ABSTRACT
Korea since the establishment of the First Republic has been committed to centralization of institutions and processes of policy making and planning. Although there have been many proposals for decentralization, and a few experiments in decentralized planning, the political and bureaucratic power of the center has typically pervaded all branches of government. Educational planning as part of the educational administration in Korea has existed since 1948 in the wake of the Korean War, that more formalized, national, short- and mid-term planning became fully institutionalized. Educational changes and reform have been dominated by three sets of policies which have persisted across the successive planning periods. These are access and selection policies; educational content and methods policies; and administration and management policies. These policies can best be understood within the context of national educational planning. Plans translate policies into objectives, targets, and programs to be implemented. Plans may be classified as short-term yearly plans, or as middle- and long-range plans.
