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Living & Surviving in Korea | |
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Education in Korea
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Korea's Confucian tradition places a concern for education at the very top of what Koreans believe to be the most important things in life. Education is valued both for its own sake, and as a key to social and economic advancement. The school system is essentially a 6-3-3-4 pattern; 6 years of primary school, 3 each of middle and high school, and 4 years of college and university with graduate courses leading to Ph. D. degrees. There are also two-year junior colleges and vocational colleges. Koreans' passion for their children's education is so great as to be excessive. Many people don't hesitate to move in search of better schools for their children. Such a passion for education stems from the tradition of tests being the measuring stick of one's capabilities. For example, government officials or company employees have to take several tests for promotions. For this reason, Koreans become used to tests from early childhood. The majority of elementary students study after school at private institutes or with tutors. The amount of money invested in such private tutoring far exceeds the expenses entailed in formal schooling. The strong Korean interest in increased levels of education, based upon the solid Confucian heritage of the past, has made a major contribution to the rapid economic and social development of the nation in the past 20 years. It appears to be a solid guarantee that Korea's development will continue, as the highly educated younger generation moves into positions of responsibility in the society.
As a result, English Language Institutes (hogwons) were created, and became very popular (almost every child goes to one, and many college students, businessmen and housewives, as well). These Institutes are staffed with Native-English speaking teachers and Korean-English teachers. More recently, public schools have begun hiring Native-English speaking teachers, often on a contract basis from the Institutes, to teach in the traditional classroom. Colleges, universities and businesses also hire native English speakers to conduct classes.
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