All About The Beautiful Korea: Education In Korea

KOREA EDUCATION

Education in South Korea

The modern South Korean school system consists of six years in elementary school, three years in middle school, and three years in high school. Students are required to go to elementary and middle school, and do not have to pay for their education, except for a small fee called a "School Operation Support Fee" that differs from school to school. The Program forInternational Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development),ranks South Korea's science education as the third best in the world and being significantly higher than the OECD average.

South Korea ranks second on math and literature and first in problem solving. Although South Korean students often rank high on international comparative assessments, the education system is criticised for emphasising too much upon passive learning and memorization. The South Korean education system is rather notably strict and structured as compared to its counterparts in most Western societies. Also, the prevalence of non-school for-profit private institutes such as academies or cram schools (Hagwon [학원]), which too emphasise passive memorisation, as opposed to conceptual understanding, in students are criticised as a major social problem. After students enter university, however, the situation is markedly reversed.In Korea, university is hard to enter, and graduation is comparatively easier than entry.

Almost all South Korea secondary students wear a uniform called Gyobok (Hangul: 교복; hanja: 校服). The majority of elementary schools except some private elementary schools do not have uniforms; however, the uniform is strictly monitored from the start of middle school and up. A typical South Korean uniform usually consists of a shirt, blazer and tie. with skirts for girls and long grey trousers for boys.

School uniform for high school.

Education in North Korea

The North Korea education system consists primarily of universal and state funded schooling by the government. The national literacy rate for citizens 15 years of age and above is over 99 percent. Children go through one year of kindergarten, four years of primary education(6 yeras old to 9 years old), six years of secondary education(10 yeras old to 15 years old), and then on to universities. After graduating from people's school, students enter either a regular secondary school or a special secondary school that concentrates on music, art, or foreign languages. These schools teach both their specialties and general subjects.

Outside the formal structure of schools and classrooms in the north is the extremely important "social education". This education includes not only extracurricular activities but also family life and the broadest range of human relationship within society. There is great sensitivity to the influence of the social environmental on the growing child and its role in the development of his or her character. The ideal of social education is to provide a carefully controlled environment in which children are exposed only to pro-Juche and anti-south influences. According to a North Korean official interviewed in 1990, 'School education is not enough to turn the rising generation into men of knowledge, virtue, and physical fitness. After school, our children have many spare hours. So it's important to efficiently organise their afterschool education'.

The uniforms of North Korea with the obligatory red scarfe. The boy wears a white shirt and blue pants. The girl weas a white blouse with a wide collar with a suspender skirt.