Overview of Korean Educational System

Overview of the Korean Education System
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Socio-Geographic Information
South Korea, whose official name is the Republic of Korea, is situated in East Asia. It borders North Korea to its north, a highly militarized border (Bleiker, 2019). South Korea borders the Yellow Sea to the West. The Korea Strait separates the country from the Tsushima island in Japan to the southeastern side. The country's terrain is mostly mountainous and therefore not arable. The lowlands only occupy 30% of the total land in South Korea (Kim J et al., 2019). Based on the geographical appearance, the country can be grouped into four regions. The western region is made up of coastal plains that are broad, rolling hills, and river basins, while the eastern side is composed of mountains and narrow coastal plains (Kim J et al., 2019). Mountains and valleys make up the southwestern region, and the southeastern region contains the broad basin of the Nakdong River.
South Korea has more than three thousand islands, most uninhabited. It has two volcanic islands, Cheju and Ullung. Cheju is located on the southern side of the peninsula, while Ullung is approximately 140 km east of the mainland in the east sea. Mount Halla, an extinct volcanic mountain on Cheju Island, is the highest peak in South Korea at 6283 feet (Kim J et al., 2019). The climate can be described as cold and dry during winter, while the summers are hot and humid.
The population of South Korea is estimated to be 51,672,000 as of 2021 by the National Statistical Office (Kim J et al., 2019). It is ranked third of the most densely populated countries in the world. Seoul's capital city contains more than half of the country's population and is the world's second-largest metropolitan. Most people reside in urban centers, owing to the migration from rural areas in the 1970s to 1980s (Kim J et al., 2019). Other major cities include Busan, Gwangju, Ulsan, Incheon, Daegu, and Daejeon. Most of the uninhabited land is used for other purposes such as farming. The country recorded more deaths than births in 2020, resulting in a decrease in population (Kim J et al., 2019). Furthermore, the working-age population and fertility rate have continued to decline.
South Korea is a developed country, ranking as the fourth-largest economy in Asia and tenth in the world based on its nominal GDP. It became a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1996 and is the most industrialized member of OECD (Kim J et al., 2019). The country invested heavily in education and transformed illiteracy among its people to become an internationally recognized technology hub. The economy benefits from the well-educated and highly skilled population, with most people achieving tertiary education (Bak, 2019). The country is one of the most educated globally and boasts of several companies such as Samsung and LG electronics.
Historical and Political Background and Its Impact on the Educational System
During the Japanese rule in Korea between 1910 and 1945, the Botong School was established by the Japanese colonialists. It consisted of three to four years of primary education, four years of secondary educ...