ABSTRACT

The commitment to growth describes many of the changes in contemporary Korea: economic growth, industrial growth, urban growth, physical and human capital growth. Educational growth and its contribution to national development are subjects of praise in most English-language sources on Korea. The Korean educational system has had a symbiotic relationship with the state. The state played an important role in the growth and development of the educational system. Economic and educational successes have been accompanied by serious persisting political, social, and educational problems. Social inequities persist and social institutions and systems for protecting the health and welfare of the poor are still underdeveloped. The educational system purports to screen on the basis of academic ability, reserving the upper rungs of the educational ladder for the most academically talented. Korean educational development in general has reached a stage where equity concerns go beyond formal provisions of access to the core system of formal education.