EDUCATION REFORM IN KOREA:
   NATIONAL COMISSION FOR NATIONAL ROADMAP

    Moo-Young Han
    Professor of Physics, Duke University
    Editor-in-Chief, Society of Korean-American Scholars

    Talk presented at the 2004 International Symposium
    THE FUTURE OF KOREA AND EDUCATION REFORM
    April 10, 2004
    Council on Korean Studies, Michigan State University
 
    It has been a little over half a century since the founding of the Republic of Korea in 1948.  Since then,
    Korea has made phenomenal strides in both its economy and its societal evolution, from zero industrial
    production to the thirteenth economic power in the world and from barely jettisoning the colonial and
    occupation army rule to vibrant democracy of today.

    However, we believe there is one grave and persistent shortcoming that is draining the wellspring of
    strength and potential of the Korean people.  That is the unmitigated failure of education in Korea,
    which poses a colossal barrier to well-being of the Korean people for generations to come and
    uplifting the collective character of Koreans .

    The current woes of Korean educational system, from kindergarten to college, are many-faceted and
    too numerous to enumerate them all here.  Suffice it to mention just two main afflictions.

    First, virtually all Korean households are under immense pressure - mental and financial - to educate
    their young ones by expensive, and highly competitive, private tutoring system known as "hagwon." 
    It brings unbearable pressure not only on young students but also to the whole family, the pressure
    that brings about the annual rites of young students committing suicides and prompting many families
    to abandon Korea and move, in search of better quality of education, to such places as the United
    States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  We know of no other country in the world where so
    many middle-class people simply uproot themselves from their homeland primarily in search of better
    education for their young ones.  In many instances, this results in 'split' families, mothers moving to
    another country with her children while fathers staying behind in Korea to carry the crushing financial
    burden.

    The inordinate amount of the education pressure on students, family, educational system, societal
    and economic fabric is incalculable, not to mention the distortion in the sense of values it imposes on
    younger generation.  As far as we are aware, Korea is the only nation in the world where the very
    fabric of family is sacrificed for the education of the young ones. How long should this be allowed to
    continue?  Another 50 years?

    Secondly- and this cuts deeper into the future Korean psyche - the Korean education has utterly failed
    to nurture and raise productive citizens. By that we mean enlightened individuals of strong character,
    high integrity, and individual initiatives.  We believe that we must have future citizens of Korea who
    can think for themselves and contribute to an enhanced democratic society of reason and compassion.
    Instead, the system, as we observe it, has contributed to producing one leadership class after another
    of blind ambitions, utterly oblivious to broader good of the society at large.  The endemic corruption
    and cronyism that permeate the Korean society, especially among the leadership circle, is a direct
    reflection of the failure of character education in the Korean educational system. Taken together with
    many other shortcomings not all listed here, the failure of education spells a doomsday disaster for
    the future of the Korean society.

    It is not ours to add another lamentation on this grave issue but to propose a plan for action before
    reaching the point of no return.  We propose that a blue-ribbon national commission be established
    at the highest level.  And it must start a comprehensive national debate in search of long-term
    fundamental solution to the malaise.  It cannot be left unreformed, lest the future of Korea be
    dismissed as a doomed people and a failed nation.

    We propose:

    1. A national commission for education reform be established at the highest level, somewhat similar to
        such commissions as the one that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the
        one that investigated the Challenger space shuttle disaster, and the one that is investigating
        the 9/11 attack.

    2. The blue-ribbon commission be broadly based on the entirety of the Korean society and of highest
        caliber with impeccable integrity of enduring track records. It should consist of representatives
        from various segments of the society, not restricting to the educational and political sectors, but
        encompassing all those that are the potential employers of the educated.

        In addition, the commission should  be empowered to examine the entire spectrum of educational
        system, both public and private, and kindergarten to graduate school.  It should be provided to
        elicit, if not demand, assistances of the whole education enterprise of the nation, including the
        Ministry of Education and all higher educational institutions.

    3. The commission be given a two-year term and ample budget. The commission should be exposed to
         the entire cross section of the society - parents, students, teachers, professors, administrators, as
         well as the cross section of the leadership class.

    4. The commission will travel the length and width of the nation to conduct town meetings and to start a
         national debate to assess the current situation, with the aim of providing the nation with a national
         roadmap going forward another 50 years out to the year 2050 aimed to eradicate this most insidious
         malaise.

    5. The commission, toward the end of its mission, should hold a televised hearing inviting public
         testimonies from all those involved in the educational endeavor.

    6. The commission should conclude its mission by presenting a national roadmap toward attaining a
         world-class education for the entire Korean nation.

    None other than the very future of the nation depends on education today. The very future of the
    nation requires that the entire nation must take stake in its management. It  would be a sad day indeed
    if we are to repeat and debate the same malaise again 50 years from now.