Korea’s Knowledge Economy: Education in the Information Age

1. Korea’s Knowledge Economy: Education in the Information Age James F. Larson, Ph.D.Deputy DirectorFulbright Commission, SeoulSpring 2008

2. Presentation Overview • The Knowledge Economy framework in Historical Context. • Key features of South Korea’s education sector. • Aspects and indicators of Korea’s evolving information society. • How Fulbright Korea can help you.

3. Knowledge Economy Framework Provides incentives for the efficient creation, dissemination, and use of existing knowledge Economic and Institutional Regime

4. Knowledge Economy Framework Provides incentives for the efficient creation, dissemination, and use of existing knowledge Necessary for the creation and effective use of knowledge Economic and Institutional Regime Education

5. Knowledge Economy Framework Provides incentives for the efficient creation, dissemination, and use of existing knowledge Necessary for the creation and effective use of knowledge Economic and Institutional Regime Education Innovation Effective system of firms, research centers, universities that can tap into global knowledge, assimilate and adapt it and create local knowledge

6. Knowledge Economy Framework Provides incentives for the efficient creation, dissemination, and use of existing knowledge Necessary for the creation and effective use of knowledge Economic and Institutional Regime Education Information Infrastructure Innovation Effective system of firms, research centers, universities that can tap into global knowledge, assimilate and adapt it and create local knowledge To facilitate the effective communication, dissemination, and processing of information

7. Interconnected Interdependent Knowledge Economy Framework Provides incentives for the efficient creation, dissemination, and use of existing knowledge Necessary for the creation and effective use of knowledge Economic and Institutional Regime Education Information Infrastructure Innovation Effective system of firms, research centers, universities that can tap into global knowledge, assimilate and adapt it and create local knowledge To facilitate the effective communication, dissemination, and processing of information

12. Knowledge & Economic Growth

14. Korea’s Education Sector • Specialized and private high schools.

16. Specialized High Schools • A high school with an animation department http://www.bchs.hs.kr/ • Korea Game Science High School http://www.game.hs.kr/ • Daewon Foreign Language High School http://daewon.seoul.kr/dflhs/dflhs_eng/daefh_mseng01.asp

17. Korea’s Education Sector • Specialized and private high schools. • Korea has the world’s highest rate of H.S. graduates going on to higher education

18. Advancement/Employment Rate for High School Graduates

19. Advancement/Employment Rate for University Graduates

20. Korea’s Education Sector • Specialized and private high schools. • Korea has the world’s highest rate of H.S. graduates going on to higher education • Korea is the number one source of international students in the United States.

22. Academic Level of Korean Students in the U.S. (2006/7 Open Doors) • 45.2% undergraduate • 38.4% graduate students • 7.2% other • 9.2% OPT (Optional Practical Training)

24. Open Doors Data-Intensive English

25. The Education Deficit • Refers to the growing number of students going overseas for education, especially at the secondary level and earlier. • Large recent growth in secondary level students going abroad.

26. Korea’s Education Sector • Specialized and private high schools. • Korea has the world’s highest rate of H.S. graduates going on to higher education • Korea is the number one source of international students in the United States. • It invests more private funds in education than other countries. Private institutes are a major political issue.

28. Korea’s Services Deficit

29. More Americans Coming to Korea

31. Korea’s Education Sector • Specialized and private high schools. • Korea has the world’s highest rate of H.S. graduates going on to higher education • Korea is the number one source of international students in the United States. • It invests more private funds in education than other countries. Private institutes are a major political issue.

33. Private Versus Public Expenditure

34. Private Education is Big Business in Korea • The industry is estimated to be worth 20-30 trillion won ($21 billion to $32 billion). • Samsung Securities estimated the market would reach 28.6 trillion won this year.

35. Private Institutes in Korea • 77 percent of Korean students are getting private education • Averaging 7.8 hours per week • 222,000 won per child • 20.4 trillion won expenditure last year

36. Investment in English Education • Koreans spend an estimated $16 billion per year on private institutes and tutoring. • This estimate includes English lessons at the kindergarten level and expenses for those families who go overseas for study. Source: Samsung Research Institute

38. Korea’s Education Sector • Specialized and private high schools. • Korea has the world’s highest rate of H.S. graduates going on to higher education • Korea is the number one source of international students in the United States. • It invests more private funds in education than other countries. Private institutes and the “education deficit” are major political issues. • President-elect Lee Myung Bak’s government pledges major educational reforms.

39. President-elect Lee Myung Bak’s Promised Reforms • Doing away with the former “three nos” policy which prevented universities from • administering their own entrance exams • ranking high schools and • accepting donations for admitting students. • Giving universities full autonomy in the selection of students.

40. President-elect Lee Myung Bak’s Promised Reforms • Reducing the role of private education and strengthening the public education system. • Education Ministry has become the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

45. Highlights of the New Government’s English-Friendly Plan • Gov’t to invest $4.2 billion over the next five years • To introduce Teaching English in English • To outsource 23,000 teachers • Reduce English class size from 35 to 23 • Offer immersion and other training to English teachers • Utilize housewives and overseas Koreans • Introduce an English proficiency test to replace current tests

46. Government Plan is Controversial

47. LG Electronics Adopts English

49. 2. Korea’s Information Revolution • Broadband Internet and household communications expenditures • Exports of telecoms equipment • Digital Opportunity Index • Korea’s Ubiquitous Networked Society plan • Limits placed by language • Korea’s Digital Divide

50. Is this service or is this service?