Essay on South Korean Education System and Human Development

The colonial systems seen in both Korea and the Philippines in the early 20th century share similarities that are typical of colonial states. However, the differences in how Japan and the United States, respectively, ruled over them are stark. Government, religion, education, and nationalism all played important roles in both systems, but how those roles affected the nation as a whole differ in comparison. In this essay I will compare the two systems of colonization and examine the similarities and differences in the approaches taken by the colonizers in their method of controlling both Japan and Korea.

Although China’s influence over Korea has waned severely since the dynastic years we find the Confucian system of virtues and behaviors, China’s chief export from that time, still very much alive. Korea highly values the extended family, education, personal discipline and public order. In South Korea Confucian temples continue to be maintained throughout the country. The tenets of Confucianism are seen as antidotes to social ills and therefore education is thought of as a means of building character, not simply of intellectual formation. The values of Confucianism are promulgated throughout Korea in places as diverse as school, the office and the home. Television programs often portray Confucian merits such as filial piety and harmony. However

Education is taken earnestly in primarily all countries throughout the world including America, but even more so in South Korea. While high school is considered to be one of the best times of your life in America, it is not the same for Koreans. In America, sports,

“Each household pays 288.000 Won (about 250 USD monthly), which is about 8 percent of household income, for their children’s private tutoring. As a whole, Korea spends about 2.2 percent of GDP on private tutoring.” (Nakamura 43). The aspiring universities are usually located in the capital and big cities, which are the center of business trading and academic training. It is not surprised when lots of parents want their children to study and achieve academically in there. For instance, in South Korea, the capital Seoul has been a place for people who wanted to work in academia or government. “Many parents in rural areas or small cities have been sending their children to schools in bigger towns or large cities. As people, especially younger generations, move to Seoul to study or work and then settle in/near Seoul metropolitan area, rural areas are becoming “empty nests.” Schools in rural parts of Korea are now being closed in rural parts of Korea due to an extremely low number (or none) of school-age students; meanwhile, many schools in Seoul and vicinity are overcrowded.” (Nakamura 33). After graduating, students will also face with a tight contest of getting a good job with the limited number of positions. One of the qualifications required by most employers is English proficiency, which is evaluated through some exams such as TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), IELTS (International English Language Testing System), TOEIC (Test of English for

Following the Korean War and the rebuilding of their societies, both North Korea and South Korea’s economies have depreciated and fluctuated. With their different economic systems, one using the military and the other using trade, they both have received different results.

This report is a cultural analysis of the country of North Korea. The paper itself analyzes the history, geography, education, language, economy, and politics of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea known simply as: North Korea. Group 4 chose this particular country out of curiosity and the want to find out what the nation was like. Not many facts are known about North Korea and its shady past. This project explores everything from the difficult relationships between the Korean people and their government, to the famines and floods that threatened the entire survival of the country.

Confucianism has impacted many East Asian countries outside of China throughout the ages. Korea and Japan spent a period of time culturally and politically under the influence of China, which brought Confucianism to these countries. The ideas that were brought to these countries definitely impacted the way that their society treated the essence of life. When looking at the countries today, it is apparent that traces of Confucianism are still present in their societies. The importance of Neo-Confucianism during the Edo era in Japan and the Choson Dynasty in Korea are seen through the five key relationships, women, marriages, and education.

Based on the anecdotes, it seems to be that the Japanese were attempting to eliminate and suppress any Korean culture or tradition, even going as far as making Koreans change their names to a Japanese alternative. Even though the assembly of anecdotes are mostly anti-Japanese or reflect on some of the Independence events, there are a few that are neutral or have a more positive perspective on that time period. Hildi Kang includes some that mention the benefits Japanese schools brought to Korea and how one’s family could have been unaffected by the colonial Japanese actions. There are also disagreements across stories where an individual may mention a characteristic of colonial Korea as severe while another may downplay that same issue, especially within the Shinto worship topic. With the inclusion of a few neutral and positively inclined memories, questions can be asked about the possibility that the author is attempting to hide a story selection bias.

After the wars in Korea and Japan’s assimilation into the Korean government, they created a treaty between the two. This treaty was known as The Japan Korea Treaty of 1910, also known as the Japan Korea Annexation Treaty. This formally annexed Korea forcing them to be a formal colony of Japan. This lead to Many Japanese settlers were interested in acquiring agricultural land in Korea begin move migrate there. The Governor-General at time helped these settlements through land, which initially was accepted by most of the Korean population. The Korean land ownership system was a system of a form of an absolute power landlord. The level of that these peasants were just as was similar to that of farmers in Japan. However, in Korea, the landowners

During Japanese occupation, the first thing they did was construction of Korea’s infrastructure especially street and railroad system to control all over Korea easily and supply food for Japanese military properly. Japanese ruled with iron hand and tried to root out all elements of Korean culture from society. In addition, Koreans were forced to adopt Japanese names, convert their religion to Shinto (native Japanese religion) and

In 1910, “Korea became a Japanese colony with Prime Minister Yi Wan-yong’s signing of the Treaty of Annexation.”Korea under Japanese colonialism, from 1910 to 1945, struggled to maintain their nationalism as a whole. Almost every Korean citizen, the ones without connections to power, had to give up on their properties for Japanese military and government purposes. A great amount of Koreans were tortured or even killed if they refused to comply with the soldiers’ demand. During this colonization of Korea, Koreans suffered greatly not only because of the loss of their identity, but through the hardships they were forced into by the Japanese. Such as the men being forced into hard labor jobs under dangerous and slave-like conditions while the

The next nation that will be discussed is South Korea, whose legal tradition finds its origins from Japan, but is now becoming more American in nature due to increased globalization. Korea’s legal tradition was first established 4,300 ago when the Gojoseon dynasty created its own statutory law, heavily influenced by Confucianism and China’s legal system (SpringerLink and Yŏn 'guwŏn 2). (note that during the retelling of South Korea’s history, the nation will be referred to as Korea until the point at which it became separated into Northern and Southern territories). Korea maintained this particular legal tradition, and aspects of a uniquely Korean brand of Confucianism, until the 19th century. In 1894, the internally induced Kabo Reforms aimed to modernize the whole of Korea in terms of legal and administrative systems, culture, economy, and more (“Emergence of a Modern Society”). The Kabo Reforms resulted in a legal system that closely resembled Japan’s system, which followed a civil legal tradition that was heavily influenced by Germany. Korea’s transformation towards a Japanese civil law system was further intensified and completed when it became a colony of Japan in 1910. Following the defeat of Japan during World War Two, Korea gained its independence in 1945, only for the southern half of the nation to fall under American occupation until 1948, while the northern half was occupied by Soviet Russia (SpringerLink and Yŏn 'guwŏn 5). Now dubbed as South Korea, the

Korea was under the control of Japan since 1910 until the end of World War 2. In August of 1945, the surrender of Japanese declared the surrender of the force in Korea. Soviet Union and US were the main force against Japan and they helped the independence of Korea from Japan. “ No people in the world could want a new world war less than the Japanese, who were all but blasted out of history by the last one.” (The Japanese Seek Safety in MacArthur and the U.S, John Gunther) By 1948, two different governments were set up in Korea and both claimed to be the legitimate government, however neither of them accepted the border to be permanent. Japanese were totally afraid of the force of the US. From reporter John Gunther, when the Korean campaign went badly, Japanese’s answer is “please annex Japan to the US”. The conflict started between two forces, North Korean forces supported by the Soviet Union and South Korean forces supported by the US. The Korean War started.

South Korea’s social structure revolves around the individual’s professional, family, and education background. People who have attained prestigious job titles, graduated from a first-rate university, or was born into an influential family are placed very high on the social structure. People who do not have a respectable education background are usually on the bottom of the status pole; however, it is possible for social mobility. The South Korean education system is similar to the one in the United States. Even though the years of attendance might be dissimilar from the US, the education system still consists of an elementary, middle, and high school. After graduating from high school, most students apply and attend universities from all across the nation.

At the end of World War II, Korea was a poor former agricultural colony of Japan. But the rapid growth of Korea’s industrial economy has been remarkable. The economy of South Korea is now the third-largest in Asia and the 13th largest in the world by GDP as of 2007. To trace back the economic development of South Korea, the former president Park Chung-Hee played a pivotal role, and was credited for shifting its focus to export-oriented favoring a few large conglomerates. Unlike his predecessors, Park showed a strong commitment to economic development, believing good economic performance as a primary means for enhancing his political legitimacy. Under the President Park Chung-Hee’s era, the government played a dominating role in a