1. National Report for Korea
UNESCO Asia-Pacific Sub-regional Preparatory Conference for the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education
(24-26 Sep. 2008, Macao SAR, PR China)
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National Report for Korea
Sang-Duk Choi (Korean Educational Development Institute)

2. South Korea Surrounded by the Great Powers
Russia
N.Korea
China
Japan
S.Korea 2

3. Brief History of Higher Education in Korea
1945~1950s: Building the foundation
● 19 institutions, 7,819 students and 1,490 faculty members in 1945
● 42 institutions, 29,288 students, 2,049 faculty members in 1953
s~1992: Liking higher education to economic development
● higher education as a main source of educated manpower
● the centralised control of the MoE over the higher education system

4. Brief History of Higher Education in Korea
s~present: Deregulation, university autonomy, and quality assurance development
● Education Reform for the 21st Century
- globalization and information society
- diversification/specialization, deregulation, and quality
improvement of university education
● Innovation of the role and function of the university as a new engine for growth
- Brain Korea 21 (Research)
- NURI (New University for Regional Innovation)

5. Step-by-step Approach to Educational Expansion
Increasing demand for higher education in 1980s was partly the result of the attainment of universal education at the secondary level in 1970s.
Source: GJ Kim (2007) 5

6. Higher Education Institutions (2007)
Higher education institutions can be classified by eight different types.
Number of Institutions
Total
National
Public
Private
Junior College
Sub-total
152 3 8
141
148
137
Miscellaneous Schools 1 2
Corporate Junior College
University
220 41
177
175 23
150 11 14 6
Technical university
Open University 15
Corporate University
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics 6

7. Progression Rate
The progress rate from upper secondary to higher education has increased from 27.2 percent in 1980 to 82.8 percent in 2007.
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics

8. The Growth of GDP between 1970 and 2007
The remarkable growth of GDP seems to be along with the steep increase of the progression rate.
Source:

9. Changes in the Number of Enrollment
While the total number of enrollment in university still continue to increase, the enrollment in junior colleges has decreased since the year of 2000.
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics

10. The Ratio of Private/Public Students in HE
Private institutions have played a major role in the expansion of higher education.
Junior College
University/College
Tertiary Education
Total
100%
National/Public
3.8%
21.3%
16.2%
Private
96.2%
78.7%
83.8%
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics

11. Ratio of Public/Private in Different Types of Institution
While 150 out of 175 universities/colleges are private, 137 out of 148 junior colleges are private in 2007.
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics

12. Changing Situation in Enrollment in HE
Student population for higher education has been shrinking rapidly since 2000.
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics

13. NURI (New university for Regional Innovation)
● Objective
- To strengthen the innovative capabilities of junior colleges and
universities located outside the Seoul metropolitan area
- To foster balanced regional development and provincial universities
- To boost the building of a Regional Innovation System (RIS) through
university-oriented collaboration with local government, industries,
research centers, and NGO
● Regional development strategy
- On the basis of partnership between universities and local governments
and industries
● Investment
- Around $250 million each year for five years, with a total investment of
1.2 trillion won 13

14. The Outline of the NURI Project
Scale
Goal
Amount Invested
(KRW)
Participants
Number of Participating Centers
Large Scale
Development of necessary human resources required for the development of provincial industries, etc, in compliance with the <5-year plan for attainment of national socioeconomic equilibrium>
Less than 3-5 billion
Local government and industries 37
Middle Scale
Development of human resources involved in engineering, natural science, sociology, and humanities, etc, which all form the foundations of industry and economy.
Less than 1-3 billion
Local government or industries 32
Small Scale
Less than 1 billion
at least more than a partner 59
Source: Korea Research Foundation BK21-NURI Committee

15. NURI (New university for Regional Innovation)
Source: Korea Research Foundation BK21-NURI Committee

16. Vision and Main Objectives of Brain Korea 21
Source: Korea Research Foundation BK21-NURI Committee

17. Phase I Phase II 1999-2005 2006-2012 1.4 trillion KRW
Outline of Brain Korea 21
Phase I
Phase II
1.4 trillion KRW
2.03 trillion KRW
79,680 students,
564 project teams
in 166 universities
147,000 students,
569 project teams
in 74 universities
Source: MOEHRD(2006). Education in Korea. Power Point Presentation. 17

18. Outcomes of Brain Korea 21
● The first stage ( ): 89,366 students and researchers benefited
and 564 centers or teams participated
● According to the SCI report, the number of Korean papers in the area of
science and technology increased from 3,765 in 1998 to 7,281 in 2005.
- In world rankings, Korea jumped from 18th in 1998 to 12th in 2005.
● Visible Result: Research Atmosphere
Before BK21
Phase I
Phase II
The number of articles registered in SCI
3,765 (1998)
7,281 (2005)
World ranking 18 12
10 (Goal)
Source: Korea Research Foundation BK21-NURI Committee 18

19. ● To invites international scholars to collaborate with Korean
The Objectives of WCU
● To invites international scholars to collaborate with Korean
faculty members and establish new academic programs in
key growth-generating fields
● To enhance national, higher educational and industrial
competitiveness in inter-disciplinary fields
● To transform Korean universities into world-class research
institutions 19

20. ● Three types of program
Types of WCU Program
● Three types of program
- Type 1. Establishing new academic departments or specialized majors by
employing foreign scholars as full-time faculty members, on a contract
of three years minimum
- Type 2. Recruiting foreign scholars to existing academic programs as full-time
faculty members for a period of three years minimum
- Type 3. Inviting distinguished world-class scholars such as Nobel Prize
Laureates as part-time faculty members for a period of at least two
months per academic year
● Government Subsidy
- Types 1 and 2: A competitive annual salary, research grants, and lab
establishing expenses for each foreign scholar
- Type 3: An annual salary for foreign scholars and also research grants for joint
research projects carried out with Korean scholars 20

21. World Class Universities (2008-2012)
● The main focus of the WCU project
New growth-engine fields
Interdisciplinary studies
NBIC(NanoBioInfoCogno) technology,
disruptive technology,
breakthrough technology,
energy science, bio-pharmaceutics,
embedded software,
cognitive/brain science,
financial mathematics,
financial engineering,
digital storytelling,
human resource and organizational development,
space and national defense science, etc.
- business management
(personnel/organizational management)
+ industrial workforce/adult studies
- design/arts + engineering
- mathematics + computing + business management
- biology/physics + philosophy
- humanities + natural sciences
- social sciences + natural sciences, etc.
Source: MEST (2008)

22. Enhancing Educational Capacities of Universities
● Aims of New Formula Funding for universities
- Funding reflecting educational conditions and
performance mitigating the burden of university
evaluations
- Fostering competition among universities
- Increasing the autonomy and creativity in the financial
operations of universities 22

23. The Educational Index Formula
Performance Index (50%)
Situational Index (50%)
Employment rate after graduation
25%
Number of admissions
Percentage of full-time professors
10%
Scholarship grants
20%
Educational expenses per student
* employment rate: 0.5ⅹtotal employment rate＋0.5ⅹfull-time employment rate (employment quality considerations taken) 23

24. Enhancing Educational Capacities of Universities
● Funding allocation based on eight classifications
- Universities in the Seoul metropolitan area (40%) with student body population
of 10,000 or more, 5,000~10,000, less than 5,000
- Local universities (54%) with student body population of 10,000 or more,
5,000~10,000, less than 5,000
- Industrial universities (6%) with student body population of 5,000 or more, less
than 5,000
● Annual project budget
- After 2009, merged with the NURI Project and the Specialization of
Universities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Project 24

25. Information Disclosure on Higher Education
● Objectives
- To make informed decisions on school selection, industry-academic
cooperation, employment recruiting, and policy enforcement by
providing information on universities.
- To ensure consumers’ right of selection and improve the quality of
universities through increased competition
● Implementation
- The Act on Special Cases concerning Information Disclosure on
Higher Education in 2007
- 13 categories and 57 items at the department and college level
- On October 1, 2008, data will be posted within school websites 25

26. Information Disclosure on Higher Education
13 categories of Information disclosure on higher education
1. Rules and Regulations for School Management
2. Composition of Educational Curriculum and Management
3. Student Admissions Methods and Calendar
4. Student Body Profile such as recruiting rates, student population, etc.
5. Student Career Paths After Graduation such as employment, etc.
6. Profile of Status on Full-Time Faculty
7. Status of Full-Time Faculty Research Performance
8. Accounting Status including budget and financial statements
9. Status on the violations record according to Articles of the Higher Education Act
10. Development and Specialization Plans
11. Status on Faculty Research, Student Education, and Industry-Academic Cooperation
12. Status on Support for Library and Research
13. Other Educational and Management Conditions 26

27. Differentiation and Specialization of Universities
● Higher education in Korea has expanded rapidly, largely by increasing the numbers of institutions, but the variety and choice among institutions has not increased correspondingly.
● Except for a few universities focused on teaching, most universities aspire to be research universities.
● It is important to promote institutional autonomy with mission boundaries for different institutions.
- comprehensive research universities; niche research institutes with some graduate training; comprehensive teaching institutions; polytechnics etc. 27

28. Increasing University Autonomy and Enhancing Accountability
● New budget accounting system will be introduced to promote autonomous management and an integrated accounting system.
● In relation to autonomy of national universities, a
university board of trustees that are comprised of
faculty and non-faculty members will be
established. 28

29. Distance University Education
● A total 17 distance universities (or cyber universities) by 2007
● 15 for bachelor’s degree / two for associate degree
● Degrees same as those of either junior colleges or
universities by the Higher Education Act from
2009
● Increasing the establishment of distance universities in terms of lifelong learning 29

30. Internationalization of Higher Education
● The trends of globalization have important implications for higher
education in terms of cross-border higher education.
● Most Korean graduate schools faces difficulty in recruiting excellent
doctoral students because they prefer earn their doctoral degree abroad
particularly in U.S. after completing a master’s degree in Korea.
● Recently, as internationalization of higher education is recognized as a
key challenge Korean universities facing in relation to international
competitiveness, government place emphasis on promoting
internationalization.
● “Study Korea” project
- 49,270 foreign students and 68% of them are from China by 2007 30

31. Internationalization of Higher Education
The number of Korean students studying abroad have rapidly increased since 1985 while that of Foreign students studying in Korea is comparatively very small.
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics

32. Korean Students Studying Abroad (2007)
The progress rate from upper secondary to higher education has increased from 27.2 percent in 1980 to 82.8 percent in 2007.
Korean Students Studying Abroad
Region
Total
Degree Program
Language School
Asia/Oceania
105,731
46,883
58,848
Africa
266
117
149
North America
71,878
62,123
9,755
Latin America
190 46
144
Europe
39,683
14,709
24,974
Middle East
211 87
124
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics

33. Foreign Students Studying in Korea (2007)
Region
Total
Undergraduate
Graduate
Language School
Others
Asia
45,652
21,388
6,410
13,193
2,198
Africa
291 69
131 42 8
Oceania 39 26 34
North America
1,692
413
339
472
402
Latin America
242 92 74 57 12
Europe
1,262
170
267
394
376
Source: MOEHRD/KEDI(2007), Analysis of Educational Statistics

34. Prospects for Increasing HE Vacancies
It is expected that demographic trends will lead to excess capacity in higher education institutions. 34

35. Expanding Lifelong Learning in the Learning Society
● By 2005, 30% of adult population who is 25 year old and over could not
attain upper secondary education.
● It is increasingly difficult for universities to fill their freshman quota
only by recruiting from school-age students.
● It is expected that demographic trends will lead to excess capacity in
higher education institutions.
● Higher education institutions need to provide lifelong learning for adults.
● Education programs “have to be broadened to include more flexible
approaches, allowing shorter-term and more specific programs to
develop.” 35