Korean Education System

Throughout Korean history, higher education has been synonymous with privilege and power as Korean culture emphasized education. A degree from a well-known institution is a status symbol and an important leveraging tool for finding the right job in the right company. Coveted spaces in Korea’s top schools are open to competition from all students, but are attainable by few. Many talented students opt instead for the best schools overseas. The desire to obtain a diploma from an accredited school overseas has translated to an opportunity for U.S. schools keen to recruit some of Korea’s most talented students.

Korea’s rapid economic development over the past 50 years has led to higher disposable income as well as lower birthrates. Korea has one of the lowest birthrates in the world, with around 1.20 children per family in 2008. Low birthrates have a dramatic effect on education-related industries. Despite the decrease in the number of children, a few factors are still driving high growth rate in the education sector. Following India and China, with more than a billion people each, Korea, with a population of less than 50 million, is the third largest market for U.S. education in terms of the number of foreign students for post secondary education in the United States. The U.S. is the dominant player in university and graduate-level academic study. According to 2008 statistics from the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report, 69,124 Koreans went to the U.S. for post-secondary study in the 2007/2008 academic year, which represents a 10.8 percent increase over the 2006/2007 academic year.