Bloomberg: "Korean Education Praised by Biden Is Rotten, Deceived by Obsession with Prestigious Universities"

Low Labor Productivity Despite Education Spending... Half of College Graduates Work in Fields Unrelated to Their Majors
Private Education Burden Leads to Declining Birth Rates and Negative Impact on Youth Mental Health

The academy district in Daechi-dong, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Bloomberg News reported on the 14th that the Korean education system, which had been the driving force behind economic development, is now facing criticism for failing to supply the workforce needed in modern society and even harming the mental health of the younger generation.

Bloomberg analyzed that Korea has low labor productivity relative to education expenditure. According to the media's calculation of the ratio of GDP per worker to education expenditure per student, Korea ranked at the bottom among OECD countries with a ratio of 6.5 times. Ireland ranked first with 22.8 times, followed by Mexico (16.2 times), Lithuania (13.2 times), Denmark (10.8 times), and France and the United States (10.6 times). Bloomberg pointed out, "Based on teenagers, Korea spends 40% more on education than Ireland, but GDP per worker is 60% less than Ireland."

It also noted a severe mismatch between labor market demand and job skills, with half of university graduates working in jobs unrelated to their majors. It added that due to the wage gap between high school and university graduates, vocational high school graduates increasingly prefer to enter university rather than seek employment. Bloomberg cited an OECD report released last September, explaining that the 'Golden Ticket Syndrome,' which prioritizes admission to prestigious universities, is one of the causes of this situation.

Bloomberg analyzed, "Korea has such a high passion for education that even U.S. President Joe Biden has praised it, boasting one of the highest rates of higher education attainment among advanced countries," and "The current education system helped a country devastated by war in the early 1950s rise as a manufacturing powerhouse."

However, it diagnosed that the Korean education system is festering beneath the surface. The media pointed out obsession with prestigious university labels rather than job skills, lack of lifelong education, and entrance exam-centered education industry as problems. In particular, academies are cited as a cause of the increase in extreme choices among teenagers, explaining that most of Korea's education expenditure goes to private academies. According to Bloomberg, last year Korea's total private education expenses ballooned to 23.4 trillion won, and the cost of one English kindergarten reached $25,000 per year.

Bloomberg pointed out that the burden of private education costs is increasing, negatively affecting the birth rate and the mental health of young people. Ban Ga-woon, an economist at the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, said, "Korea is caught in the 'trap of success,'" adding, "Education played a key role in leading the country this far, but now it may be hindering the future of the economy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.