South Korea’s education authorities on Tuesday declared an upcoming strike by private kindergartens illegal, warning that such collective action “will not be tolerated.” Members of the Korea Kindergarten Association hold a banner reading “Equal Support for Public and Private Kindergartens!” at a rally in Yeouido, western Seoul, Monday. YonhapAn association of private kindergarten operators is planning a general strike next week to demand a hike in government subsidies and protest the government’

Contract teachers in public schools will be an exception to the Moon Jae-in administration’s campaign to give all public-sector irregular workers permanent employee status, the Education Ministry said Monday in a decision that looks sure to stir controversy. Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions hold a press conference Monday to denounce the Ministry of Education’s guideline to not convert contract teachers to regular ones. YonhapThere are over 40,000 irregular teachers in South Ko

The Korea International School held its annual Gaelic Football Season at its campus in Seoul on Sept. 2, co-organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association and the Irish Embassy, the school said. The event was to promote global friendship and was joined by family members and students from KIS’s another campus in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, it added. Students participate in a Gaelic Football game held at Korea International School Seoul Campus, Sept. 2, 2017. (Photo: KIS)With campuses on three differ

MegaStudy founder says Korea has no future if cramming continues

Ewha Womans University president aims to nurture future talent, rebuild school’s tarnished image

South Korea saw a 2.5 percent on-year drop in the number of students enrolled in kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools last year, government data showed Thursday. As of April, 6.46 million children are attending school, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Education.First-year students are jubilant at Myeongil Elementary School in Seoul`s Gangdong Ward on July 14, 2017, as this year`s summer vacation starts. (Yonhap)Middle school students reported the steepest decline of 5.2

President Moon Jae-in stressed the importance of variety in public education Wednesday, while calling for government efforts to reduce financial burdens on students and their parents."What I especially want to stress to the education ministry is that there must never be standardized education that undermines variety," he said while meeting with officials from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for a policy briefing."The fourth industrial revolution requires

A batch of 446 international students on scholarships invited by the government are set to graduate from 57 universities in South Korea this month, the Education Ministry said Wednesday.The students hailing from 107 countries are split up into 32 students in undergraduate courses and 414 in graduate courses.Asian students topped the list with 199, followed by European students with 93, African students with 87 and Central and South American students with 42.Since 1967, South Korea has implemente

Machine-assisted educational platforms set to enable learners to study at their own pace.

The Korean Education Center, a Ministry of Education-affiliated agency in charge of teaching Korean to overseas Koreans and foreigners, will open its 42nd offshore branch in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia this week, the ministry said Wednesday.South Korea opened the first Korean Education Center in Japan in 1963, and there are currently 41 Korean Education Centers in operation in 18 countries worldwide.In the United States, the center opened in Washington, DC and Los Angeles, both in 1980, a

Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon says South Korea needs visionary, revolutionary educators to nurture future talent

Hundreds of education college students in Seoul on Friday protested a government plan to sharply reduce the recruitment of new elementary school teachers next year. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said the previous day the teacher hiring will be cut by 88 percent because of decreases in the number of students and retiring teachers.Nationwide, new teacher positions in primary schools will decline by 40.2 percent next year, according to the education ministry. "It's preposterous. The po

A provincial education superintendent has been denounced for allegedly making sexist remarks, a local media outlet reported Wednesday.According to Money Today, North Gyeongsang Province education superintendent Lee Young-woo was said in a speech at teachers’ training program that “Female teachers are high-priced in the local marriage market, so be proud of being a teacher.”  (Yonhap)Lee also reportedly said that “(being a) teacher is the best job for women, there is no use in being hired by a bi

South Korea’s Ministry of Education will expand support for the education of children from low-income households to help bridge the gap between poor and wealthy, a government panel that deals with basic livelihood security policies said Monday. According to the panel, the ministry is scheduled to increase its spending on elementary, middle and high school students from low-income households to help them purchase school supplies and materials beginning next year.  The Ministry of Education buildi

The Ministry of Education said it would introduce a range of new history textbooks written by private publishers in 2020 in a complete turnaround from the former conservative administration’s decision to offer state-authored books. Publishers now have until March 2020 to offer new history books for the market, according to the ministry, which would be verified by the government. Education Minister Kim Sang-kon (Yonhap)“The decision is intended to end controversy surrounding state-authored histor