Education in South Korea
| Ministry of Education (South Korea) | |
|---|---|
| National education budget (2022) | |
| Budget | 5.6% of GDP |
| General details | |
| Primary languages | Korean |
| Literacy | |
| Total | 100% |
| Male | 100% |
| Female | 100% |
| Primary | 3.3 million |
| Secondary | 4.0 million |
| Post secondary | 3.6 million |
| Attainment | |
| Secondary diploma | 98.0% |
| Post-secondary diploma | 69.8% |
Education in South Korea is provided by both public schools and private schools with government funding available for both. South Korea is known for its high academic performance in reading, mathematics, and science, consistently ranking above the OECD average. South Korean education sits at ninth place in the world. Higher education is highly valued. People believe doing well in school helps them move up in society and have better jobs.
The education system in South Korea is known for being very strict and competitive. Students are expected to get into top universities, especially the "SKY" universities (Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University). While this focus has helped the nation's economy grow and boost the rate of education of its people, the issues that arise from this has left much up for debate.