Education System (As of Aug 2020)
School System
Description
Elementary and Secondary Education
Korea's elementary and secondary school system follows a 6+3+3 model and consists of 6 years of elementary education (age 6-12, elementary school), 3 years of lower secondary education (age 12-15, middle school), and 3 years of upper secondary education (age 15-18, high school). A total of 9 years of compulsory education from elementary school to middle school education is free, and high school education is not compulsory, but is provided free.
Elementary and secondary schools in Korea must meet the establishment standards prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as facilities and equipment. Schools are classified into national schools, public schools, and private schools according to the founding entities. The Minister of Education determines basic matters on standards and details of the curricula and the Superintendent of an Office of Education may determine the standards and deails thereof according to actual circumstances of a region within the scope of the curricula determined by the Minister of Education.
Korea has four types of high schools: general high schools, special-purpose high schools, specialized high schools, autonomous high schools. Despite the different school types, all high school graduates receive the same level qualification. In addition, a person who has not graduated high school but has passed a high school equivalency examination is deemed to have an academic background equivalent to that of a high school graduate in entering a school of higher grade.
Higher Education
Higher education institutions in Korea consist of junior colleges (2~3-year courses), universities (4-year courses) and graduate schools. Korea has universities, industrial universities, educational colleges, junior colleges, open universities, technical colleges, and various schools to provide higher education. Such higher education institutions can award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctor's degrees to those who have completed the course prescribed by school regulations. In general, there are two to three years of professional studies, four to six years of bachelor's degree, two years of master's degree or more, and two years of doctor's or more, which may vary by major.
Normally, one school year has two semesters. The first semester runs from the beginning of March to the end of August and the second semester runs from the beginning of September until the end of February. There are two breaks. The summer vacation is from July to August and the winter vacation is from December to February.
(Criteria: May 2022)
ISCED-2011
The UNESCO Institute of Statistics developed the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) in the 1970s to collect and analyze internationally comparable educational statistics, and was revised in 1997 and 2011.
| KSCED | ISCED 2011 | Education Institution | Qualification Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Early Childhood Education | Kindergarten, Childcare center, Special school | Certificate |
| 1 | Primary Education | Elementary School, Various Kinds of School, Special school | Diploma |
| 2 | Lower Secondary Education | Middle school, Air and Correspondence Middle School, High Civic school, Middle School annexed to Industrial Enterprises, Special Class for Working Youth, Various Kinds of School, Special school, Specialized Middle School | Diploma |
| 3 | Upper Secondary Education | High School, Air and Correspondence High School, High Technical School, High School annexed to Industrial Enterprises, Special Class for Working Youth, Various Kinds of School, Special School, Special-Purpose High School, Specialized High School, Autonomous High School | Diploma |
| 4 | Post-Secondary Non-Tertiary Education | Vocational Skills Development Training Establishment, Lifelong Educational Institutions, etc. | Certificate |
| 5 | Short-Cycle Tertiary | Junior College, Cyber College, Technical College, Various Kinds of School, Major College, In-House College, Distance College, Polytechnic College, Special-Purpose School | Associate degree |
| 6 | Bachelor or Equivalent | University and College, Industrial College, Teacher's College, Junior College(Advanced Major Courses), Cyber College, Air and Correspondence College, Technical College, Various Kinds of School, In-House College, Distance College, Polytechnic College(Advanced Major Courses with Degree), Special-Purpose School | Bachelor's degree |
| 7 | Master or Equivalent | General Graduate Schools, Specialized graduate schools, Special graduate schools | Master's degree |
| 8 | Doctoral or Equivalent | General Graduate Schools, Specialized graduate schools | Doctor's degree |
Legal Basis
Overall responsibility for education in the Republic of Korea lies with the Ministry of Education. Korean higher education has its legal basis in the Higher Education Act and other related laws.
- Elementary and Secondary Education Act
- Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
- Higher Education Act
- Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act
- Lifelong Education Act
- Act On The Development Of Vocational Skills Of Workers
- Act on Recognition of Credits, Etc.
For further information, please refer to the link below