The education system in Korea is regarded as one of the best in the world. Education is strongly emphasized in Korean families, and it’s usually put above and beyond all other family concerns. American President Barak Obama has made several statements regarding the system used in South Korea as being a system from which other countries could learn. While the system certainly seems to ensure that South Korea’s youth are highly educated, it is much different from what you may be used to. Standardized testing is used to evaluate everything, and rote memorization is one of the only study methods taught and practiced. Most South Korean children lack creativity, and are not able to participate in writing exercises without using a “fill in the blank” method. This accounts for why science and math are some of the strongest subjects in the country, as memorization and standardized tests help these two subjects rather than hinder them. Every education system has its strong and weak points, and even when you take the above mentioned into consideration, the South Korean system is still an excellent one.
Some other differences that you may notice are the school holiday schedules, and the semester start and end dates. The school year is divided into two semesters. The first begins in the beginning of March and ends in mid-July; the second begins in late August and ends in mid-February. They have summer vacation from mid-July to late August, and winter vacation from late-December to early February. They also have a week off in the fall (for Chuseok-see the Public Holidays section under ” Traditions”).
After winter break, students return to school for a week to take end-of-year exams, and then take a short vacation from mid-February to early March. During this time is when most Korean students take ” intensive” courses at their private academies. It is well known in South Korea that vacation from public school usually just means more studying in their other programs.
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, much like the USA or Canada. Korean children may begin kindergarten when they are four years old or younger as there is a difference between Korean ages and western ages. While the entire concept is to say the least, confusing, the easiest way to remember it is take your age and add two years. This means that most children start school much younger because according to Korean age they are already six years old.
All public schools in Seoul (and usually in the entire country) follow the same standardized schedule. This can make family holiday planning quite difficult as you can be assured that the rest of the families in South Korea are planning a trip at the same time that you are. In a country of nearly fifty million, packed into a place that is the size of Kentucky, everything goes from interesting to exhausting.
The official authority of the Seoul educational system is S.M.O.E (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education).
Website: http://etis.sen.go.kr/index/index.do
They lay out all of the official guidelines for Education in Seoul and are responsible for hiring and training all of the teachers for the city. This includes the native English-speaking teachers, of which there is at least one in every public school. The Minister of Education is appointed by the President, and usually has a strong academic background, and a term of no more than one year. While in office they are responsible for all funding, and school inspections, etc. In this aspect the education system is extremely western. Public school funding comes from the government as the President considers this cost to be the most important. School safety codes are also extremely efficient and modern. While some schools in the U.S.A. have security guards and metal detectors, this is something that Koreans would never dream of being possible.
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. However, the English that the children learn in their public school systems is not enough to assist them with their TEFL exams later in life, so they must supplement with additional English studies at private after school academies.
The main language of education in the Korean public school system is Korean. However if your child goes to a private international school then he or she will study in English, French, Japanese or Chinese, depending on which school they enroll in.
The class sizes can range anywhere from 10 to 50 depending on the school. This is something that you will want to enquire about before registration.
Children not only attend after school programs for English, they also attend for: Science, Math, History, Taekwondo, Hopkido, and Korean. In addition to this they attend at least one music academy (to learn to play an instrument) and play at least one sport such as: baseball, soccer, basketball, or badminton. A typical child’s day in South Korea starts at 8 am and ends at around 9 or 10 pm. It goes with out saying that extra-curricular activities are very important.
The admission process for the public school system is much like any other western country. If you have all of your child’s previous school records, and current medical records then it is not a problem to enter them into the appropriate grade. However, they will need to have at least a beginner level understanding of Korean in order to enter into a first grade program, and more so at a higher grade. Since all public schools in South Korea are free, then there are no application or admission fees required.
To apply to a private international school the admission process is much more complicated.
Here is a list of things that you will need: (these will vary with each school, so be sure to check with the admissions department before you apply)
- Completed application form with three recent photos.
- Proof of eligibility to attend foreign school in Korea.
- Copies of report cards from schools attended over the past two years (if in any language other than English, a translation is required).
- Letter of recommendation from current teacher.
- Photocopy of information page of passport.
- 2nd – 9th grade students: Most recent standardized test results.
- Two full pages of original written work (in English) from recent school assignments with teacher or
- Principal verification signature.
- Two full pages of original written work (in English) from recent school assignments with teacher or
- Principal verification signature.
- Medical forms.
