facts on various subjects the test will be on. The number of students in college came from 100,000 students in 1960, to 1.3 million in 1987. In the late 1980s, over a third of college age men and women were successful in attending some sort of higher educational institute. This number rose to 35 percent in 1989. A negative aspect of the rising number of college graduates is that Korea didn't have enough job positions to accommodate for all the graduates.
During the late 1980s, control of education was gradually taken away from the local school boards and reestablished in a centralized Ministry of Education. The ministry was responsible for administration of schools and teachers, curriculum, and other policies.
In May of 1989, teachers established an independent union called the National Teachers Union (NTU). The union's aims included improving working conditions and reforming the school system, taking power away from the Ministry of Education. Thought the government promised a larger increase in salaries and better facilities, they didn't give the union a legal status. As teachers were civil servants, the government didn't give the right to strike and unionize. Also, unionization of teachers would undermine the status of teachers and would be bad role models for young students. According to the Asian Wall Street Journal, 82 percent of the teachers supported unionization. Almost 1,500 teachers were dismissed by 1989 and violence started among union supporters. Even class disruptions caused fear for families with children in schools. The union's main goal was to lessen the control of South Korean education by the Ministry of Education.
Government spending on education was relatively high and has been increasing. In 1975, 220 billion won, which was equivalent to 2.2 percent of the gross nation product, or 12.9 percent of total government expenditure, was used to better South Korea's education. By 1986, education based spending rose to 3.76 trillion won, which was nearly 4.5 percent of the GNP, or 27.3 percent of government expenditure.
Some statistics show the successful development of South Korea's educational systems. In 1945, the adult literacy rate was estimated at 22 percent. By 1970, adult literacy was at 87.6 percent and by the 1980s, that number rose up to 93 percent. According to The World Fact Book, the definition of being literate meant to be 15 years of age or over and is able to read and write. As of 2003, 97.9 percent of the total population is literate. Comparatively, this was a huge rise in literacy rates within those 50 years.
Emphasis on education also had its drawbacks such as large class differences. In the late 1980's, one could not be middle class unless they had received a college education. There was no solution for social advancement unless they had some sort of higher education. Despite their skills for economic growth, skilled workers were looked upon as second-class citizens by white-collar, college educated managers. This gave great incentive and motivation to try and receive a higher education. The gateway for an elite status was to emphasize on straight memorization in order to pass school entrance examinations.
There are many problems with the Korean education system today. Though a child's education starts out with kindergarten, the number of good schools is fairly small. Also, the good name schools are very difficult to get accepted due to the high competitiveness. Memory work is the main emphasis in Korean schools and children are drilled excessively in their studies by both teachers and parents. Often times, this has a negative outcome because it hinders the child to think originally or independently. "The ability to form sound judgments from the available data is perhaps the greatest weaknesses in the Korean education system at present."
Reforms in education have also taken place. Special schools for foreign languages, conducted by the Government under the supervision of foreign teachers have been instituted. Noticeable changes have been made in the curriculum of the common schools of the city. Mathematics, geography, and history are all subjects in the courses of reform. These modifications were the works by the upper class in hopes of progression by the country. Also, many Korean students hire private tutors when having difficulty excelling in school. As private tutoring was very expensive, it was only available to the rich elite class. This gave the rich every advantage to succeed in school whereas students from poorer families didn't have the same opportunity. This caused an imbalance in social class with the schools.
South Korea's rapid progress in modernization and economic growth after the Korean War is mainly due to the willingness of individuals to invest in education. When the government makes changes in education policies, it will benefit the citizens. As a result, a better economy can be obtained, which in turn will boost development rates of the country as a whole. It allowed people to have specialized knowledge in more diverse categories such as technology or the sciences. In a way, education is a process of investing in the people of Korea. The better education the people receive, the better employment they will have in the future. As a whole, the Korean government and economy will progress in a positive direction if the importance of education is emphasized.
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