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Education/Literacy in Korea - Main
Page
Korea's Main Page
Korean Junior Vocational Colleges
Junior vocational colleges are post-secondary programs and are the direct outgrowth of the increasing demand for technical manpower attendant to rapid industrialization. They are the product of a merger between 2-year junior colleges and 2-3 year professional high schools. Since this establishment in 1979, the number of junior vocational colleges has grown to 155 as of 1997 with an enrollment of about 500,000.
They are now playing a major role in the attainment of short-term higher education. The purpose of junior vocational education is to produce mid-level technicians who can devote themselves to a national development through the dissemination of technical knowledge in every field of society. Their specialized courses are grouped into technical, agricultural, fishery, nursing, sanitation, home economics, social practice, the arts and athletics, with two or three year programs depending on the course of introduction. The nursing, clinical pathology, radiation, fishing, navigation and engine courses require 3 years of education. The communication course requires two and a half years; the rest require two years of education.
For the effective achievement of its educational goals, junior vocational colleges develop and operate a practical curriculum through a school-industry collaborative. Speciality is stressed as preparation for the National Certification Examination. Liberal arts subjects consist of a minimum of general subjects; the number of credits required in the subjects is decided by school regulations. On-the-job training is given 1-3 credits.
Although junior vocational colleges put an emphasis on practical education aimed at producing mid-level technicians, it is not necessarily a terminal point of education. They also keep doors open for students who would like to continue their education at the university level. For employed youths, they also provides avenues for continued education. As efforts are being intensified to ensure the relevance of junior college education, the percentage of the employed among graduates is increasing.
Information provided by the Korean Embassy