4th Industrial Revolution

and Education Reform

15th March, 2017

Ju-Ho Lee
KDI School of Public Policy and Management
Part I:
4th Industrial Revolution and Learning Revolution:
Strategies for Koreas Transformation

Part II:
Meister High School:
Experiences as a National Leader in Turning around Failing
Vocational High Schools
Part I.
4th Industrial Revolution & Learning Revolution:
Strategies for Koreas Transformation
Contents
1. 4th Industrial Revolution

2. From Fast-Follower to First-Mover

3. Innovation Ecosystem

4. Learning Revolution
1. the Fourth Industrial Revolution

the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is expected to

reach a tipping point around 2025,
will clearly separate the winners from the losers among
countries.

According to the UBS report presented in the Davos

Forum,
not only is Korea lagging far behind in the readiness
for the Fourth Industrial Revolution among the four
dragons of East Asia,
but also it is assessed to be ranked at the worlds 42nd
(UBS, 2016).
Source: Schwab (2016)
Source: Schwab (2016)
Relative Ranking from World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report
Using Fourth Industrial Revolution Categories
Flexible Skill Adoptiv Infra Legal Overall
Labor Level e Protectio Impact
Educati ns
on
Singapor 2 1 9 4 9 5
e
Hong Ko 3 13 27 5 10 12
ng
Taiwan 22 14 11 20 31 20
Korea 83 23 19 20 62 42

China 37 68 31 57 64 51
Japan 21 21 5 12 18 15
U.S. 4 6 4 14 23 10
U.K. 5 18 12 6 10 10
Germany 28 17 6 10 19 16
France 51 25 18 12 31 28 Source: UBS (2016)
Disappearing Jobs?

Within next 10 to 20 years, about 47% of all jobs in the

U.S. are threatened by automation (Frey and Osborne,
2013).

Number of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. almost halved

from 21 million to 12 million during the past 35 years.
In contrast, the number of smart labors in high-tech sector such
as Internet, Scientific R&D, Pharmaceutical, Software have
increased (Moretti, 2012).
Demise of an American Giant

Source: Moretti (2012)

Hollowing Out of the American Labor Market

Source: Moretti
Smart Labor in U.S.

Source: Moretti (2012)

Is Korea lagging behind the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Shipbuilding, steel, petrochemical industries are unable to

secure competitiveness in the saturated market

Although Korea still maintain competitiveness in areas of

semiconductors, displays, automobiles, machines, mobile
phones, and home appliances, it is facing market saturation
while countries such as China is rapidly catching up.
Is Korea lagging behind the Fourth Industrial Revolution

In the new industries such as renewable energy, ICT

convergence, bio-health, advanced new materials, high-end
consumer goods, many Korean companies are showing
potentials.

However, Korea has yet to secure any competitiveness in

the Fourth Industrial Revolution areas such as AI, SW, Big
Data, and Driverless Car.
Portfolio of Korean Industries

Source: Yoo (2016)

2. From Fast-Follower To First Mover

To achieve continuous creation of high-tech jobs and

growth, a transformation from fast-follower to first-
mover is pivotal.

Need to take a step further from being good at

making a product developed by others to create entirely
new products, industries or platforms.

Many companies in Korea are fast-followers with

execution capabilities but are unable to become first-
movers with conceptual design capabilities.
Execution & Conceptual Design Capabilities
Execution Capabilities Conceptual Design Capabilities
Capacity to interpret a given blue
print and to materialize it physica
lly using resources
Easy to transfer as they are manu
alized in many cases, and there e
xists learning-by-doing
Efficiency gains (speed and costs)
through repeats
When developing countries recei
ve skill educations based on man
uals during the early developmen
t period, they absorb them easily
most of the time.
With accumulating experience, d
eveloping countries can make eff
iciency improvements themselves
, making it possible to raise their
execution capabilities themselves.
Capabilities to define a concept o
f a product and a service firstly, t
o draw a picture in a blank paper
, and to make originals
The core of the conceptual desig
n capabilities is the scaling up. It
is the core capability of global ch
ampion companies and is the pre
-requisite of open innovations.
Because conceptual design capab
ilities have no manual and becau
se they are accumulated in perso
n/organizational culture as creati
ve tacit knowledge, it is impossib
le to transfer
The only way to build conceptual
design capabilities is through lear
ning-by-building; field + learning
-by-doing and endless challenge
s are pre-requisites of generating
originals
Source: Lee (2016b)
Transformation from Fast Follower to First Mover

Korea can leap forward as a country leading the Fourth

Industrial Revolution only if it can achieve the transformation
from the fast-follower to the first-mover,

To this end, first-mover innovation ecosystem is essential.

Also, Education or Learning needs to change fundamentally.

3. Innovation Ecosystem

Innovation ecosystem is an evolving system in which

researchers, entrepreneurs, government employees
continuously compete and cooperate from R&D to
industrial innovation

In the fast-follower innovation ecosystem of the past Korea,

companies raised their international competitiveness by relying on
input-driven process and by absorbing skills of developed countries.

However, the first-mover innovation ecosystem

requires continuous creation of new products, platforms, and
industries based on high-risk and high-return research.
Virtuous Cycle

Source: Jackson
Valley of Death

To sustain the first-mover innovation ecosystem,

it is important to help start-ups navigate across the
Valley of Death and grow as global companies such as
Google, Facebook, and Uber.

However,
Korean conglomerates circumvent the Valley of Death
by concentrating their investments in internal research
centers doing applied R&D and by absorbing developed
skills from overseas rather than collaborating with
domestic start-ups and research communities.
Valley of Death

: Jackson,
Interactions among technological stages

In the first-mover innovation ecosystem,

basic researches continually act the role of platform

until the last stage of innovation rather than staying afar
from applied researches or from the commercialization
stage of companies.

Many research universities are being transformed

into central hubs of innovation ecosystem with the
promotion of use-inspired research, entrepreneurship
education, and start-up support.
Interacting Technology Stages

: PCAST,
Transforming the Role of Government

In the fast-follower innovation ecosystem,

government led the introduction of developed countries
technologies through government-funded research
institutes or through public enterprises such as POSCO.

In the first-mover innovation ecosystem,

government should focus on nurturing the ecosystem
letting companies, universities, and government-funded
research institutes to take charge in cooperating and
innovating based on much greater autonomy and
openness.
 What is happening in business today

the worlds largest taxi Emerging labor company,

Company, owns no vehicles does not have hired people

the worlds most popular media

owner, creates no content

the worlds largest accomodation

the most valuable retailer, provider, owns no real estate
has no inventory
: , KAIST
4. Learning Revolution

1. Education for Disappearing Jobs?

2. Need for Learning Revolution

3. Education Diversification Reform

4. Bottom-Up Changes

5. Project-Based Learning
4.1. Education for Disappearing Jobs?

Although Korea has achieved the fastest quantitative

expansion in education, Korean students lose interests in
learning, do not enjoy learning, and are most unhappiest in
the class with long hours of study and private tutoring.

Rapid expansion in higher education has been derived by increases

in enrollment of low-quality universities,
Resulting in salaries of one fourth of 4-year university graduates
that are below the average salaries of high school graduates.

Korean adults competencies are very rapidly declining compared to

those in OECD countries.
Average Years of Schooling (15-64 old) in Korea, Japan, USA, and
China

15.0

12.0

9.0

6.0

3.0 K 15-64 J 15-64

USA 15-64 China 15-64

0.0
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Source: Barro, R. & Lee, J. (2010). A New Data Set of Educational Attainment in the World, 1950-2010, NBER WP 15902
http://www.barrolee.com/ (2013.4. 12 retrieved)
Korean Students with High Test Scores and Low Interests in Math

1.2

1 [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0.8 [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
Interests in Math (higher is more)

[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0.6
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
0.4 [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0.2 [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
0 [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE][CELLRANGE]
-0.2 [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
-0.4
[CELLRANGE]

-0.6
350 400 450 500 550 600 650
Math Scores

Source:: PISA 20012, Lee, Jeong, and Hong (forthcoming)

Korean Students with High Test Scores cannot enjoy Science

0.8

0.6 [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
0.4 [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
Enjoyment of Science

0.2 [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]

[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
(higher is more)

[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE][CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE][CELLRANGE]

[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
-0.2
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
[CELLRANGE]
-0.4

[CELLRANGE]
-0.6

-0.8
350 375 400 425 450 475 500 525 550 575 600

Science Scores

Source PISA 2015, Lee, Jeong, and Hong (forthcoming)

Korean Students are Unhappiest in the World despite High Math
Scores

50 60 70 80 90 100
600 I feel happy at school
Percentage of students who report being
happy at school
Shanghai-China

550
Singapore
Hong Kong
Taipei Switzerland
Korea
Estonia Germany
Poland Macao Japan
500 Finland Canada
Austria Netherlands
Math Scores Latvia Denmark
Slovenia Australia Portugal
Ireland
Czech New Zealand Iceland
RussiaItaly FranceUK SwedenSpain
Slovak Croatia Israel
450 Greece USA
Serbia Turkey
Romania
Hungary
Bulgaria
Kazakhstan
UAEChile Thailand
UruguayMexico
400 Montenegro
Albania
Brazil Malaysia
Jordan
Argentina
OECD countries Colombia
Indonesia
Partners Peru
350 Qatar source: PISA 2012
 According to PISA, Korean students study Math for 9.32 hours per
week, much longer than OECD average(6.83), Finland(5.02)

Korean students study Math at after school programs

including private tutoring for 2.28 hours per week, much longer
than OECD average(1.07), Finland(0.37)

Korean students study Math autonomously including

homework for 2.31 hours per week, much longer than
Finland(1.20 hours)
Number of institutions and Employees in Private Tutoring Business

80 (x1000) 450
(x1000)

no. of employees or teachers

70 400

350
60
no. of instituions

300
50
250
40
200
30
150
20
100
10 50

- -
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
No. of institutions in private tutoring No. of employees in private tutoring No. of Teachers in Schools

Source: National Business Survey by Statistics Korea, and Educational Yearly Statistics
Note: Teachers in elementary and secondary schools
Trend for Number of Enrolled Students in Universities Grouped
in Deciles Based on New Entrant Performance (2000-2012)

Source : Lee, Jeong, & Hong (2014)

Number of Top-500 Universities in the World by Countries (Shanghai
Ranking Consultancy, 2004-2014)

Note: U.S. is excluded in the above figure (169 universities in 2004 and 146 universities in 2014). China include Hong Kong. The number in
the parenthesis behind country name is changes in the ranks from 2004 to 2014 based on the number of universities in the list.

Source: Lee, Jeong, & Hong (2014)

Changes in the Share of 4-Year University Graduates Receiving
Lower Wages than High School Graduates

Among College Workers (Age<=34) Among Workforce (Age<=34)

.2 5

.1
.0 8
.2
.1 5

.0 6
.0 4
.1
.0 5

.0 2
0
0

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year Year

mean median mean median

Source: Lee, Jeong, & Hong (2014)

 Numeracy
Korean Adults Competencies
Rapidly Declining with Ages

Literacy Problem
Solving

: ,, 2016
4.2. Need for Learning Revolution

Learn to Test Learn to Learn

Shallow Learning Deep Learning

Vertical Learning Horizontal Learning

21st Century Skills

Creativity

Critical Thinking

Collaborative Ability

Communication Skills

Citizenship

Character Skills
Lifelong Learning

Mark Zuckerberg sets himself new personal learning

goals every year.

Googles recruitment focuses on learning animals (Eric

Schmidt).

: The Economist (2017)

4.3. Education Diversification Reforms (2008-2012)
Reinforce Vocational Education

Meister high schools initiatives

Strengthen career guidance

(employ new 4,500 career counseling teachers)

Introduce Job-first, Diploma-Later career path

for vocational high school graduates

Encourage changes in 350 specialized vocational high Schools

Teaching and Assessment for Creativity & Character Skills

Introduce Admission Officer Systems for universities

Introduce Admission System for Self-directed Learning for

special-purpose high schools

Revitalize character education to combat school violence

(school sports clubs, student orchestra, social and emotional
learning)

Introduce smart education (digitalize textbooks)

Support Universities that Focus on Teaching and Cooperation
with Industry

Introduce supporting system for universities that teach well

- University Educational Capacity Enhancement Program
- Advancement for College Education (ACE)

Introduce supporting system to link universities and companies

- Leaders in Industry-University Cooperation (LINC)
- 2,000 I-U Partnership Professors
- Contract Majors
- World Class Colleges (WCC))
Strengthen the Autonomy of Schools

High School Diversification 300 Initiatives

- autonomous private high schools
- boarding high schools
- autonomous public high schools

Introduce a system to recruit principals through

open competition
Strengthen the Accountability of Schools

Nation-wide information disclosure on schools

Pulling students out of underachievement based

on nation-wide assessment of all students

Evaluate teachers by students, parents, and

colleagues
Enhance the Quality of Research Universities

Governance reforms for national universities

- corporatize SNU
- abolish direct election system of presidents of
national universities

World Class University (WCU)

- invite 340 foreign scholars to 30 domestic universities

Double government support for research of university professors

- from 16% (2008) to 32% (2013)

Establish International Science Business Belt

- Institute of Basic Science (IBS)
- on-campus research centers at KAIST, GIST, DGIST, POSTECH
- Heavy-ion Accelerator
Restructuring Universities

Establish data-based framework for

restructuring universities.

Set up University Restructuring Committee (URC)

Announce annual list of universities that are subject to

limited financial support, limited subsidies for
student loans, even to be closed down
Reduce the Burden of Private Tutoring

Expand After-School Class

Encourage local communities and industries for

active educational donation

Education Broadcasting System (EBS) provides

quality CSAT courses

Regulate through price ceiling and limited hours

of late-night private instruction
Half Burden of Tuition Initiatives

Launch National Scholarship Program through

Korea Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF)

Introduce Income Contingent Loan

Incentivize universities to reduce students burden

of tuition
Crisis-Management Strategies

Building on earlier failed reform efforts

Obtaining an electoral mandate for education reforms
Pursuing evidence-based reforms with information disclosure
and solid research
Engaging teachers by mediating conflicting interests among
teachers
Transforming small crises into significant reform opportunities
Opening-Up Strategies

Open to industry

Open to parents

Open to new players

Open to countries abroad

Open to other ministries through whole-of-government approach

 The problems of rote learning and quantitative assessment
based on multiple choices have reached a crisis level in Korea
Teachers are not delivering the reform policies

Science Performance Assessment

Year 4 Class No. Name ( )
Subject Weighing No. Date

Activity Using a spring balance Evaluator

Performance

1. Write the names of the each parts of this spring balance in ( )

Salaries and Self-efficacy of Korean Teachers
 Policy makers tend to have focused excessively on institutional
changes such as the college entrance system and the national
education curriculum.

It needs to be questioned whether actual changes in the

classroom became ignored amid such fierce dispute and conflict
over institutional reforms.
Bottom-Up
Establish a framework for new pedagogies into practice
Establish a system to develop the capacity of teachers new
pedagogies
Support the expansion of new pedagogies among schools

Top-Down
Strengthen the accountability system for new pedagogies of
teachers
Pursue gradual changes with consistency in the college
admissions system
Pursue bold changes in teacher college system
 Hope can be found in face-to-face talks with teachers that have
revealed teachers desire for change

Korean students and classrooms have access to an immense

amount of digital knowledge and information.
- Such technology can be a powerful partner for assisting the
changes in teaching and assessment methods.
 Project-Based Learning (PBL): Learning that is focused on
projects through student-centered collaboration and teamwork
to solve real problems and tasks
 Rate of Project-Based Learning (%)

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Korea 90
Italy
Israel
Japan
Singapore
Croatia
Spain
Belgium(Flanders)
Latvia
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Estona
Serbia
Slovak Republic
Poland
Australia
Bulgaria
Sweden
Netherlands
Portugal
Int'l Pooled
Romania
Malaysia
Canada(Alberta)
UK(England)
Brazil
Norway
Mexico
project-based learning either frequently or in all or almost all lessons.

Chile
* Rate of Project-Based Learning: The share of students who take part in

UAE(Abu Dhabi)
Denmark
Rate of Project-Based Learning Conducted by Teachers (TALIS)

61
Rate of Project-Based Learning Conducted by Teachers vs. Self-
Efficacy of Teachers (TALIS)

62
Project-Based Learning and Teacher Self-Efficacy: OLS Estimates

Note: Lines indicate the 95% confidence interval.

63
PBL Experiment in Daegu

Multi-Year Experiments

2015 Fall Semester: 2 schools (treatment) + 3 schools (control)

2016-2017: 6 schools (treatment) + 6 schools (control)
Effects of PBL on Students Academic Achievements and Social
Skills
Part II. Meister High School:
Experiences as a National Leader in Turning around
Failing Vocational High Schools
Contents
1. Launching a National Initiative

2. Providing Incentives

3. Opening-Up Strategies

4. New Paradigm of Vocational Education

 Education Bubble

Education Bubble: considerable increase in education

spending without contributing to accumulation of human
capital
Ex. Private tutoring to enter prestigious universities, blind-rush to
low-quality universities

Need for Education Diversification Reform

1. Launching a National Initiative

 Time for Change

Vocational high schools in Korea have continuously

deteriorated after its glory days in 1970s
Leading cause behind education bubble
Korean parents bear enormous expenses of private tutoring
& tuition fees of low-quality universities
Vocational high schools cannot guarantee good employment
Vocational high schools are not good alternatives to universities

1. Launching a National Initiative

Korean Education System

Source: How Vocational Education Can Be an Economic Driver, Heather Singmaster (Jan. 2016)

1. Launching a National Initiative

Career Paths of Graduates by Education Level in 2008

General High Vocational 2-year 4-year

Middle School
School High School University University

Number of
690,438 423,513 158,408 207,741 282,670
Graduates

99.7 87.9 72.9

General HS: 2-year Uni.: 2-year Uni.:
76.8 16.2 46.7
Study (%) 3.9 9.6
Vocational HS: 4-year Uni. : 4-year Uni.:
22.0 70.4 25.9
Others: 0.9 Others: 1.3 Others: 0.3

Work (%) 0.01 0.8 19.0 80.6 60.5

Military Service
- 0.1 0.6 1.4 1.9
(%)

Unemployed
0.3 11.3 7.6 14.0 28.0
+Unknown (%)

Source: Ministry of Education, Statistical Yearbook of Education, 2008.

1. Launching a National Initiative

Number of Vocational High School Students & Proportion out of the
Total Number of High School Students (1965-2010)
60.00% 1,200,000

50.00% 1,000,000

40.00% 800,000

30.00% 600,000

20.00% 400,000

10.00% 200,000

0.00% 0

Number of Students Proportion of Students

Source: Ministry of Education, Statistical Yearbook of Education, 1965-2010.

1. Launching a National Initiative

 Building on Past Failures

Failure of 50-50 policy

Retraction of Specialization Initiatives for Technical High Schools
(SITHS) in 1980s
Reformation Policy of High School System (1995)
Adjust student ratio of general high schools : vocational high schools from
68:32 to 50:50
Failure of 2+1 policy
Year of mandatory apprenticeship to vocational high school students
(1994)
Wrong Direction
Vocational high schools were treated as an intermediate stage for
students to enter into universities

1. Launching a National Initiative

 Embarking on a Presidential Project

High School Diversification 300 Project of President

candidate Lee Myung-bak
Key campaign pledge
Electoral mandate; possible to promote Meister High Schools
consistently and continuously
Term originate from German Meisters
Overcoming traditional desire of parents to send their children to
universities

1. Launching a National Initiative

 Starting with Small Number of Schools

Concentrated on small number of schools during the

initiating stage
To ensure high probability of success, even if it meant failing to
fulfil the election pledge
Lifted the burden of MEST on meeting the quantity-goal; allowed
quality control
21 Meister Schools opened in 2010; 7 Meister Schools in 2012;
7 additional schools decided to be established in 2013

1. Launching a National Initiative

Map of Meister Schools in Korea

Source: meister.go.kr

2. Providing Incentives
 List of Meister Schools in Korea
Number of
Establishme Number of
Students
Name of the School nt Field of Study Location Partner
(Enrolled in
Year Companies
2015)
1 Mirim Meister School 2010 New Media Contents Seoul 352 130
2 Sudo Electric Technical High School 2010 Energy Seoul 598 170
Busan National Mechanical Technical High
3
School 2010 Mechanics Busan 906 411
4 Busan Automobile High School 2010 Automobile Busan 358 125
Mechanics &
5 Gyeongbuk Machinery Technical High School 2010 Daegu 902 194
Mechatronics
6 Incheon Electronic Meister High School 2010 Electronics & Telecom Incheon 468 189
Gwangju Automatic Equipment Technical High
7
School 2010 Automation Equipment Gwangju 241 74
Electronics &
8 Dongah Meister High School 2010 Daejeon 595 102
Mechanics
Mechanics &
9 Ulsan Meister High School 2010 Ulsan 361 46
Automations
10 Suwon Hi-tech High School 2010 Mechatronics Gyeonggi 483 158
Pyeongtaek Mechanical and Technical High Automobile &
11
School 2010 Gyeonggi 486 164
Mechanics
12 Wonju MedEqu Tech High School 2010 Medical Equipment Gangwon 350 152
13 Chungbuk Semiconductor High School 2010 Semiconductor Chungbuk 315 47
14 Hapduk Steel High School 2010 Steel Industry Chungnam 295 30
Ship-building &
15 Kunsan Mechanical & Technical High School 2010 Jeonbuk 539 152
Mechanics
Chonbuk National Mechanical Technical High
16
School 2010 Mechanics Jeonbuk 894 233
17 Korea Port Logistics High School 2010 Port Logistics Jeonnam 291 82
18 Gumi National Electronic Technical High School 2010 Electronics Gyeongbuk 834 115
Mechanics & Electronic
19 Kumoh Technical High School 2010 Gyeongbuk 594 163
Mobile
Source:
20 Geoje Technical High Korea Research Institute for
School Vocational Education
2010 List of Meister Schools,
& Training, Gyeongnam
Ship-building 477 2016. 61
Aviation & Ship-
21 Samchonpo Technical High School 2010 Gyeongnam 299 71
building 2. Providing Incentives
 List of Meister Schools in Korea
Establishme Number of
Number of Partner
Name of the School nt Field of Study Location Students (Enrolled
Companies
Year in 2015)
24 Ulsan Energy High School 2012 Energy Ulsan 366 68
25 Korea Bio Meister High School 2012 Bio Industry Chungbuk 317 72
26 Gongku Meister High School 2012 SMT Equipment Chungnam 239 53
27 Yeonmudae Technical High School 2012 Automobile Equipment Chungnam 293 42
28 Air Force Aviation Science High School 2012 Aviation Science Gyeongnam 450 1
29 Seoul Robotics High School 2013 Robotics Seoul 466 118
30 Samcheok Meister School 2013 Development Industry Gangwon 231 35
31 Chungbuk Energy High School 2013 Next Generation Battery Chungbuk 263 52
32 Yeosu Petrochemical High School 2013 Petrochemical Industry Jeonnam 321 14
Eco-friendly Agriculture & Lifestock
33 Jeonnam Life Science High School 2013 Jeonnam 302 86
Farming
34 Pohang Jecheol Technical High School 2013 Steel Industry Gyeongbuk 547 59
35 Korea Nuclear Meister High School 2013 Nuclear Power Generating Equipment Gyeongbuk 237 76
36 Horseman High School 2014 Horse Industry Jeonbuk 101 16
Fishing Industry & Marine Product
37 Wando Fisheries High School 2014 Jeonnam 338 42
Processing
38 Daegu iL Meister High School 2015 Automobile Daegu 657 70
39 Daedeok Software Meister High School 2015 Software Daejeon 326 79
Ship-building & Marine
40 Hyundai Technical High School 2015 Ulsan 820 28
Engineering
41 Korea Food Meister High School 2015 Food Chungnam 201 24
Seoul Urban Science Technical High
42
School 2016 Overseas Construction & Plant Seoul 682 -
43 Daegu Software High School 2016 Software Daegu 199 36
44 Daegu Natural Science High School 2017 Urban Agriculture Daegu - -
45 Gwangju Management High School 2017 Software Gwangju - -
46 Kimje Jayoung High School 2017 Agricultural Bio-resources Jeonbuk - -
47 Yungchun Commercial High School 2018 Food Quality Control Gyeongbuk - -
Source: Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training, List of Meister Schools, 2016.

2. Providing Incentives
 Providing Incentives

1. 100 percent Job Guarantee

2. Job-First Degree-Later

3. Fiscal and Other Incentives

2. Providing Incentives
 100 Percent Job Guarantee

Incentives to turn around social trend that prioritizes

university enrollment
92.3% of Meister School graduates employed
Industry-academy cooperation
Restructuring of curriculum
New majors to develop skills needed in high-tech areas with rising
labor demands and high growth potential

2. Providing Incentives
Dongah Meister High Schools Customized-curriculum for Industries

Source: Lee, J.H. 2013.

2. Providing Incentives
Signing of MOU between
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and CJ Cheil Jedang

Source: Ulsan Daily Newspaper

2. Providing Incentives
 Job-First Degree-Later

Students given opportunity to earn a university degree

after getting a job
1. Special university admissions procedure
2. Study and work at the same time through
e-learning courses
3. Establishment of corporate universities and
contract majors

2. Providing Incentives
 Fiscal and Other Incentives

Incentives given to schools, students and industry

1. Financial incentives: Meister Schools supported with KRW
2,500 million
2. Tuition exemption and scholarship given to students
3. Military service benefits
4. Tax deduction and financial support for companies
partnered with Meister Schools
5. Adjustment in welfare benefits, for the low-income families

2. Providing Incentives
 Opening-Up Strategies

1. Former CEOs became Principals

2. Whole-of-Government Approach

3. New Age of High-School Graduates

3. Opening-Up Strategies
 Former CEOs Became Principals

13 out of 35 Meister schools initiated by Lee administration

were appointed with principals with experience at the
industrial sector.
Ex. Former vice-president of Renault Samsung at Busan Automotive
High School
Strong partnership with industries
Introduced customized classes at Meister Schools
Expanded recruitment contracts for students
Invited teachers to receive long-term in-house training within the
company

3. Opening-Up Strategies
Former CEOs Became Principals

Busan Automotive High School Signing of MOU between

Busan Automotive High School (Principal Lee,
Source: blog.busan.go.kr Seung-hee) and Korea Insurance Development
Institute
(President Kang, Yong-goo)

Source: bsenews.co.kr

3. Opening-Up Strategies
 Whole-of-Government Approach

Former President Lee had high priority on Meister Schools,

and regarded as a presidential project
Helpful in drawing collaboration between ministries within
the government
Ex. Ministry of Strategy and Finance on budget and close industry-
academy cooperation; Ministry of Defense on military incentives

3. Opening-Up Strategies
Whole-of-Government Approach

Wonju Med Equ Tech High School

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (July 2009)

3. Opening-Up Strategies
 New Age of High-School Graduates

A media outlet coined the phrase, New Age of High School

Graduates
Meister School helped break the vicious cycle that ushered
vocational high school students to universities
Sufficient employment opportunities given to high school graduates
Discrimination based on academic degrees abolished
Public offices should recruit new employees based on competency, not
degrees
Changing employment practice from degree-based to
competency-based

3. Opening-Up Strategies
 Fostering Career Guidance for Students

Career education at secondary education level reinforced

through revision of National Curriculum (2009)
3~4 hours every week for creative experience activities including
career-related activities
Subject on career guidance
Career-counselling teachers assigned to every middle school and high
school
Reinforced cooperation with Ministry of Employment and Labor
so teachers utilize services provided by employment centers
Between 2011 and 2014, the number of assigned counselling
teachers amounted to 5,200

4. New Paradigm of Vocational Education

Changing Trend of the Number of Employed among
Vocational High School Graduates and Those that Advance to University
80.00%

70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Employed Proceeded to University

Source: Ministry of Education, Statistical Yearbook of Education, 2001-2015.

4. New Paradigm of Vocational Education

 Other Vocational Schools Follow Suit

Successful opening of the first 21 Meister Schools in March

2010 became the model for other vocational high schools
to follow
Government supported vocational high schools
Excellent technicians from industrial sectors hired as instructors
Projects that assist vocational high schools to strengthen students
practical skills and global capabilities implemented

4. New Paradigm of Vocational Education

 Sharing Korean Experience with Other Countries

1. Balance between vocational education and university

education

2. Strengthening of vocational education should start small

3. Focusing on 100% job guarantee

4. Providing various career paths to students

5. Help from entire society needed

4. New Paradigm of Vocational Education