Photo of students taking College Scholastic Ability Test
Photo Credit: OBS News
The 2024 academic school year may look different for up-incoming students in primary and secondary education as the 7th change and 4th revision of the Korean Education system, which was decided in November of 2022, is implemented. The changes in education are different at each level of school. In middle school, they changed the “Free Year Study,” first adopted in 2018, into a “Free Semester Study” program. The Free Year Study was put in place to get rid of exams for 1st-year students and allow them to find things they like by attending different classes without pressure from exams. However, following the revision, students must select one Free Semester Study instead of the whole year.
One student, currently in their last year of middle school, mentions, “The Free Semester Study might be too short for students to find out what they like and are good at.” Familiar with the “Free Year Study,” the student said, “During the Free Year Study, students can learn things that they are interested in, like languages, or go on school trips without the stress. By reducing the stress of exams, we’re able to adapt to an upper-level school easily.”
In high school, an academic credit system will be adopted instead of the test operation system applied in 2020. To graduate, students have to take 192 credit hours compared to 204 credit hours in the previous education system. Students can now choose more elective subject classes by reducing general education subjects to 8 credits per semester. This system will enable students to search for future jobs and support their choices when selecting courses.
“Studying under the academic credit system is beneficial because students can design their career paths and develop their ability to study proactively by themselves,” says Hanjae Lee, a current George Mason University student majoring in Business Management. Lee, who studied under the test operation system in high school, adds, “However, students might choose courses based on the course popularity or if the course is relatively easy instead of the courses related to their future careers or dreams which is a concern I have for these students.”
The key point of the revised Korean Education system is to reduce the reliance on private education and increase the power of public education. To reach this goal, education systems keep reshaping and developing, yet these changes directly affect current students. Students in Korea study for about 12 years for the College Scholastic Ability Test which directly impacts their entrance into universities across Korea. Changes in the education system have proven that it can lead to greater influence on the learning environment of students.
Written by Seonggyun Kim |Staff Writer
Edited by Madison Sailakkham |Managing Editor