This book, Education Miracle in the Republic of Korea, was published by Chungnam National University (CNU) Press in 2021. The main themes and topics of the book are all about the stories of the miracle of education in the Republic of Korea since its liberation in 1945 thanks to the end of the Second World War from the miserable colonisation by the Japanese military empire. With the considerable efforts and assistance of the three-year military government of the USA, the education system of the Republic of Korea was established in terms of the legal apparatus of the Education Act of 1949.
Although the incessant hardships caused by the division of the country and the war never ceased, the people of the Republic of Korea overcame all the difficulties and finally achieved the splendid miracle of education which had never appeared in the history of mankind. It goes without saying that the result is also an economic and social miracle that has transformed the country from the poorest in the world to one of the ten richest.
However, the secrets of this miracle have never been unveiled enough to be believed not only by the academic world but also by the secular world, although there have been several scholars who have tried to understand it. It is also true that there are a lot of boasts in many political and diplomatic ways. This book could be one of those efforts. However, I am indeed faithful to confess that I have used all my academic integrity to contribute to our understanding of history.
Since its publication in Korean, mainly for Korean readers, I have encountered various voices calling for an English translation, especially for those seeking educational development in developing countries. I have always been surprised by the completely different stories of education in these developing countries compared to my memories of education. I always respond "it was like that or even poorer in Korea" when they tell me "because we are poor for education spending".
This translated version is the answer for those voices. I wish this book would be a good chance for them to get any advice.
Prologue: In front of history
Chapter I: Education Journey toward Freedom
Chapter II. Triple-core Theory of Education State
Chapter III. Hangeul as the Edu-tongue
Chapter IV. Knowledge learned with Chinese letters
Chapter V. Precious Textbooks
Chapter VI. Thankful Teachers.
Chapter VII. Freedom of Private School and Private Education
Chapter VIII. The Superintendent of Education as The Great Principal
Chapter X. The Phenomenon of Universal(manmin) Higher Education
Chapter XI. Education Policy Leadership
Chapter XII. A New Approach to Korean Education Policy History: BEST & SMART Frame
Chapter XIII. Emerging sector of Educational Welfare
Chapter XIV.Smart Education and Coding Education
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Chun Se-young (관제關齊 천세영千歲英) was born in 1956 in Choojado, Jeju Island, and studied at Shinyang elementary, Jejuil middle, and Paichai high school and received his B.A. and M.A. and Ph.D. at Seoul National University, Department of Education. He has been researching and teaching education for most of his life until he retired in August 2021 as a professor in the Department of Education at Chungnam National University. He has served as an officer of many academic organisations, including founding the Smart Education Society and serving as the president of the Korean Society of Education Finance and Economics, as well as serving as a representative of the Globalisation Education Culture Foundation and other private social organisations. As a visiting scholar at the University of Pittsburgh and George Mason University in the United States and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, he was an advisor to the OECD Education Indicators Project, and was actively involved in international advisory activities for education development cooperation projects in many developing countries, including Nicaragua and Myanmar. He has been deeply involved in the formulation and implementation of national education policy, having served as Secretary of Education in the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea and CEO of the Korea Educationoal Research and Information Service(KERIS). He has published more than 30 solo and co-authored books and more than 160 domestic and international academic papers, and has graduated more than 40 doctoral students.