This document provides an overview of higher education in South Korea through statistics and descriptions of the education system. It discusses the following key points in 3 sentences: South Korea has a highly educated population and ranks highly in areas like broadband and internet use. Higher education enrollment is over 70% and the education system includes universities, junior colleges, cyber colleges and others. However, the system faces challenges of an aging population, excess graduate degrees in some fields, and disconnects between universities and industry.

1. Feb. 2009.
Hye-Jung Lee, Ph.D.
Center for Teaching & Learning
Seoul National University, Korea
Higher Education in Korea
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2. South Korea at a Glance
 Area: 99.6 K Sq. Km (107th)
 Population: 48 Million (27th)
 Economy and ICT (World rank)
- OECD member economy in 1996
- Economy (11th)
- Broadband diffusion (2nd)
- Home PC diffusion (3rd)
- Internet use 78%
- Average hours of internet use
13.7 hr/week
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3. I. Overview
I
Overview
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4. Education in General

Socio-cultural context
- Homogeneity of Korean society: prevalence of the egalitarian ideal
- Confusion tradition: meritocracy, “education fever”

Formal Education
- Primary(6) - Middle(3) - High School(3) – Universities/Colleges(4)
- Primary & Secondary: 10,948 schools, 7.8M students, 389K teachers
- Universities/Colleges: 376 institutions, 3.5M students, 60K+ FT teachers

Non-formal Education & Training
- Public/private job training institutions; private tutoring institutions,
adult education centers; in-plant training institutions, etc.
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5. Budget
 One year budget (2008) : 35.9 trillion Korean won
: 5.06% of the GNP
: 19.6% of total Government budget

the Biggest portion
: Elementary & Secondary Education 86.2%
: Higher Education 12.3%
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6. Statistics
Public educational expenditures (% GDP)
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7. School System
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8. Types of Higher Education Institutions
 University
 Industrial University
 University of Education
 Junior College
 Open University
 Technical College
 Cyber College & University
 College in the Company
 Miscellaneous Schools
 Others
 Enrollment rate 70.5% (2008)
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9. Types of Higher Education Institutions
 Junior College(2 or 3 yr)
 817,994 students in 152 Junior colleges (2006)
 13 national/public, 139 private
 University(4 yr)
 43 national/public, 178 private
 6 year program : medicine, oriental medicine, dentistry
 2,434,112 students in 221 colleges and universities (2006)
 Others(4 yr)
 1 Broadcast & Correspondence University
(300,000 enrollments each year)
 18 Cyber Colleges & Universities
(28,000 newly entrance each year)
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10. Types of Higher Education Institutions
 Cyber Colleges & Universities
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11. Statistics
Schools, Students, and Teachers
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12. Statistics
Percentage of Female Students by Year
40 %
35 %
30 %
25 %
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13. Statistics
Enrollment Rate
Elite
Mass
Universal
70 %
50 %
30 %
10 %
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14. Statistics
International Comparison: Tertiary attainment for age group 25-34
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15. Statistics
International Comparison: Tertiary attainment for age group 55-64
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16. Statistics
Advancement Rate: High School  Higher Education (Total)
90 %
70 %
50 %
30 %
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17. Statistics
Advancement Rate: High School  Higher Education
General High School  Higher Education
Vocational High School  Higher Education
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18. Statistics
Number of Students in Higher Education Institutions by Field of Study (2008)
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19. Statistics
Employment Rate of the Graduates of Higher Education Institutions by Year
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20. Statistics
Changes in Admission Rate by Year
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21. Statistics
Degrees Awarded by Year
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22. Statistics
University Graduates by Field of Study (%)
Education Humanities
Social
& Art
Sciences,
Business,
Law
Services
Engineering, Manufacturing
Agriculture
Health &
Welfare
Physical
sciences
Korea
5.2
21.4
22.3
2.9
27.4
2.6
7.1
3.5
U.S.A.
13.2
14.4
41.4
3.5
6.3
2.3
9.6
1.4
Germany
8.0
14.7
27.4
1.8
17.6
1.9
15.2
5.0
Hungary
20.0
8.7
38.7
8.4
9.1
3.7
8.5
0.7
Poland
11.5
6.5
40.0
3.6
7.3
1.7
1.9
1.2
* Source : Education at a Glance (OECD Indicators, 2002)
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23. Statistics
Students Studying Abroad by Year
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24. Statistics
The Rank of Korea’s Major Universities in International Evaluation (The Times)
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25. I. Overview
II
Issues and Challenges
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26. Trajectory of Educational Expansion
Step-by-step attainment of universal education:

primary → secondary → higher education
* Trow, “Forms and Phases of Higher Education”: Elite(<15%) → Mass(15-50) → Universal(>55%)
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Elite
Mass
Universal
90
70
50
30
10
-10
1970
1975
Primary
1980
1990
1995
2000
Lower Secondary
Higher Education in Korea
2003
Upper Secondary
2005
2006
Tertiary
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27. Mobilization of Private Resources
< Private School Enrollment Share(2006) >
(Unit: %)
Primary Schools
98.8
1.2
Middle Schools
18.7
High Schools
81.3
51.9
48.1
Universities/
Colleges
74.6
0%
20%
40%
Private
Higher Education in Korea
25.4
60%
80%
100%
National/Public
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28. Shrinking School Pop. Amidst Ageing
Low
Fertility
Ageing
Total fertility rate
No. of birth
Proportion, over 65 and 75
No. of the elderly
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29. College Admission Dominates K-12 Education
 College-Entrance-Driven System
- Extreme competition at high schools to enter top 4~5
universities
obstructing the well-rounded growth of students
→ Inordinate expansion of private education aggravating equity
imbalance between different SES groups
(private education costs: 1.9% of GDP in 2002)
→ Large volumes of study abroad leading to educational trade deficit
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30. Increasing “Education Exodus”
Korean Students Studying Abroad
’97
Countries
’99
’01
’03
’04
’05
69
71
72
73
83
86
# Students 133,249 120,170 149,933 159,903 187,683 192,254
* Foreign student share in the U.S.(2006): Korea 93,728/ India 76,708/ China 60,850
Trade Deficit in Education
’01
’02
’03
’04
’05*
Exports
10.8
16.9
14.8
15.9
10.2
Imports
1,070.0
1,426.6
1,854.7
2,493.8
3,371.4
(Unit : million US$)
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31. Excess supply in graduate students
Unemployment rate (engineering) : 9.8%(’97)  16.6%(’03)
139 of 200 4-year universities offer doctoral degree
Korea
US
44%
4% 13%
53%
Associate
39%
19%
Bachelor
Master
Higher Education in Korea
20%
8%
Doctorate
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32. HE is not pertinent enough
Extent of dissatisfaction: CEO’s view on HE
75%
Creativity
87%
Practice&field exp
68%
Field experience
of
faculty
Federation of Korean Industries,
2002.
72%
Curriculum
70%
instructions
Mismatch between jobs and majors
(%)
Badly
Mismatched
Jr.College
University
Mismatched
Matched
Well Matched
33.3
25.4
15.8
15.0
26.7
27.9
24.1
31.6
Source: Office of Statistics, 2003
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33. Stakeholders are disconnected
Limited university-industry partnership


Low mobility between academia and business
University portion of industry's R&D investment:
2.4%(’00) → 1.7% (’03) (MOST, ‘04)
Low commercialization of university-based IPRs

Patent share (90~’01) : universities 0.5%, companies 78.8%,
research institutes 2.9%, individuals 17.8%
Un-coordinated financial support to universities

Duplication of funding for the same purpose by several line
ministries
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34. HE is not prepared for an aging population
<Source : National Statistical
Office>
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