How Are K-12 Schools Different In Korea Compared To the U.S.?

The disparity between Asian and Western educational systems ultimately leads to one question - which one of them is better? Although different countries have reared different results, it seems that in the world of today, Asian education has been rapidly inching its way to the top, in the course toppling over UK and US educational organizational structures. Although most K-12 programs currently in effect, especially those applied in the Orient, had been based on the original method of the United States, statistics have shown that the modified take of Asian countries - specifically Korea, Singapore and Japan - have worked more efficiently for Asian students.

After the universal kindergarten, children in Korea are compelled to take elementary education just like in the States. After the 6 years in grade school, these children usually aged 12 and above, are then sent to finish 3 years of middle school, and then in the last stage of the K-12 system comes senior high school for aged 15 years and up.

The difference of the Korean high school system from that of the U.S. is that it has more choices offered for students of different classes and career orientation. There is this so called vocational high school, academic high school and specialized high school. The first is for students who usually opt to stop pursuing higher education and start working right after the mandatory education. The second is for Korean teens that are planning to finish degrees in the future and specialize in a professional field. The specialized high school meanwhile is a much higher form of secondary education wherein a student would take subjects such as science or math or any other focus related to the course he/she is planning to take in the future.

This can also be associated to the longer days that Korean students go to school. A few years ago, President Barack Obama has praised the boom of Korean education and credited the improvement on longer days of Korean schooling. About 220 days of a year - that's about 60% of a year - are spent on education compared to America's 180 school-day system. In the longer days and hours, Korean students have maximized their learning potentials and have made it to the top ten educational systems in just about five decades.

Another difference between the K-12 educational systems of the two is the uniformity of the curricula followed. The United States hold no control over the national educational syllabus; instead, each state is given an equal right to modify the core curriculum to the liking, demands, abilities and needs of the constituents. The K-12 system in Korea meanwhile, holds almost the same curriculum for both public and private institutions, thus almost all Korean children receive the quality education that the government and private sectors offer.

Another answer to how are K-12 schools different in Korea compared to the U.S. is the budget allotment. The United States allot almost 70 billion US dollars to sustain their education - although a big sum, is quite lacking compared to the population of children studying in the U.S. Korea is in a much dire state, wherein the budget for education has fallen short due to high numbers of enrollees every year. However, one could credit the thirst of Koreans for a degree in education as a reason why their K-12 system has succeeded in the years. About 40% of Korean students and families extend money to go to private institutions or private tutoring. This is why Korea has the most number of degree holders of age 25 and above, at 28%. The U.S. has only 26% of 25 to 29 year olds degree holders.

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How Are K-12 Schools Different In Korea Compared To the U.S.?

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