South Korea/U.S. Curriculum Translation

Education System

School Year: March to February | Compulsory Education: Grade 9 | Graduation: Grade 12

South Korea/U.S. Grading Scale

Transition Supports

Education Practice:

Since education expansion after the Korean War in 1945, South Korea is now a highly educated country. Over 70% of the young adult population has an education level beyond high school, compared to a country wide literacy rate of 22% during the war. Primary and secondary education consistently ranks among the top nations at an international level, based on standardized test performance. While education is compulsory only to grade nine, 98% of students complete high school. 

Education level is strongly associated with upward mobility, and as such, competition to get into colleges and universities is unparalleled. This has spawned a large and ever-growing private tutoring industry, and many Korean students spend around sixteen hours a day or more devoted to studying. 

The overabundance of highly educated individuals within the country has made it difficult for all those graduating postsecondary education to find jobs commensurate with their education level, and as a result has led to decreased earnings prospects for young adults. 

The education reforms introduced in 2017 required the country’s top three universities to ease their admissions standards in hopes of reducing the dominant tutoring culture, and to pave a way for students from less affluent backgrounds to be accepted. Additional reforms now ban job applications from requiring applicants to provide their university and GPA, so that applicants are primarily evaluated on their job-specific skills. 

While the new administration is holding fast to these reforms, a country-wide cultural shift away from prizing education above all else is slow to occur. 

U.S. Educator Implications:

The competition to succeed in education has caused South Korea to lead the world in teenage suicide, as students deal with the fear of failure, extreme pressure, and anxiety. Parents that fuel this competitive environment also face challenges, as household debt in Korea is rapidly growing as families pay for private tutoring. 

Rapid growth in urban areas has led to large class sizes. Students may therefore not be used to individualized attention outside of private tutoring. 

A large number of Korean schools are still single-sex, and even co-educational schools may have separate classrooms for girls and boys. Students may therefore feel initial uncomfortable around the opposite-sex. 

The Korean academic calendar includes a half-day of school on Saturdays, and students in the last two years of high school almost universally stay late into the evenings to study, with schools providing dinner. Educators will want to ensure families understand that this is not the practice in the U.S. 

English language instruction has rapidly spread since the 1990s. Most students will have taken at least some classes with instruction delivered in English, and the teaching of English begins in third grade.

Education reforms have prioritized critical thinking and essay tests over multiple choice, but change is slow to take place and students may still be used to rote-memorization.

High school education is not free in South Korea. Families may need additional explanation as to what is free and what may be an additional fee (ex. Extracurricular activities). 

There is no failing grade in South Korea. Graduation is based on attendance for a minimum number of days. As such, families may need additional explanation of the US grading system and the concept of failed credit. 

Strategies for Transition

• Get to know your students by building positive relationships.
• Provide multicultural education where texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives represent people from different cultural backgrounds.
• Allow a reasonable amount of transition time.
• Rote memorization is prevalent as a way of demonstrating knowledge in South Korea. Students may need additional guidance and positive reinforcement for assignments that involve more abstract or critical thinking. 
• Schools and classrooms are most often gender segregated in South Korea. Initially partnering students with same gender peers can help ease any social anxiety or discomfort. 
• The South Korean culture leaves students vulnerable to increased stress and anxiety over grades and classroom performance. Normalizing failure or struggle as an opportunity for growth through private, encouraging conversations may help students reframe their thoughts and reduce anxiety. 
• Large class sizes in South Korea may mean students are not used to individualized attention in the classroom, and may interpret this attention as negative. Providing positive, constructive feedback when giving students one-on-one attention can help during this time of transition. 
• Physical contact between people is reserved for family and close friends in South Korea. Avoid initiating contact such as a pat on the shoulder until you have formed a relationship with your student.
• Blowing one’s nose in public is considered rude. Students may feel more comfortable being excused to the restroom or hallway to blow their nose. 
• When grading papers, avoid writing student’s names in red ink. This is considered a bad omen, as this is reserved for the deceased. 
• It is considered rude in South Korea to give or receive objects using only one hand. When passing back or taking up items such as papers, try to use both hands together.

Resources:

1. WENR- https://wenr.wes.org/2018/10/education-in-south-korea
2. PreK and Kinder: https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1401/South-Korea-PREPRIMARY-PRIMARY-EDUCATION.html
3. South Korea MOE: http://english.moe.go.kr/sub/infoRenewal.do?m=0303&page=0303&s=english
4. Curriculum: http://www.koreaneducentreinuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-National-Curriculum-for-the-Primary-and-Secondary-Schools-2015.pdf
5. Etiquitte: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette_in_South_Korea