Education systems in
South Korea and the USA
ESL 156 Comparative Culture Studies
Instructor: Lyra Riabov
Presenter: Soo Jin Kim
OUTLINE
 Introduction: Public and Private schools
 The education ladder in South Korea
 Examination for entering a college
 The differences of education systems between South Korea
 Problems
 Recommendations & solutions
 Conclusion
 References
and USA
Introduction
Public and private schools
Public
Private
A school that is supported
financially by the
government
A school that’s not
supported
financially by the
government
Parents have to pay for
their children’s education
Good facilities
High academic standards
South Korea – pay a little
money
America - free education
The Education Ladder in South Korea
 Pre-school (Kindergarten) : 4 to 7 year-old
English pre-school
Physical Pre-school - YMCA
The Education Ladder in South Korea
Demands for Education
 Elementary school
8 to 13 year-old (6 years)
 Middle School
14 to 16 year-old (3 years)
- Wear a uniform
- Many rules control the students
- 45 students in a class
- Lots of subjects are scheduled by
teacher: Korean, English, Math,
Science, Social Studies, Economics,
Chinese letters, Physical Education,
Arts, Music, some activity and so on
The Education Ladder in South Korea
 High school 17-19 year-olds(3 years)
General High school
It is one-step upgraded from middle school
Public and private
A special purpose High school
Foreign language High school
It offers Foreign languages to students who major in them
Science High school
It offers education to students who passed exam
The Education Ladder in South Korea
 High school 17-19 year-olds(3 years)
Arts in High school
- Majors: drama, music, dance and so on
- Students learn not only arts but also academic
subjects
- More expensive than general high school
The Education Ladder in South Korea
 High school 17-19 year-olds(3 years)
Commercial High school
It offers commercial information to students who want to work after
graduation
Technical High school
It offers technology education
to students
The Education Ladder in South Korea
 Higher education
Community college (2 years)
University (4 years) for bachelor degree
Graduate program (2 years) for master degree
PHD program (4 years) for doctoral degree
Examination FOR Entering a College
 When? Once a year
 Test Subjects
Korean : 120 score
Mathematics : 80 score
Social Studies and science : 120 score
English : 80 score
Total : 400 score
 Level: 1-9
For example, 1 level means five percent of the total score
Students can choose three colleges. It depends on the level
The Differences of Educational Systems:
South Korea and USA
Availability of opportunity in South Korea
 High Academic Education
 Many rules which are enforced by
teacher
create less juvenile delinquency
 Learning manners encourage students
to be polite
 Parents support students to study
They can only focus on studying for the
examination
The Differences of Educational Systems:
South Korea and USA
Availability of opportunity in the USA
 Carefree and peer happy
The way of teaching makes students
Ingenious
 Some activities such as sports, drama
and volunteering develop students’ social skills
 Students have part-time jobs for spending
money
It makes them independent
Problems
In South Korea
In the USA
- No choice: do not enjoy school
life
- Full of stress due to study
- Conventional thinking by
memorizing method of education
-Become a shy person
due to passive classes
- Serious young generation problems
such as drugs, pregnancy murder, and
so on
Recommended Solutions
 What can we learn from American education system?
- Teachers encourage students to ask question during the class
- Students should have their own time to enjoy some activities
- School recommendation has to be more important than an examination
- Parents allow students to work for spending money by themselves
We should get ready to adopt
the advantage of American education
Conclusion
 Each country has its own system of education
 Each system has advantages and disadvantages
 We should learn from each other
References
 The Ministry of Education in South Korea http://www.moe.go.kr/
 Seoul Art High school http://www.yego.or.kr/yegope/
 Seoul Technical high school http://www.sdh.hs.kr/
American ways (Third education)- chapter 9
Thank You For Your Attention