In this blog post, we will examine the problems facing South Korea’s education system—including rote learning, school violence, and issues with public education—and consider the direction and measures needed to foster a diverse pool of talent.

The Meaning of Education and the Problems Facing South Korea’s Education System

Education is like the flower and hope of a nation. Education produces talent, and it is through this talent that a nation gains competitiveness. Especially since the dawn of the 21st century, competition among nations has become increasingly fierce, and only countries with a large pool of talented individuals can survive this competition. It is no wonder that people say a nation will fall if its education system dies. Even as we speak, parents in South Korea are likely scrambling to secure the best education for their children.
However, South Korea’s education system is wandering at a major crossroads. First, as competition between nations intensifies, each country requires an ever-greater number of talented individuals. South Korea’s demographic structure is changing rapidly due to low birth rates and an aging population, and the school-age population is also on a downward trend. Consequently, it will become increasingly important not only to secure a sufficient number of outstanding talents but also to identify the potential and talents of each individual and nurture them into experts in various fields. However, as competition intensifies, there is a risk that education will become increasingly focused on a small number of high-achieving students. This raises the concern that South Korea’s education system could eventually become one designed solely for a select few. Let’s now examine the problems with South Korea’s education system and discuss possible solutions.

First Problem: Rote Learning

While current “education” may appear to be education on the surface, it would be more accurate to describe it as rote learning. Currently, elementary, middle, and high school students in South Korea spend much of their time memorizing rather than acquiring knowledge. Memorization is certainly important for learning. However, the memorization we are currently engaged in is merely for the purpose of sitting down and getting a single answer right on a multiple-choice question; it is not memorization that fosters creativity and critical thinking. Such students spend their school years solely focused on gaining admission to prestigious universities, failing to showcase their talents and potential, and ultimately never reaching their full potential. Certainly, this educational approach can identify outstanding talent. However, the “outstanding” students selected through this system represent only a tiny fraction of the student body. The rest eventually fail at the first hurdle and are forced to face even tougher challenges.
Of course, memorization itself is not wrong. It is necessary to master basic knowledge and concepts. The problem lies in how that memorized knowledge is applied. We need an education that goes beyond simply memorizing correct answers—one that enables students to think independently, solve new problems, and produce their own original work based on what they have learned. We must shift the direction of education so that students do not merely accumulate knowledge for exams but can express their own thoughts and demonstrate their creative abilities.

Second Issue: Teachers’ Attitudes Toward School Violence

Even today, school violence remains one of the critical issues that South Korea’s education system must address. In the past, news articles frequently reported incidents not only of school violence but also of physical assaults on teachers. Even recently, school violence has remained a persistent social problem. According to the first School Violence Survey of 2025, the response rate for school violence victims was 2.5%, an increase from the previous year. By type, while verbal and physical abuse decreased, group bullying and cyberbullying increased. School violence is not a problem confined to the past; it requires ongoing prevention and response even today.
The causes of school violence cannot be explained solely by the school system. This is because various factors—such as family environment, peer relationships, social environment, and the online environment—interact to contribute to the problem. However, since students spend most of their time at school, the role of school education is also crucial. To be more precise, in South Korea, there is often no clear consensus on whether public or private education is more important. Schools are not merely places to teach students knowledge; they are also places that guide students’ daily lives, character, and social skills.
Teachers have a duty to take responsibility for and educate their students. However, if schools fail to fully fulfill their educational responsibilities toward students and instead rely excessively on private tutoring, students will gradually distance themselves from the school and their teachers, and eventually, they may turn their backs on one another. This can lead to a situation where a relationship that should be as close as that between parent and child becomes virtually hostile.
Teachers may argue that the situation has reached this point because of the ban on corporal punishment, but I believe this is merely an excuse. If corporal punishment has been banned, schools must develop appropriate alternatives, such as new methods of behavioral guidance, counseling, and conflict resolution. Rather than viewing the elimination of corporal punishment as the problem itself, it is far more important to create an educational system within schools that can properly guide students without resorting to corporal punishment.

What Can We Learn from Finland’s Education System?

Let’s take a look at Finland, a country widely recognized as an educational powerhouse. Finland’s education system has long attracted global attention, and there are particularly valuable lessons to be learned regarding the role of public education and educational equity. However, since Finland is also facing various challenges—such as a decline in academic achievement compared to the past—we should not evaluate its current education system based solely on past successes.
In Finland, students have tended to choose schools close to their homes, and the focus has been on improving the quality of public education rather than on competition for rankings among schools. This stands in contrast to the educational environment in South Korea, where competition between schools is a major issue, particularly during the admissions process for middle and high schools, as students tend to prefer prestigious schools. In particular, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which the OECD has conducted annually since 2000 among 15-year-old students, provides crucial data for comparing educational achievement across countries.
In PISA, Finland continues to demonstrate high educational achievement. In PISA 2022, Finnish students’ average scores were 484 in mathematics, 490 in reading, and 511 in science—all higher than the OECD average. However, compared to 2012, achievement levels in all three areas dropped by more than 20 points. Therefore, Finland’s education system is not resting on its past successes but is in need of change and improvement.
Nevertheless, a notable aspect of Finland’s education system is its effort to ensure relatively equal educational opportunities for students. According to PISA 2022, while there was a correlation between students’ socioeconomic background and academic achievement in Finland as well, the country ranked among the highest among OECD nations in terms of socioeconomic equity in education. This demonstrates that, even if educational disparities stemming from family background cannot be completely eliminated, efforts to reduce those gaps through school education are crucial.
It is also important to ensure that students receive the necessary academic support when they struggle with specific subjects. Education should not focus solely on high-achieving students; appropriate support must also be provided to those who face learning difficulties. Conversely, if schools in South Korea focus their attention only on high-achieving students and neglect those who are not, the educational gap could widen even further. Rather than fixating solely on issues like school violence or corporal punishment, South Korea needs to seriously consider what kind of educational support each individual student requires.

The Direction and Measures for Education in South Korea

Students are the nation’s dreams and resources. Athletes, musicians, and scholars can all contribute to the country. However, South Korea currently tends to bury talents with other abilities in order to select a single type of talent. Diversity must be prioritized in education. Only with a diverse pool of talent can we build a robust nation overall and elevate our standing in the world. It is also important to provide a variety of activities for students to ensure they do not feel alienated or lose their way during their school years. To this end, the first thing we must do is correct the framework of South Korea’s school education system and establish appropriate measures.
As mentioned, students are the nation’s dreams and resources. A country becomes strong only when it has a wide variety of talented individuals.
The United States is a nation with global competitiveness not only in the economy but also in various fields such as music and sports. In contrast, while South Korea has poured significant resources into economic development, it faces the challenge of further enhancing its global competitiveness not only in the economy but also in other fields. Even if a tiger is strong, it cannot do anything without teeth. Similarly, what we must do now is ensure balanced development across various fields.
To achieve this, we must lay the foundation starting in schools. Schools are, in fact, incubators for a wide variety of talent. However, they are often criticized for being too focused on producing “study machines” that can only recite theory. In reality, South Korea is home to a wealth of talent: individuals capable of pioneering new fields of study, those gifted in music, and those who enjoy and can advance sports. To nurture this diverse talent, schools must do nothing less than revitalize club activities. First, because South Korean high school students spend so much time on classes, self-directed study, and college entrance exam preparation, they often lack sufficient time for club activities. As a result, students do not have enough opportunities to discover and develop their talents.
Let’s take a look at extracurricular activities in the United States. There are differences between high school extracurricular activities in the U.S. and South Korea in various aspects, including the time allocated to them, the range of choices, the nature of the activities, participation levels, their impact on college admissions, and the level of school support. In the U.S., students participate in extracurricular activities with relative freedom and can choose the activities they want, resulting in a wide variety of options. Furthermore, because students are engaged in activities they are interested in, many participate actively, and these activities are often considered important factors in college admissions. Schools also actively support and foster students’ extracurricular activities. In contrast, in South Korea, students often choose from a set list of activities provided by the school, and the content of these activities is typically limited to what the school has organized. Furthermore, because these activities have little direct relevance to college admissions, student participation tends to be passive, and school support is often insufficient.
When comparing after-school extracurricular activities in these two countries, it is evident that the U.S. offers more autonomy and a greater frequency of activities than South Korea. The most striking point is that American students are quite enthusiastic about participating in these extracurricular activities, and schools provide significant support. In contrast, in South Korea, not only is school support insufficient, but students may also feel quite apathetic toward these activities because they see little benefit for college admissions. To that extent, it can be argued that South Korea’s exam-oriented, rote-learning education has had a significantly negative impact on students.
Another important factor is the difference in perception between students in the two countries. American students have many paths to earn money and achieve their dreams beyond college, so they can see themselves utilizing not only their academic knowledge but also the talents they’ve developed through extracurricular activities. For example, someone who played on a sports team can become an athlete, and someone who learned a musical instrument can become a musician—both of whom can become valuable assets to their country. In contrast, South Korean students often have the notion that academic achievement is their only path to success deeply ingrained in their minds. Therefore, what South Korean educational institutions must do now is actively support and promote after-school extracurricular activities. Only then can students with talents outside of academics utilize those talents through extracurricular activities and make significant contributions to South Korea’s development across various fields.

Can a variety of extracurricular activities serve as a solution to school violence?

Above all, it is crucial to recognize that absolutely nothing in this world is useless. Similarly, there are absolutely no students in this society who are useless. Even if a student has committed an act of school violence, that student undoubtedly possesses the strength and potential to contribute to society. However, the reasons why students engage in school violence cannot be explained solely by a lack of extracurricular activities. This is because school violence stems from a variety of complex causes. However, providing diverse opportunities for students to discover their aptitudes and interests at school and participate in wholesome activities can serve as one method of preventing school violence.
Therefore, if we revitalize these extracurricular activities, students will naturally be able to try out everything they are capable of, discover their talents, and find their own sense of identity.
Furthermore, through activities with friends, they can learn teamwork, responsibility, and a sense of community. In other words, promoting extracurricular activities is not only a way to help students discover their talents but can also serve as a measure to support students who are struggling to adapt to school life and to reduce school violence.

In other words, what is education?

Education is one of the benchmarks by which a nation’s strength is measured. Therefore, if education goes awry, we risk losing talented individuals, which can have a negative impact on the nation’s future. Talented individuals who join large corporations and make significant contributions to the national economy are undoubtedly important. However, those who excel in music or sports are equally important. Let’s think about this for a moment. How tragic would it be if, one day, South Korea failed to win a single medal at the Olympics, let alone a gold medal? Furthermore, how tragic would it be if such talented individuals failed to discover their talents during their school years, wasted their time, and subsequently struggled to adapt to society or even turned to crime? Therefore, the path South Korea’s education system must take now is one that ensures equal access to education for all and promotes educational diversity. Education should not evaluate every student by a single standard; rather, it should enable students to discover their individual talents and aptitudes and develop their abilities.