Introduction
The Republic of Korea( Daehan Minguk, ROK) has been in existence since 1948 and is subdivided into sixteen administrative divisions, i. e. nine provinces, six city-provinces and the capital city of Seoul. The head of state is the elected president. Christianity and Buddhism are the country’ s principal religions.
Following Japan’ s defeat in the Second World War, the Japanese domination of Korea came to an end and the Korean peninsula was divided into a Northern state( the Democratic People’ s Republic of Korea), which received support from the Soviet Union, and a Southern democratic state that was renamed the Republic of Korea( ROK) in 1948. This country module concerns only the Republic of Korea, or South Korea. The 1948 Education Act saw the establishment of an education system that strongly resembled the Chinese system. Financial assistance from countries such as the United States strongly boosted the industrialization of the Republic of Korea, which has had consequences for the structure of the national education system.
The Ministry of Education has been responsible for all types of education in South Korea since 1948. The ministry has undergone several change of name: in 2001 the name was changed into the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, and its current name is the Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology( MEST)( 교육과학기술부). Among other things, the MEST is charged with
the formulation and implementation of policy in the field of academic activities, science and education. The ministry is responsible for policy for primary, secondary and higher education institutions, the creation and publication of new textbooks and curricula, provision of administrative and financial support to the entire school system, and supervision of teacher-training colleges and human resource policy. The education system is based on the traditional philosophy of hongik ingan, or the universal welfare of mankind.
In the 1950s, the focus was on rebuilding the education system with a huge emphasis on democratic education. National universities and teacher-training institutions were founded, and textbooks created for primary school. The 1960s and 1970s saw a focus on quantitative expansion of the student population, educational facilities and the number of teachers. Increasing student numbers resulted in heavy competition for admission to higher education. Various measures were then taken to regulate the system more effectively. The 1980s were characterized by qualitative changes, such as the introduction of a life-long-learning system, and renewal of educational facilities. In the 1990s, local autonomy became an important item on the educational policy agenda.
Approximately 80 percent of all higher education institutions are private, all of which fall under the responsibility of the MEST. Private institutions for secondary education also exist.
The official language of education is Hangeul. The Korean orthography is a phonetic system consisting of ten vowels and fourteen consonants combined to form syllables. Each square formed Korean character represents one syllable. Around the beginning of this century, changes were implemented in the transcription system, resulting in alterations to the spelling of various higher education institutions in English. These alterations mainly concern the initial consonants of names( e. g.‘ Kimpo’ became‘ Gimpo’,‘ Pusan’ became‘ Busan’,‘ Chonju’ became‘ Jeonju ').
Compulsory education lasts 9 years, and encompasses primary school and junior secondary school, for pupils aged 6 until 15.
The academic year runs from March until February.
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