Between light and shadow: The contrasting landscape and contemporary development of South Korea's school system

This chapter aims to illuminate the light and shadow of Korea's school system. To this end, the chapter begins with a brief review of the historical development of the school system in Korea since 1945. Then, the chapter delves into the bright sides of the school system and unveils the flip sides of the school system, corresponding to the system's strengths. Such contrasting features include academic excellence amid inequality, high educational attainment but low academic confidence and well-being, and coexistence of well-established school system with ever-expanding shadow education market. The chapter further explores the contemporary direction of educational development in Korea that can be boiled down to building a student-centered system for learning for the twenty-first century. To detail this contemporary change, the chapter provides snapshots of key education reforms that are being implemented. The contemporary reforms discussed in this chapter include free academic year system, high school credit system, innovation schools, and the introduction of the International Baccalaureate to local schools. The chapter also discusses ongoing challenges around the contemporary reforms from a critical perspective for future studies to explore whether and how those reforms work for moving toward the student-centered school system. Taken together, the chapter provides a balanced and fuller picture of Korea's school system for international audiences.