About the South Korean Education System
The South Korean education system is broken into four main parts. Primary school, ages six to twelve, provides a free compulsory education. Primary school is followed by three years of lower secondary school, also called middle school. Lower secondary school is followed by three years of senior secondary school (high school). 62% of students choose the academic high school path, while 38% chose the vocational path. Students then attend University. More than 85% of South Korean high school graduates go on to college.
The South Korean school calendar is broken into two semesters, the first semester is from March to July and the second semester is from September to February. South Korean high school students start their day by studying before school. The school day starts at 8 am and is typical not over until around 10 pm. Classes are 50 minutes each, with morning, lunch, and dinner breaks. At 4:30 the students clean up their classrooms and break from dinner. After dinner students study at the school library, have tutors, or attend private schools. Elementary and middle schools have similar but less intense days with shorter hours and more time for recreation. |
% of GDP Spent On SchoolIn 2010, South Korea spent 7.6% of its GDP on education
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Teaching As Community
Class sizes are very large, allowing peer relationships to develop rather than student-teacher relationships.
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Too Much Pressure?
The education system is said to be linked to the high suicide rate in South Korea. Students are pressured from parents, teachers, and peers to do exceedingly well.
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Over Qualified?With the high rate of high school graduates continuing on to university, South Korea is producing too many university graduates. This leads to graduates being overqualified for jobs requiring less education.
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