Korea

REVIEWS OF N AT I O N A L POLICIES FOR EDUCATION KOREA REVIEWS OF NATIONAL POLICIES FOR EDUCATION KOREA ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: – to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; – to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and – to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became Members subsequently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995), Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996) and Korea (12th December 1996). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention). Publi´e en fran¸cais sous le titre : ´ EXAMENS DES POLITIQUES NATIONALES D’EDUCATION ´ COREE  OECD 1998 Permission to reproduce a portion of this work for non-commercial purposes or classroom use should be obtained through the Centre fran¸cais d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC), 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France, Tel. (33-1) 44 07 47 70, Fax (33-1) 46 34 67 19, for every country except the United States. In the United States permission should be obtained through the Copyright Clearance Center, Customer Service, (508)750-8400, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA, or CCC Online: http://www.copyright.com/. All other applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part of this book should be made to OECD Publications, 2, rue Andr e´ -Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. FOREWORD In April 1994, Korea requested that the OECD review its education policy. The request was framed in the context of the work of the Commission on Educational Reform which was set up in February 1994 by President Kim Young Sam. The Commission advises the President on the whole range of educational policies and through its consultation aims to create a national consensus on long-term educational developments in Korea. It also superintends the introduction of the education reforms that result from its proposals. The four themes picked out by the examiners to be at the heart of the reform proposals are: – Lifelong learning for Koreans and the extent to which the reformed system will provide access to educational and training opportunities throughout the full span of an individual’s life. – The quality of learning, at all levels, for children, young people, and adults; the professionalism of the teaching profession; and the range and effectiveness of the resources available to learners and teachers. – The provision for research and development and the availability of knowledge and information necessary for the effective performance of the reformed education and training system, and its accessibility to teachers, administrators, students, parents and members of the general public. – The inner dynamics of a reformed, decentrali