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Our bus wound its way uphill along a narrow, crowded street toward Shinn II Boys High School, and one could only imagine the excitement and disruption we were about to bring to its staff and students. Hanging over the school's entrance was a banner welcoming our group of 19 Americans and more than 40 other educators from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. We could see dozens of faces peering at us through the windows of the four-story building.
Our visit to this school was one of several we would make during the Summer 1996 Korean Studies Program sponsored by the Korea Society, an organization dedicated to academic and cultural exchanges to promote greater understanding of Korea and its people. Our visits and talks with teachers, students, and school officials allowed for some preliminary impressions and observations about education in Korea.
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Since that visit, much has changed throughout Korea. Economic and political upheavals have shifted both personal and institutional outlooks. As with other societal constructs, Korean schools have been part of this process.
The Korean public education structure is divided into three parts: six years of primary school, followed by three years of middle school and then three years of high school. In 1996 only about five percent of Korea's high schools were coeducational. The proportion of coeducational schools has increased by almost ten percent. However, classes in many coeducational high schools are still divided along gender lines. The curriculum is standardized so now both boys and girls study technology and domestic science.
The primary curriculum consists of nine principal subjects: moral education, Korean language, social studies, mathematics, science, physical education, music, fine arts, and practical arts. English-language instruction now begins in the third grade, so that children can start learning English in a relaxed atmosphere through conversational exchange, rather than through rote learning of grammatical rules as is still the practice in many middle and high schools. The major objectives, as stated in a 1996 background report by the Ministry of Education, are to improve basic abilities, skills and attitudes; to develop language ability and civic morality needed to live in society; to increase the spirit of cooperation; to foster basic arithmetic skills and scientific observation skills; and to promote the understanding of healthy life and the harmonious development of body and mind.” The seventh annual curriculum, which began implementation in March 2000, kept these basic goals but updated many elements to reflect changes in Korean society.
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Upon completion of primary school, students advance to middle school, which comprises grades seven through nine. The curriculum consists of 12 basic or required subjects, electives, and extracurricular activities. While elementary school instructors teach all subjects, middle school teachers, like their colleagues in the United States, are content specialists.
High schools are divided into academic and vocational schools. In 1995, some 62 percent of students were enrolled in academic high schools and 38 percent in vocational high schools. A small number attended specialized high schools concentrating in science, the arts, foreign languages, and other specialized fields. This is still the case.
The aims of education at the high school level are stated as to foster each student's personality and ability needed to preserve and strengthen the backbone of the nation; to develop students' knowledge and skills to prepare them for jobs needed in society; to promote each student's autonomy, emotional development, and critical thinking abilities to be brought to bear in and out of school; and to improve physical strength and foster a sound mind.
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The school calendar has two semesters, the first extending from March through July and the second from September through February. There are summer and winter breaks, but 10 optional half days at the beginning and end of each break¾which are attended by practically all students¾reduce each of these biennial vacations to the remaining 10 days.
A typical day finds high schoolers studying before school begins at about 8:00 A.M. Classes run for 50 minutes each, with a morning break and a 50-minute lunch period. The afternoon session resumes at about 1:00 P.M., and classes continue until about 4:00 or 4:30, followed by the cleaning of the classroom. Students may then take a short dinner break at home, or they may eat at school. Teachers typically move from room to room, while students stay in one place.
Students return to the school library to study or attend private schools or tutoring sessions until between 10:00 P.M. and midnight. They return home where they may have a snack, listen to music, or watch television before going to bed. Elementary and middle school students have similar but somewhat less rigorous days with shorter hours and more recreational activities.
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Attendance requirements call for a minimum of 220 days at all three levels. The curriculum is prescribed by law, as are the criteria for the development of textbooks and instructional materials. There have been periodic curriculum revisions, most recently in March 2000, and the trend is definitely toward decentralization in determining, diversifying, and implementing the curriculum.
The well-educated person—according to the curriculum and perhaps shedding further light on what is valued in Korean society—is healthy, independent, creative, and moral.
The high schools that we saw were large and rather barren in appearance. Invariably, a large grassless area in front of the school serves as the playing field as well as accommodates schoolwide assemblies and other meetings. Inside, classrooms line the straight, sparsely furnished halls and are typically filled with 50 or 60 uniformed students and an instructor.
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Most instruction we observed consisted of teacher lectures, with only rare interruptions for questions. If students had questions, they might speak to the teacher after class. There is considerable interest in computers. At the end of 1999 there was about 1 computer per every 23.8 primary and secondary school student and 1 per every 1.4 primary and secondary school teachers. The Ministry of Education planned to raise the ratio to 1 computer per 17.4 students and 1 per every teacher by the end of 2000. The computer laboratory we visited was equipped with about 50 terminals meant to serve 3, 000 students, but at the time only teachers were in the room.
As we noted, discipline problems were infrequent, and great respect for teachers was evident. Students bowed, as is the custom, when passing teachers in the halls and appeared hesitant to enter faculty offices. We learned that discipline cases are generally referred to the student's homeroom teacher, who then talks with the student and his or her family. In addition to administering discipline, which may but infrequently includes corporal punishment, homeroom teachers offer counseling, help students with college applications, and maintain contact with parents.
We were told in 1996 that in years past when teachers informed parents of discipline problems, parents responded by sending the teacher either a small amount of rice as an apology for having caused the teacher worry and trouble or a switch for the teacher to discipline the child. Since 1999, teachers no longer have the legal authority to administer corporal punishment. This change has created some confusion as to the extent of teachers' authority.
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Despite these differences, Korean teachers still have more responsibility for counseling students and controlling their behavior than do teachers in the United States. Korean culture grants teachers the same authority as parents and attributes them even greater responsibility for children's moral and academic development.
One teacher we met was a Korean American from Maryland who teaches conversational English. As he explained, students are rarely assigned written work either in class or as homework. His regular workload consists of five classes that meet four times each week, with an additional twenty classes that meet once a week. With a typical class size of 50 or more students, this teacher would have 1, 000 papers to review weekly. He, of course, could not evaluate them and handle all his other responsibilities.
This teacher's workday extends from 7:30 A.M. to about 5:00 P.M., with an additional half day on Saturday. Although a relatively long day by American standards, it leaves him with considerable free time and few responsibilities other than teaching. While he reported that teachers’ salaries are relatively high by Korean standards of living, we learned that teachers throughout the country have expressed dissatisfaction with their pay.
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This teacher confessed that he did not know if his students actually were learning English. There are no failing grades, but there are remedial classes, and students may attend supplemental education centers if they or their parents feel there is a need. Most schools give trial achievement tests twice a year to prepare students for college entrance examinations. In addition, multiple Internet websites offer the same services, helping students to gauge their own progress.
Regarding instructional methods, this teacher has tried small groups and other nontraditional approaches to teaching but felt his students did not respond well, being unfamiliar with such
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