Education in the Korean Presidential Elections

By Spencer McCall

Whoever wins the December 19th elections, one thing is for certain, Korea’s public education system is going to receive some significant changes under the new administration, particularly in English education.

Front-runner nominee Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party, is proposing, among other things, to add more English classes to public schools to narrow the disparity gap between the nation’s wealthy who attend high-priced private English schools (Hagwons) and the underprivileged who cannot afford such luxuries. It is part of his larger economic reform policy intended to make the country more competitive in the global market place and is reminiscent of American President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.

More hours in school will require more teachers. Lee intends to train more Korean teachers to have a high degree of English proficiency to fill this gap. Whether this will push foreign teachers out of the job remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a possibility. By January 2008, the process of applying for an E2 visa will be stricter (extensive criminal background checks, medical histories and physicals and further verification to authenticate degrees) and will likely take a considerable amount of time longer to receive.

Add them together and one can easily see the strain these proposed reforms will have on the private sector of the economy, particularly the private schools who rely on foreign teachers to add expertise and prestige to their businesses. Job loss in this market is a real possibility not only to business owners, but to Korean and foreign teachers as well.

Other candidates Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party, Rhee In-jae of the Democratic Party, and Moon Kook-hyun, an independent, all promise economic reform and growth.

However, the E2 visa reforms were introduced by current president Roh Moo-hyun, so either way you slice it, education reform, and in particular English education reform, is on the mind of everyone in or near the president’s seat.

For an extensive review of the candidates go to http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/