What is the initiative and where is it implemented (city or country)?
The Constitution of the Republic of Korea acknowledges that all citizens ‘shall have an equal right to receive an education corresponding to their abilities’ and gives the state a duty to ‘promote lifelong education’.
Lifelong learning (LLL) is implemented across national and local levels. The 1999 Lifelong Education Act establishes that all levels of government are responsible for promoting lifelong education policies that provide all citizens with opportunities to participate in lifelong education. The Act also requires the Ministry of Education to develop a comprehensive lifelong education promotion plan every five years at the national level, setting mid- and long-term policy objectives and the basic direction of lifelong learning promotion.
How was the initiative established? How was it implemented?
Under the Constitution, ‘the government is responsible for promoting lifelong education’. Driven to instil the importance of education and learning throughout society, the government strives to provide the general public with the opportunity to receive continuing education and to engage in the ongoing enhancement of one's potential. The Lifelong Education Law, established in August 1999 under the Social Education Promotion Law, provides strong support for related education institutes
Lifelong education is defined as all forms of education belonging to the system of lifelong education, with the exception of school education. The lifelong education programmes offered in Korea are categorized as para-school education, occupational and technical education and general or liberal education.
Para-schools are excluded from the main school ladder as they do not require day-long attendance in an institution. Para-schools include civic schools, civic high schools, industry-attached schools (middle and high), evening classes offered at schools (middle and high), open high schools, accreditation programmes for self-study, the credit bank system, Korea National Open Universities, distance learning universities, company-attached universities and industrial universities
The Lifelong Education Act of the Republic of Korea calls on the Ministry of Education to develop a comprehensive lifelong education promotion plan every five years at the national level. Since 2009, three plans have been enacted, resulting in improved access to lifelong education and the creation of the National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) as well as 17 local Lifelong Education Institutions
The fourth National Lifelong Learning Promotion Plan (2018–2022), issued in 2017, was developed in response to technological innovation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and changing demographics of the country
Which stakeholders are involved in the design and/or implementation of the initiative? Which sectors do they represent?
The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea operates under the philosophy of ‘people-centred education of the future’ and aims to create an education system based on cooperation and co-existence. The Ministry promotes personalized education targeted at unique aptitudes and capacities and a holistic approach to social change through education
The Ministry of Education is one of the sources providing access to lifelong education through ‘recreational’ lifelong learning
The Ministry of Employment and Labour focuses on providing courses for employment, usually through relevant institutions such as polytechnic universities.
The Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) plays an important role in education research in the Republic of Korea as the national centre for educational statistics and a think tank involved in educational policy development and implementation
The National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) is an organization based on the Lifelong Education Act. Since 2008, the Institute performs key functions in the development, implementation and monitoring of the national lifelong education
In 2015, K-MOOC (Korean Massive Open Online Course) started offering interactive online video lectures to support the open online learning process
What are the impacts of the initiative in terms of facilitating lifelong learning? Who does it benefit and how?
The fourth National Plan promotes a sustainable lifelong learning society and supports the implementation of the four Ps (people, participation, prosperity and partnership) by ensuring – Lifelong learning for every citizen:
- guaranteeing the right to lifelong learning for employees and promoting the training of adult educators and lifelong learning instructors;
- expanding educational opportunities to all citizens who wish to develop their literacy skills;
- promoting practical lifelong learning opportunities for the underprivileged and disabled through a voucher scheme that reduces costs for learners.
Increased opportunities for working-age adults:
- making improvements to the K-MOOC (Korean Massive Open Online Course) platform and the National Lifelong Learning Portal;
- expanding adult education opportunities in higher education institutions;
- establishing professional colleges as hubs for vocational and lifelong education and institutionalizing the linkage of secondary and higher vocational education;
- supporting employment and entrepreneurship programmes.
Access to lifelong learning everywhere:
- expanding the network of lifelong learning centres while taking into consideration local conditions and facilities that can be reutilized;
- supporting community-based lifelong learning by strengthening civic competencies on a regional scale;
- promoting the relationship between lifelong and vocational education;
- creating specialized non-degree courses that respond to local needs and foster local talent;
- developing more on- and offline courses to enhance understanding of environmental values, safety consciousness and disaster response.
High-quality lifelong learning with a strong foundation:
- promoting the development of institutional evaluation and a certification system;
- improving the quality of lifelong education statistics;
- encouraging the expansion of international cooperation in lifelong education and special foreign language education;
- establishing strategic plans and guidelines to expand investment in and resources for lifelong education promotion
(UIL, 2020) .
NILE also organizes one of the central national lifelong learning promotion events – the Lifelong Learning EXPO. Every two years, cities compete to be the host of the Expo, with NILE selecting the successful city. Educational institutions, regions and cities use the Expo to show what they have achieved regarding lifelong learning. It is a very important event, not only to present different regional and local approaches to lifelong learning but also as a place for stakeholders to exchange information, compare their achievements and take new ideas back to their city or region
References:
K-MOOC. 2020. Korean Massive Open Online Course. [online] Available at: http://www.kmooc.kr/about [Accessed 25 August 2020].
Ministry of Education. 2020. About MOE: Message. [online] Available at: http://english.moe.go.kr/sub/info.do?m=0101&s=english [Accessed 25 August 2020].
Ministry of Education. 2020. Lifelong Education. [online] Available at: http://english.moe.go.kr/sub/info.do?m=020107&s=english [Accessed 25 August 2020].
National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE). 2017. National Institute for Lifelong Education: Building a creative learning society. [online] Available at: http://eng.nile.or.kr/eng/ [Accessed 25 August 2020].
OECD. 2020. Strengthening the Governance of Skills Systems. Case study: Lifelong learning in Korea. [online] Available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/cd2b486a-en.pdf?expires=1598429806&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=249A7B9EB81E4226F8FCDDFD0E780E71 [Accessed 25 August 2020].
UIL. 2020. Republic of Korea: The fourth National Lifelong Learning Promotion Plan (2018–2022), issued in 2017. [online] Available at: https://uil.unesco.org/document/republic-korea-fourth-national-lifelong-learning-promotion-plan-2018-2022-issued-2017 [Accessed 25 August 2020].