Children Dying Inside: A Critical Analysis of Education in South Korea

This book analyzes education in South Korea. It presents a brief history of Korea and East Asian education. It also explores the dynamic relationship between the public and private spheres of education in South Korea. A case study of Korean English Preparatory Academy (KEPA) is used to examine the financial, social, and psychological costs of education in South Korea, as well as analyze one particular private academy that is profiting off of "education fever," which is a phrase that labels Korean's obsession with education and social status. Education is big business in South Korea, but whose interest does education serve: society, individuals, or private corporations? Ultimately, I conclude that education in South Korea is driven by a cultural preoccupation with social status and class, as well as by free-market capitalists seeking profit, and only marginally with the private economic returns of a post-secondary degree, let alone the holistic development of the individual. Education in South Korea is not about skill based learning nor is it about individual student development, and to that extent, I examine in the conclusion whether the Korean system of education is just, and whether it should be a model for the rest of the world to follow.

Author: J. M. Beach
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 08/25/2011
Pages: 56
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.18lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.13d
ISBN: 9781466269675

About the Author
J. M. Beach is a lecturer at the University of Texas, San Antonio. He has advanced degrees in English, History, Philosophy, and Education. He has been a teacher and educational administrator for over fifteen years. Beach has taught many subjects in the Humanities to a broad range of students, from pre-school all the way to university, in public and private schools, in the U.S., South Korea, and China. Previously Beach was a Lecturer at Oregon State University, the University of California, and at several community colleges in Southern California and Central Texas. Beach's scholarly research focuses on several distinct, but interrelated subjects: The philosophy of knowledge, the science of culture and social institutions, the history and philosophy of education, and literature. Beach is also a published poet. Links to his books, articles, and conference papers can be found at his website at www.jmbeach.com. Follow his blogs at jmbeach.blogspot.com and 21stcenturycanon.blogspot.com

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