Education

Elite education pathways in South Korea: From English-medium preschools to prestigious universities

Colloquium in April 2026 Soo-yong Byun (Penn State University) Using data from the Korean Education Longitudinal Study of 2013, this stud examined how the “elite educational pathway” in South Korea—linking English kindergartens, private elementary schools, international middle schools (more precisely, private middle schools), specialized and autonomous private high schools, and Read more…

By KIRN, ago

School Mobility and Academic Achievement in Standardized Education Systems: Evidence from South Korean Elementary Students

Colloquium in May 2025 Soo-yong Byun (The Pennsylvania State University, Professor of Education, Demography, and Asian Studies) Changing schools is a common experience for American students, but it often has negative consequences for academic performance. However, relatively little is known about school mobility and its effects in non-Western contexts. In Read more…

By KIRN, ago

Colloquium in April 2025 Hoyong Jung (Seoul National University, Graduate School of Public Administration and Korea Institute of Public Affairs) Amidst the ongoing phenomenon of Seoul-centric concentration in South Korea, this study examines wage differentials among graduates of In-Seoul universities in the early labor market. Even after controlling for individual Read more…

By KIRN, ago

An analysis of the association between expansion in early childhood education and educational inequality using PISA 2015

Colloquium in February 2024 Haram Jeon (Professor, Department of Education, Chonnam National University, South Korea) To explore the implications of disparities in early childhood education for later educational inequalities, this study investigates the relationship between students’ academic achievements, their family backgrounds, and their early childhood education experiences. To address this Read more…

By KIRN, ago

Who becomes an educational innovator?: Preliminary exploration of structural factors in establishing alternative schools in South Korea

Colloquium in December 2023 Kyungmin Baek (Professor, Department of Information Sociology, Soongsil Univ., South Korea) In Korea, alternative education emerged in the late 1990s. It is widely acknowledged that, in comparison to conventional education, alternative education provides a more varied curriculum tailored to individual student needs in a more egalitarian Read more…

By KIRN, ago

A Big (Male) Fish in a Small Pond? The Gendered Effect of Ability Rank on Adolescent STEM Aspirations under Gender-Math Stereotypes

Colloquium in Sept. 2021 Kim, Jinho (Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management at Korea University, South Korea)   Despite gender similarity in math ability, studies show persistent gender differences in STEM aspirations among adolescents. Extending previous literature on student math ability, biased self-assessment, and gender stereotypes, this paper emphasizes Read more…

By KIRN, ago

Has Inequality of Educational Opportunity Increased in Korea? (II): Trends of Family Background Gaps in Academic Achievement across Birth Cohorts

Colloquium in June 2021 Choi, Seongsoo (Professor, Dept. of Sociology at Yonsei Univ.) and Youngshin Lim (PhD Student, Dept. of Education at Seoul National Univ.) How have family background gaps in primary and secondary school students’ academic achievement changed in Korea? To answer the question, based on the total 11 Read more…

By KIRN, ago