Education has been a key factor in South Korea’s rapid economic growth over the past four
decades. Since the 1960s, the government-led economic development plans have been
directly reflected in education policy and planning. The government has been generally
successful in providing and expanding the education system based on the industrial needs
for human resources. As a result, the education system has developed in tandem with
the various stages of economic development. The focus of the government’s educational
plan has moved from primary to secondary education and finally to the tertiary level,
according to the nation’s economic advancement. The rapid expansion of education in
terms of quantity, and to a lesser extent quality, is the most salient feature of South Korean
educational development during the country’s industrialisation.