NOTE: Education levels are defined according to the 1997 International Standard
Classification of Education (ISCED97). Ages represent the typical age at the beginning
of the school year. Numbers
in bold print indicate ages of universal enrollment (i.e., an enrollment rate of
over 90 percent). Numbers highlighted represent the age at which compulsory enrollment
begins through the age at which compulsory enrollment ends. No meaning should be
inferred from width of subdivisions. Duration of first university degree program
is generally 4 years in the Republic of Korea.
SOURCE: Ministry of Education for Korea (2008), Education System, Retrieved
April 15, 2013, from
http://english.moe.go.kr/web/1693/site/contents/en/en_0203.jsp; Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2004). OECD Handbook for Internationally
Comparative Education Statistics: Concepts, Standards, Definitions and Classifications:
Indicator Concepts and Methodologies. Paris: Author. Retrieved April 15,
2013, from
http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/oecd-handbook-for-internationally-comparative-education-statistics_9789264104112-en;
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2013a). Education at a Glance
2013: OECD Indicators. Paris: Author; United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization. (2010). World Data on Education: Republic of Korea.
Paris: Author. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Republic_of_Korea.pdf.
NOTE: The government subsidizes financing for kindergarten and aims to expand free kindergarten education to 5-year-olds nationwide. Day care centers or play centers are facilities that offer educational services to ensure the health, safety, and well-rounded development of children up to age 5.
NOTE: Elementary education is free for students. Once children enter elementary school, they automatically advance to the next grade each year.
NOTE: There is a small fee for middle school education, which is waived for some students in rural areas and students specified under the Special Education Promotion Act. The government also provides complimentary school meals for all students.
NOTE: General high schools provide regular high school edu-cation. Special-purpose high schools are divided into science, foreign language, international, arts, physics, and meister (industrial training) high schools. Specialized high schools are divided into vocational high schools and alternative schools. Autonomous high schools are divided into autonomous private high schools and autonomous public high schools.
Higher Education Act. (2013.3.23). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://www.moleg.go.kr/english/korLawEng;jsessionid= N8rtIMXT6nkiiKgZ3DnKMKIeeWiaiixw7RUXnMmfzHs 3mnZTef15GdovVtliQ1AI.moleg_a2_servlet_engine2?pstSeq=52250&pageIndex=57.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2004). OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics: Concepts, Standards, Definitions and Classifications. Paris: Author. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/media/218177/Educhandbook.pdf.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (2013.3.23). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_mobile/viewer.do?hseq=24786&type=sogan&key=2.
Republic of Korea, Ministry of Education. (2008). Education System. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from http://english.moe.go.kr/web/1693/site/contents/en/en_0203.jsp.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Bureau of Education. (2011). World Data on Education, 2010/11 (7th edition). Profile on the Republic of Korea. Paris: Author. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Republic_of_Korea.pdf.
6 In Korea, lower secondary school is compulsory and thus the end of compulsory education is given as age 15 (i.e., through age 14), per the review of the country expert. This will differ from the 2011 data presented in Indicator 2, which indicates the end of compulsory education is age 14 (i.e., through age 13).