Part 1
Higher Education to Support a Knowledge-Based Society Full of Creative Vitality-New Developments in Higher Education Reform
Chapter 4
Higher Education Reform in Other Countries
Section 7
Republic of Korea
Institutions of higher education in the ROK are made up mostly of universities (four years) and professional schools (two to three years). Primary and secondary education begins at age six and continues for 12 years. After completing primary and secondary education, students can advance to higher education.
The ROK is moving forward with reforms aimed at improving the quality of its institutions of higher education through diversification and individualization based on "Plans for Educational Reform for the Establishment of a New Educational System," which is a report by the Presidential Commission that indicated the overall direction for educational report towards the 21st century. The government of Kim Dae Jung, who was inaugurated in 1998, particularly emphasized in these reforms the "creation of universities on the world level" and which are prepared for the upcoming knowledge-based society. The government also actively developed policies incorporating the principle of competition including financial support based on evaluations. Roh Moo Hyun, who was appointed president in 2003, is continuing with these reforms.
