Feb. 2009. Hye-Jung Lee, Ph.D.

Center for Teaching & Learning Seoul National University, Korea

Higher Education in Korea 1

South Korea at a Glance

Area: 99.6 K Sq. Km (107th) Population: 48 Million (27th) Economy and ICT (World rank) - OECD member economy in 1996 - Economy (11th) - Broadband diffusion (2nd) - Home PC diffusion (3rd) - Internet use 78% - Average hours of internet use 13.7 hr/week

Higher Education in Korea

I. Overview

Overview

Higher Education in Korea

Education in General
Socio-cultural context
- Homogeneity of Korean society: prevalence of the egalitarian ideal

- Confusion tradition: meritocracy, education fever

Formal Education
- Primary(6) - Middle(3) - High School(3) Universities/Colleges(4) - Primary & Secondary: 10,948 schools, 7.8M students, 389K teachers - Universities/Colleges: 376 institutions, 3.5M students, 60K+ FT teachers

Non-formal Education & Training

- Public/private job training institutions; private tutoring institutions, adult education centers; in-plant training institutions, etc.

Higher Education in Korea

Budget

One year budget (2008) : 35.9 trillion Korean won

: 5.06% of the GNP : 19.6% of total Government budget

the Biggest portion

: Elementary & Secondary Education 86.2% : Higher Education 12.3%

Statistics
Public educational expenditures (% GDP)

Higher Education in Korea

School System

Types of Higher Education Institutions

University Industrial University University of Education Junior College Open University Technical College Cyber College & University College in the Company Miscellaneous Schools Others

Enrollment rate 70.5% (2008)

Higher Education in Korea

Types of Higher Education Institutions

Junior College(2 or 3 yr)
817,994 students in 152 Junior colleges (2006) 13 national/public, 139 private

University(4 yr)
43 national/public, 178 private 6 year program : medicine, oriental medicine, dentistry 2,434,112 students in 221 colleges and universities (2006)

Others(4 yr)
1 Broadcast & Correspondence University (300,000 enrollments each year) 18 Cyber Colleges & Universities (28,000 newly entrance each year)
Higher Education in Korea 9

Types of Higher Education Institutions

Cyber Colleges & Universities
Division Name of institution Kyunghee Cyber University Sejong Cyber University Daegu Cyber University Wonkwang Digital University Hanyang Cyber University Busan Digital University Korea Cyber University Gukje Digital University Seoul Cyber University Cyber Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Korea Digital University Asia-Pacific Digital University Youngnam Cyber University Seoul Digital University Open Cyber University Digital Seoul Culture Arts University World Cyber College Yeungjin Cyber College Year of establishment 2001 2001 2002 2002 2002 2002 2001 2003 2001 2004 2001 2001 2009 2001 2001 2002 2001 2002 Location Seoul Seoul Gyeongbuk Province Jeonbuk Province Seoul Busan Gyeongbuk Province Gyeonggi Province Seoul Seoul Gyeonggi Province Seoul Pusan Seoul Seoul Seoul Gyeonggi Province Daegu 10 since 2009

School corporations

Bachelor's degree programs Associate bachelor's degree programs

Law of Higher Education

Non-forSchool profit corporations Foundations

Law of Lifelong Learning

Higher Education in Korea

Statistics
Schools, Students, and Teachers

Higher Education in Korea

11

Statistics
Percentage of Female Students by Year

40 % 35 % 30 % 25 %

Higher Education in Korea

12

Statistics
Enrollment Rate
Elite
70 % 50 % 30 % 10 %

Mass

Universal

Higher Education in Korea

13

Statistics
International Comparison: Tertiary attainment for age group 25-34

Higher Education in Korea

14

Statistics
International Comparison: Tertiary attainment for age group 55-64

Higher Education in Korea

15

Statistics
Advancement Rate: High School Higher Education (Total)

90 % 70 % 50 % 30 %

Higher Education in Korea

16

Statistics
Advancement Rate: High School Higher Education

General High School Higher Education Vocational High School Higher Education
Higher Education in Korea 17

Statistics
Number of Students in Higher Education Institutions by Field of Study (2008)

Higher Education in Korea

18

Statistics
Employment Rate of the Graduates of Higher Education Institutions by Year

Higher Education in Korea

19

Statistics
Changes in Admission Rate by Year

Higher Education in Korea

20

Statistics
Degrees Awarded by Year

Higher Education in Korea

21

Statistics
University Graduates by Field of Study (%)
Education Humanities Social & Art Sciences, Business, Law Services Engineering, Manufacturing Agriculture Health & Welfare Physical sciences

Korea U.S.A.

5.2 13.2

21.4 14.4

22.3 41.4

2.9 3.5

27.4 6.3

2.6 2.3

7.1 9.6

3.5 1.4

Germany
Hungary

8.0
20.0

14.7
8.7

27.4
38.7

1.8
8.4

17.6
9.1

1.9
3.7

15.2
8.5

5.0
0.7

Poland

11.5

6.5

40.0

3.6

7.3

1.7

1.9

1.2

* Source : Education at a Glance (OECD Indicators, 2002)

Higher Education in Korea

22

Statistics
Students Studying Abroad by Year

Higher Education in Korea

23

Statistics
The Rank of Koreas Major Universities in International Evaluation (The Times)

Higher Education in Korea

24

I. Overview

II Issues and Challenges

Higher Education in Korea

25

Trajectory of Educational Expansion

Step-by-step attainment of universal education: primary secondary higher education
* Trow, Forms and Phases of Higher Education: Elite(<15%) Mass(15-50) Universal(>55%) 110 90 70 50 30 Elite Mass Universal

10
-10 1970 1975 Primary 1980 1990 1995 2000 2003 2005 2006 Tertiary
26

Lower Secondary

Upper Secondary

Higher Education in Korea

Mobilization of Private Resources

< Private School Enrollment Share(2006) >
(Unit: %)

Primary Schools

1.2

98.8

Middle Schools

18.7

81.3

High Schools Universities/ Colleges 0%

48.1

51.9

74.6 20% 40%

25.4

60%

80%

100%

Private
Higher Education in Korea

National/Public
27

Shrinking School Pop. Amidst Ageing

Low Fertility
Total fertility rate No. of birth

Ageing
Proportion, over 65 and 75 No. of the elderly

Higher Education in Korea

28

College Admission Dominates K-12 Education

College-Entrance-Driven System
- Extreme competition at high schools to enter top 4~5
universities obstructing the well-rounded growth of students
Inordinate expansion of private education aggravating equity imbalance between different SES groups (private education costs: 1.9% of GDP in 2002) Large volumes of study abroad leading to educational trade deficit

Higher Education in Korea

29

Increasing Education Exodus

Korean Students Studying Abroad
97 Countries 69 99 71 01 72 03 73 04 83 05 86

# Students

133,249 120,170 149,933 159,903 187,683 192,254

* Foreign student share in the U.S.(2006): Korea 93,728/ India 76,708/ China 60,850

Trade Deficit in Education 01 Exports Imports 10.8 1,070.0 02 16.9 1,426.6 03 14.8 1,854.7 04 15.9 2,493.8 05* 10.2 3,371.4

(Unit : million US$)

Higher Education in Korea 30

Excess supply in graduate students

Unemployment rate (engineering) : 9.8%(97) 16.6%(03) 139 of 200 4-year universities offer doctoral degree

Korea US

44% 53%

4% 13% 19%

39% 20% 8%

Associate

Bachelor

Master

Doctorate

Higher Education in Korea

31

HE is not pertinent enough

Extent of dissatisfaction: CEOs view on HE
75% Creativity 68% Field experience of faculty 87% Practice&field exp

Federation of Korean Industries, 2002.

70% instructions

72% Curriculum

Mismatch between jobs and majors

Badly Mismatched Jr.College University 33.3 25.4 Mismatched 15.8 15.0 Matched 26.7 27.9

(%)

Well Matched 24.1 31.6

Source: Office of Statistics, 2003

Higher Education in Korea 32

Stakeholders are disconnected

Limited university-industry partnership

Low mobility between academia and business University portion of industry's R&D investment: 2.4%(00) 1.7% (03) (MOST, 04)

Low commercialization of university-based IPRs

Patent share (90~01) : universities 0.5%, companies 78.8%, research institutes 2.9%, individuals 17.8%

Un-coordinated financial support to universities

Duplication of funding for the same purpose by several line ministries

Higher Education in Korea

33

HE is not prepared for an aging population

<Source : National Statistical Office>

Higher Education in Korea 34