Korea
is a country with few natural resources.
The "Miracle on the Han", the model of transformation of an
impoverished nation to a global industrial powerhouse, is the product of
skilled human resources. Let's take a
quick look on how Korea developed this all-important resource.
Korean
Education
Enthusiasm
for educations is embedded in the Korean DNA. Education has been the key to
social advancement for centuries.
Successful scholars earned access to coveted royal appointments bringing
success and resources to the scholar and his family. While learning was involved, the key value
was social access.
In
the modern era, education remains an important key to success. Free, universal education through middle
school is a right enshrined in the constitution. In 2018, the vast majority of the population
(88%) graduated from high-school and 49% graduated at an university, technical
college or some other form of post-secondary professional training.
Given
that education is the key to success, it has always been highly competitive. Students are assigned to schools based on
their residence. Parents often move (or
falsify their residential address) to districts that offer the best education. The
‘Eight Gangnam School District’ is the most popular as it is believed to be the
ticket to better education. (The district is a wealthy district and the
reputation for good education is further driving up housing prices in the
district).
The
importance of education has stimulated an entire industry of 'after-school'
study (sometimes referred to as 'cram schools'). Lines of cars can be seen standing
outside of popular academies as parents wait for their children ready to rush
them to their next scheduled study session. In 2019, the market size of private
education for elementary, middle and high school students was calculated to be
around KRW 21 trillion (US$ 1.8 billion) with 74.8% of all students attending
at least one after-school class. This polarizes opportunities for wealthy
families. In response, to promote equal
education, the government is working to provide more affordable public
education.
Education
changes
The
education system has changed in many different ways since its modern education
was first established in the years following the second world war. However, the
fundamentals of the education system have not changed much. Students focus on
memorizing materials rather than trying to understand or apply it. This rote
learning was highly applicable during the early period of rapid
industrialization that required disciplined, repetitive action. However, it is
less useful for more advanced skills.
Starting
from 2011, the government focused on developing a 'smart education' system, to
prevent private education dominating the market and to provide equal
opportunities for education. Extensive afterschool programs were established
and online courses on EBS online (Korea Educational Broadcasting System, a
public broadcasting organization) were created. This had little impact on
reducing the private education sector but it allowed more students to have access
to education. Despite this effort, the basics of the education system did not change
and the government continues to grapple with implementing fundamental
improvements.
Impact
of Covid19 on Education
Covid19
has affected all aspects of Korean society including education. The initial
response was to suspend all classes until Covid19 was under control. However, it
is still not fully under control but education cannot be suspended forever. After
schools re-opened, within 2 days, 800 school were closed again. The Ministry of
Education announced that online education cannot be 100% effective, but it is
still essential. School that remain open are providing both online and offline
classes to reduce the risk of Covid19, while Schools
that are closed school are providing only online courses.
As
this new system was applied suddenly, society was unprepared so applying and
adapting education online caused various issues. The greatest problem was technical
issues caused by a sudden change in the system. While teachers and professors
were not comfortable with online technology, they were forced to provide online
classes without proper understanding of the technology or teaching methods. The
students were also not used to the system which caused participation problems
and other issues. One technical problem is that it is difficult to track what
the students are doing, especially for exams. There was one incident where 80%
of the students shared answers during a medical school university exam. Now
most schools seem to have the capability to provide online courses but they are
still getting used to it.
New
Normal Education
Challenges
are emerging from the new Covid19 era education paradigm. Online education for
elementary students is less effective compared to middle school or high school
students. In schools, students learn not only the subjects taught by the
teacher but also learn interaction with other students and adapting to new and
different environments. Teachers also have difficulty in bonding with the
students, unable to provide them the personal care that they need. Middle
school and high schoolers obtain better results with the online education
compared to elementary students as they are able to concentrate more.
As
hard as it is for students it is also equally difficult for teachers. They must create new programs and new ways to
convey course materials. Considering the vast amount of educational content
already available on-line from EBS, Youtube and other platforms, it will challenging
to present course materials that are sufficiently unique and differentiated.
However, if teachers integrate available content into their own courses, there
are opportunities to provide even better education than in the classroom
format.
In
the future, as students become familiar with online teaching, it will be difficult
for them to give up the upside of the online class experience they have
adjusted to and will demand to use some of these methods even after offline
classes resume.
Even
though this was an abrupt change in the education industry, we hope that we can
develop systems and processes that will deliver better education in the future.
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