1. Education in South Korea: National Treasure or National Headache? Byong Man Ahn (Ph.D.) Vice Chairman, Presidential Advisory Council on Education, Science &Technology Former Minister of Education, Science and Technology Republic of Korea

2. Table 1. The World’s Best Countries in Education, reported in Newsweek 1Finland 2South Korea 3Canada 4Singapore 5Japan 6Switzerland 7Estonia 8United Kingdom 9Ireland 10Netherlands 2

3. Korea was left in ruins after the Korean War fighting ended in 1953 and by 1960 its economy was on a par with that of Afghanistan.

4. Korea today: One of four Asian “Tigers”

5. Table 2. Trends in International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMSS), Grade eight, 2007 MathScience CountryAverage scoreCountryAverage score TIMMS scale average500TIMMS scale average500 Chinese Taipei598Singapore567 Korea, Rep. of597Chinese Taipei561 Singapore593Japan554 Hong Kong572Korea, Rep. of553 Japan570England542 Hungary517Hungary539 England513Czech Republic539 Russian Federation512Slovenia538 United States508Hong Kong530 Lithuania506Russian Federation530 Czech Republic504United States520 Slovenia501Lithuania519 5

6. Table 3. Programme for International Student Assessment (2009) 6 ReadingMathScience Country Ranking Average score Country Ranking Average score Country Ranking Average score OECD countries Overall OECD countries Overall OECD countries Overall Shanghai - 1556Shanghai - 1600Shanghai - 1575 Korea, Rep. of 1～21～2 2～42～4 539Singapore - 2562Finland 1 2～32～3 554 Finland 1～21～2 2～42～4 536Hong Kong - 3～43～4 555Hong Kong - 2～32～3 549 Hong Kong - 3～43～4 533 Korea, Rep. of 1～21～2 3～63～6 546Singapore - 4～64～6 542 Singapore - 5～65～6 526 Chinese Taipei - 4～74～7 543Japan 2～32～3 4～64～6 539 Canada 3～43～4 5～75～7 524Finland 1～31～3 4～74～7 541 Korea, Rep. of 2～42～4 4～74～7 538 New Zealand 3～53～5 6～96～9 521Liechtenstein - 5～95～9 536New Zealand 3～63～6 6～96～9 532 Japan 3～63～6 5～95～9 520Switzerland 2～42～4 6～96～9 534Canada 4～74～7 7 ～ 10 529 Australia 5～75～7 8 ～ 10 515Japan 3～63～6 8 ～ 12 529Estonia 4～84～8 7 ～ 11 528 Netherland 5 ～ 13 8 ～ 16 508Canada 4～64～6 9 ～ 12 527Australia 4～84～8 7 ～ 11 527 Belgium 7 ～ 10 10 ～ 14 506Netherland 3～73～7 8 ～ 13 526Netherland 4 ～ 11 7 ～ 16 522 Norway 7 ～ 14 10 ～ 18 503Macao-China - 10 ～ 12 525 Chinese Taipei - 11 ～ 15 520 Estonia 8 ～ 17 11 ～ 21 501New Zealand 6～86～8 12 ～ 14 519Germany 7 ～ 10 10 ～ 15 520 Switzerland 8 ～ 17 11 ～ 21 501Belgium 7 ～ 11 13 ～ 17 515Liechtenstein - 10 ～ 16 520 Poland 8 ～ 17 11 ～ 22 500Australia 7 ～ 11 13 ～ 17 514Switzerland 8 ～ 12 12 ～ 17 517 Iceland 9 ～ 16 12 ～ 19 500Germany 8 ～ 12 13 ～ 17 513 United Kingdom 9 ～ 13 14 ～ 19 514 U.SA 8 ～ 20 11 ～ 25 500Estonia 8 ～ 11 14 ～ 17 512Slovenia 10 ～ 13 16 ～ 19 512 Liechtenstein - 11 ～ 23 499Iceland 11 ～ 13 17 ～ 19 507Macao-China - 16 ～ 19 511 Sweden 10 ～ 21 13 ～ 26 497Denmark 12 ～ 16 18 ～ 21 503Poland 12 ～ 16 17 ～ 22 508 Germany 11 ～ 21 14 ～ 26 497Slovenia 13 ～ 15 19 ～ 21 501Ireland 11 ～ 17 16 ～ 23 508 OECD countries average score493OECD countries average score496OECD countries average score501

7. The Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910) adopted Confucianism as its ideology 7

8. Since the Korean War, parents have been willing to sacrifice everything for the education of their children—even selling farmland or prized cows. Universities in the 1960s were thus called “cow bone towers.”

9. Junior high students leaving their hagwon late at night. 9

10. Table 4. Share (%) of Education Expenses in GDP (2006) 10

11. There is a Korean saying, “Sa Dang-O-Rak,” that translates: “Four hours succeed; five hours fail.”

12. Table 5. Index of Students' Positive Affect Toward Mathematics (TIMSS, 2007) 12 Countries HighMediumLow RankingScore Singapore16615575545 Russian Federation26533494488 Hong Kong28603566532 United States33524511490 England35532515495 Sweden36517488470 Lithuania37531503481 Italy37506482455 Chinese Taipei39657605547 Australia42521498476 Korea, Rep. of43650600558 Japan46609567543 Hungary46554517496 Average score 471441428

13. Table 6. Index of Students' Positive Affect Toward Science (TIMSS, 2007) 13 Countries HighMediumLow RankingScore Singapore13586535517 Hong Kong18549508498 England22561532510 United States23533508503 Italy25511488475 Australia25535504494 Japan25574545529 Chinese Taipei28597552527 Korea, Rep. of29586544526 Average score 476442436

14. A number of boarding schools have opened across Korea 14

15. President Lee and Dr. Ahn visiting a new boarding school 15

16. Education Reform: Teacher Training 1.Establish 4-12 week English immersion and pedagogy camps 2.Send teachers abroad for six-month training & graduate course work 3.Upgrade university programs 4.Provide pay increases as teacher skills improve

17. Lectures from the Educational Broadcasting System 17

18. Private/Public Partnerships: English Villages

19. English Villages

20. Reform: Public/Private Partnerships EFL specialists have worked with networks to create popular English instructional TV programs.

21. Table 7. Share (%) of College Entrance Officer System-Selected Students in New Enrollments 21

22. Educational Reform: Schools Balancing the acquisition of knowledge and skills with student-centered classes promoting critical thinking and innovation.

23. Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies 23

24. Education is the noblest of all professions. 24