Epilogue

Abstract

During the 70 years after the Liberation, Korean education moved forward with the practice of democracy as its most critical task from the very beginning. The Republic of Korea first had to overcome the war and poverty, then increase its defense against external invasion, develop human resources as well as discover and nurture talent for specialized fields, and maintain social and political stability. The fact that Korea’s sovereignty means its rights to self-determination and independence for a way of life and the right to educate its people using its own language and letters. During the state formation period, a basic institutional system was set up to implement the education of a democratic state centered around primary and secondary schools, and efforts were made to learn the ways and norms of a democratic life in Korea. Together with the economic growth achieved during this period, the Korean education sector was mobilized to enhance the productive efficiency, which demonstrated significant results of national education from the perspective of social investment. Policy interest shifted from primary education to secondary and technical education. Now we need to examine what kind of activities the educated people in Korea experience and how they will empower themselves in the next 70 years.