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Volume 9 Number 27 |
July 31, 2001 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
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Editor: Gene V Glass, College of Education Arizona State University
Copyright 2001, the
EDUCATION POLICY ANALYSIS ARCHIVES. Articles appearing in EPAA are abstracted in the Current Index to Journals in Education by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation and are permanently archived in Resources in Education. |
The Establishment of Modern
Universities in Korea
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Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the historical factors which affected the rise of modern higher education during the late Choson period (1880-1910), and to analyze the implications of these historical factors on educational policies in contemporary higher education in Korea. The rise of modern higher education in Korea can be viewed as occurring in three principal phases: Confucian Choson Royal Government, Western Christian missionaries, and patriotic nationalists. The author points out that the major historical factors influencing the development of modern higher education were Confucianism, Christianity, and Korean nationalism. In particular, Confucianism and Christianity have had substantial impacts on the planning of educational policies in contemporary Korean higher education; the former is viewed as an original source of educational enthusiasm which has expanded Korean higher education, and the latter a matrix of modern Korean higher education which has embodied educational enthusiasm. |
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IntroductionThe Korean people have long respected Confucian learning (Note 1) and have attached great significance to education throughout Korean history. This tradition began in the three early kingdoms period (57 BC-AD 668) and continues to the present time. According to one important historical record, Samguk-sagi (Historical Record of the Three Kingdoms) (Kim, 1145), the intellectual activity during the Three Kingdoms period was the learning of Chinese thought and culture, which was much more highly developed than native Korean thought and culture at that time. After that period, the succeeding of the Unified Silla Kingdom (AD 668-935) and the Koryo Kingdom (AD 918-1392) still maintained Confucian study as a major academic field in spite of Buddhist monarchy. In the Choson period (1392-1910), the rulers of the Choson Kingdom accepted Confucianism as the source of basic principles for national politics, ethics, and education for over 500 years.From the Three Kingdoms period to the late Choson era, although Korean elite or higher education (Note 2) had generally followed in the steps of the Chinese educational system, it is clear that the traditional or pre-modern higher education systems of Korea and China were not identical. As the Samguk-sagi (Kim, 1145) points out, Confucian studies and traditions from China were independently integrated into Korean culture and society. However, these traditions were modified during the late Choson period. In terms of the history of Korean education, the late 19th century was a pivotal period whereby the traditional educational system and Confucian elite institutes were devalued by Japanese politicians and Western Christian missionaries. In light of the periodic importance of Korean education, several researchers have studied Korean education during the late Choson Kingdom and the Imperial Japanese Administration periods. For example, Horace H. Underwood (1926) in his book, Modern Education in Korea partially discussed Korean higher education under the late Choson Kingdom and Japanese colonial rule. James E. Fisher's (1928) Ph.D. dissertation, “Democracy and Mission Education in Korea,” explored missionary education in Korea under Japanese colonial rule from the viewpoint of Christianity. Han-Young Rim (1952) also researched the development of Korean higher education under Japanese colonial rule in his unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, “Development of Higher Education in Korea during the Japanese Occupation (1910- 1945).” Sung-hwa Lee (1958) briefly examined the social and political factors affecting Korean education from 1885 through 1950, and In-soo Son (1985) analyzed Korean education from 1876 to 1910. Historical BackgroundLike Taehak and Kukhak in the Three Kingdoms, Koryo (918-1392) had educational institutions that educated the elite who led its aristocratic society in order to maintain their hereditary political and economic privileges. Koryo already had elite schools in the capital, Kaeseong, and Pyoungyang in the first King Taejo's reign (918-943) (B. Lee, 1986, p. 47; K. Lee, 1984, p. 119). In the 10th year of King Seongjong (AD 992), Kukchagam (the National Academy or University) was established in the capital. This institution included three colleges: Kukchahak (Higher Chinese Classical College), Taehak (High Chinese Classical College), and Samunhak (Four Portals College). Subsequently, under the reign of King Injong (1122-1146), three colleges were included: Yurhak (Law College), Seohak (Calligraphy College), and Sanhak (Accounting College). The six colleges all existed under the Kukchagam. These colleges had different entrance qualifications, curricula, and instructors. For instance, the Kukchahak admitted the sons and grandsons of officials above the third rank. The Taehak was open to the sons and grandsons of officials above the fifth rank and the great grandsons of officials of the third rank. The Samunhak was devoted to the sons of officials of the eighth and ninth, as well as the common people, who were admitted to study at one of three special colleges: Yurhak, Seohak, and Sanhak. The curricula of Kukchahak, Taehak, and Samunhak mainly taught the Chinese classics. The other schools' curricula dealt with technical subjects—for example, law, Chinese calligraphy, or accounting. The instructors of the first three institutions were “Paksa (Learned Doctors)” and “Chokyo (Assistant Doctors),” while the instructors of the latter three schools were “Paksa (Learned Doctors).” Institutions of higher education were open to the offspring of aristocratic families so that they might maintain their political, economic, and social privileges. Particularly, the Chinese classics that were based on Confucianism contributed much to Koryo society and politics through education. From the beginning of the Choson Kingdom, Confucianism was a national religion. Choson rulers stressed Confucian education to train the civilian bureaucrats to lead their people, and to enable the people to follow Confucian ethics and values. Seongkyunkwan (Hall of Harmony or the National Confucian Academy) was established in the capital city during the reign of King Taejo (AD 1392-1398). The Seongkyunkwan eventually succeeded all other organizations, curricula, and functions of Kukchagam or Kukhak in the Koryo period. The students of the Seongkyunkwan, who were the offspring of the bureaucrats, consisted of two hundred seng-won (classical licentiates) and chin-sa (literary licentiates). The curricula of the institution included Ku-che (Nine Subjects), that is, Saseo (the Four Confucian Books) and O-Kyung (the Five Chinese Classics). The subjects were instructed by various teaching methods: reading, composition, argument, persuasion, praising, and epigrammatic poetry (Choo, 1961, p.36). Completing all course work, the yusaeng (graduates) were permitted to take the Kwa-keo (the government examinations), particularly Dae-kwa or Mun-kwa (Triennial Higher Examinations or Erudite Examinations). As mentioned above, in the early Choson Dynasty, elite education was chiefly regarded as an institution for preparation of the future civilian bureaucrats who then rose to political positions after passing examinations (Kwa-keo). Accordingly, since the Seongkyunkwan, as the highest educational institution, did not fulfill its function of pursuing knowledge and truth, it was reduced to a tool for preparing students for the national civilian examination systems. The examinations based on the Chinese classics constituted core curricula, and teaching methods were predominantly rote memorization and writing. Furthermore, even provincial and private schools stressed the preparation of the students from the lower civilian examinations or advanced studies to take the higher civilian examinations. Choson society was mainly directed by the Yangban (high level) class, who monopolized politics and the economy of the country; education was no exception. Therefore, education was regarded as the ultimate means to maintain the Yangban's socio-political privilege, and the Yangban's educational enthusiasm contributed much to the pursuit of the ruling class's interest and power. Consequently, the Confucian educational system, which depended on the Kwa-Keo as a backbone of the early Choson's education, was maintained until the late 19th century when the Choson Dynasty opened its doors to coercive foreign power and received the Western modern educational system. Under these powerful influences, the Seongkyunkwan, as the highest educational institution, inevitably terminated the Confucian educational tradition and, unfortunately, bid farewell to the Choson's elite, particularly the Confucian literati. Historical Factors Affecting the Advancement of Modern Higher Education in KoreaA new movement which called Silhak (Practical Learning) for modernization blossomed during the late 17th to the 18th century. A group of Choson scholars sought to devise practical ways to use academic knowledge to modernize the state. With the introduction of Roman Catholicism and Western knowledge by the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911/1912) of China, Choson scholars endeavored to create a modernized country. Unfortunately, these pioneers never reached their goal of reforming the Confucian Choson Kingdom politically, economically, socially, or educationally because the highly centralized bureaucratic politicians ignored the new religion and knowledge. Owing to the failure of the Silhak movement, the Korean people lost the chance to reform the old educational systems autonomously. Therefore, the beginning modern education in Korea was delayed until the late 19th century.Confucian State Operated-SchoolsHowever, before the Confucian Choson Government could reform traditional education by itself, political and social reform (Kabo-Kyungjang) was carried out in 1894 as Japanese political forces demanded reform of the political, economic, and social systems of the Choson Kingdom. It is a widely held belief that the Japanese planned the occupation of the Korean peninsula as an advanced base to invade the Asian continent. Thus, the weak Choson Royal Government had to carry out huge reform--political, economic, social, and educational--under irresistible Japanese political pressure. The reforms in the social and educational systems included the abolition of the social status system, discontinuance of the Kwa-Keo (the government examinations) system (Brown, 1919, p. 79), and the creation of new educational systems from primary and secondary to vocational and foreign language schools. In particular, the Royal Government recognized the significance of teacher training as a means of modernizing education on the foundation of primary education. In 1895, according to the Royal Prescript of Education, Hanseong Teacher's School was established in Hanseong (present-day Seoul). At the same time, old educational institutes, except Seongkyunkwan (The National Confucian Academy), were officially abolished. On the other hand, although the occupational schools such as medical, law, commercial, foreign language, and technical institutes, were established, these schools were not highly regarded by the Korean people, particularly the Yangban (the ruling class) who despised occupational and technical skills. After the Kabo Reform (1894 Reform), the Choson Government tried unsuccessfully to change the old educational systems into modern Western types. Despite such resistance, some Christian missionary schools and native private schools were the seeds from which contemporary Korean higher education grew. Western Christian Missionary SchoolsThe first American Presbyterian mission was opened by Dr. and Mrs. H. N. Allen who arrived in Seoul in September 1884 (Allen, 1908; Mckenzie, 1920). In the spring of the following year, the Rev. Horace G. Underwood, who published the first Korean-English and English-Korean dictionary, landed. The Rev. and Mrs. Henry G. Appenzeller, as well as Dr. and Mrs. Scranton with Dr. Scranton's mother, Mrs. Mary F. Scranton, of the Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church also arrived (Gale, 1909, pp. 161-63; Underwood, 1926, p. 9). Other American and Western missionaries, including Australian, English, and Canadian, also arrived in Korea before the end of the 19th century (Mckenzie, 1920, p.205). In 1885, Dr. Allen established the first Western modern hospital called Kwanghyewon (the National Hospital) as a Mecca of medical education in Korea to provide education along with clinical practice. The hospital was to become a cornerstone for the Severance Union Medical College (the predecessor of the present Yonsei University Medical College), which opened in 1903 (Underwood, 1926, p. 120). (Note 6) In 1886, Mrs. M. F. Scranton opened the Methodist Girls' School (Ehwa-hakdang) as the first girls' school in Korea, which evolved into the present Ehwa Woman's University. (Note 7) Although the school began with one student, it gradually began to play a significant role in emancipating Korean women from the rigidly male-dominated Confucian Choson society, giving the females valuable opportunities to learn through both traditional and modern education. After Mrs. Scranton founded her school for girls, Rev. Appenzeller established Baejae-hakdang, the first missionary high common school for boys in the country, on June 8, 1886 (Bishop, 1897. p. 388; Underwood, 1926, p. 18).(Note 8) In 1897, Sungsil School was founded by the U.S. Presbyterians (Northern) at Pyungyang; and subsequently the school, called Sungsil Union Christian College (now Sungsil University) in 1906, was first developed as an international and union college in which the Northern Presbyterians, Northern Methodists, and Australian Presbyterians cooperated (Underwood, 1926, p. 127). After Sungsil Union Christian College had operated for several years, many Christian missionary schools (Note 9) were established under different denominations and missions. All Christian schools or colleges stressed the evangelical ministry, although humanistic and natural sciences were also taught. In the early stages, most students of Protestant missionary schools came from the non-Yangban class, including women and the lower classes. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that these Christian missionaries sowed the seeds of Christianity and democratic spirit to the Korean people through education. The Christian missionary work in Korea had a great effect on the development of Korean education, including higher education in the following ways: awakening the national spirit, disseminating Christianity, recognizing the importance of Western practical and scientific knowledge, opening democratic education and education for women, teaching Western institutional systems and curricula, and instituting native language education. Native Private SchoolsThe first modern private school called the Wonsan-Haksa (Wonsan Academy) was established by the magistrate of Teogwon county and local residents at Wonsan in 1883 to serve the growing interest in education of the young (K. Lee, 1984, p.330). The school partially taught the traditional Chinese classics at first and then gradually included foreign language, law, geography, and international law. Twelve years later in 1895, Younghwan Min opened Heunghwa School, which primarily taught English, Japanese, and land surveying. Between the 1890s and 1900s, the native private schools mushroomed in the capital and provincial areas. However, the schools generally belonged to the secondary school or primary college level. Thus, there was no higher educational institution like a Western modern university in operation. Indeed, among the above private schools, only Boseong School, which was founded in 1905, became Boseong Junior College (as a predecessor of the present Korea University) during the Japanese colonial period. In the late Choson period, although many patriotic leaders promoted the establishment of higher educational institutes to reform their under-modernized country, they could not overcome Japanese political power. Especially, after the 1905 Protectorate Treaty was signed, the Choson Government practically lost its national right to govern. During the “Protectorate” period (1905-1910), the Japanese educational policy was chiefly the preparatory operation for colonization through the promulgation and practice of various educational ordinances and regulations. For instance, the Private School Ordinance that was promulgated in 1908 was a means of placing under Japanese control and suppression all those private schools administered by Christian missionaries and patriotic Korean leaders (Underwood, 1926). Therefore, the native private institutes under the Japanese “Protectorate” period lost opportunities to plant Western models which were suited to Koreans' needs due to the Japanese imperialists' educational policy to accomplish the annexation of Korea. Furthermore, Japanese imperialists attempted to abolish the native private schools as well as the Confucian institutes that had preserved the Korean academic tradition. They regarded education as a tool of assimilation to Japanese culture and of dampening of the Korean national spirit. The Implications of Historical Factors on Education Policies in Contemporary Korean Higher EducationDuring the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), owing to the Japanese colonial education policy of "Japanization," it was only possible for Japanese and a small minority of Koreans to access higher education. Most Koreans able to participate in higher education were pro-Japanese Koreans or the former Yangbans. Although a few common people could access higher education after to the abolition of the strict social hierarchy, most Koreans did not readily abandon traditional Confucian values and education. For this reason, it was still difficult for the Korean populace to participate in higher education during Japanese colonial times. After liberation from Japanese rule in 1945, democratic education initiated by the U.S. military government (1945-1948) eventually afforded the populace an opportunity to access higher education. The common people who were able to access elite or higher education not only witnessed the granting of special socio-political rights to the Yangbans, but also recognized the instrumental values of education that endowed the upper class with socio-economic interests. Although the commoners were rarely allowed access to higher education on account of a rigid stratified social system, they desired to participate in traditional elite education or colonial higher education. Under the stratified social system, the ruling class, who were able to access higher education, was separated from the subordinate class. In spite of this divided system, the desire for education was different for the different social classes. Moreover, the rapid change of politics, economy, and society from the traditional bureaucratic Confucian society to the modern industrial democratic society necessitated the creation of human capital, thus promoting an academically oriented society. From the perspective of Korean cultural history, the contemporary high level of interest in education among the Korean people is the result of two significant factors: the opening up of higher education to more than a privileged minority; and the potential of education to confer upon its recipient both higher social status and economic success. The Korean people's desire for more education was a major factor in the expansion of the national higher education system as well as the development of the national economy. (Note 11) In particular, economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s was the result of the expansion of higher education. On the other hand, this enthusiasm for education has had a downside: excessive private education expenditures, social disharmony between the rich and the poor, promotion of an academic attainment-oriented society, and an examination hell for college entrants. In spite of these social and educational problems, the rapid growth of higher education leading to rapid economic development has come to be regarded as a model for the developed countries as well as developing countries. A fundamental cause of this economic and educational success was Koreans' desire for education rooted in a Confucian cultural, although national economic development policy played an important role as well. Without a correct understanding of this national enthusiasm for education, it is meaningless to discuss the expansion of higher education and rapid economic development in contemporary Korea. Grasping the negative side of educational enthusiasm is no less necessary than understanding its positive aspects. Notes1 Confucianism is an ideal ethical-moral system based on the teaching of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher in the sixth century BC.2 In the traditional period, Korean higher education fostered the elite who can lead the Korean people. Therefore, the words “higher education” would have different connotations than the ancient Greek or the medieval Western higher education. 3 The Three Kingdoms were Koguryo (37 BC-AD 668), in the north; Packche (18 BC-AD 660), in the southwest; and Silla (57 BC-AD 935), in the southeast. 4 Choson society was classified into three classes: Yangban (the ruling class), Pyungmin (the common people), and Sangnom or Cheonmin (the lower people or the mean people). Generally, Chungin (the professional group) belonged to the common people. 5 The Chou Dynasty of China divided social classes into four strata according to occupations: scholar, farmer, manufacturer, and merchant. Following these social strata, the Choson people respected scholars but despised manufacturers and merchants. Accordingly, the Yangbans and the Commoners ignored the two occupational groups. 6 According to KNCU (1960), Severance Union Medical College was established in 1905 (p.13). On the other hand, Son (1985) wrote 1904 (?) (p. 70). 7 Cf. Underwood (1926) wrote that Ehwa-hakdang opened in January, 1886. Son (1985) mentioned that the school began with one girl in May, 1886. Yu (1992) noted that Ehwa-hakdang began with a governmental official's concubine on May 31, 1886. Ehwa Woman's [Women's] College opened with fifteen students in 1910 (Adams, 1965, p. 2; S. Lee, 1989, p. 89; Underwood, 1926, p. 113). 8 Cf. Yu (1992) wrote that H. G. Appenzeller began to teach English for two students on August 3, 1885 (p.49). 9 In-soo Son (1985) describes chronologically the founding of missionary schools between 1885-1909 (pp. 76-77). In May, 1910, the entire number of authorized private schools in Korea was 2,250; and 796 schools among them were established by the Western missionaries (S. Lee, 1989, p.90; Son, 1985, p.323). 10 In 1999, Buddhists made up 45.7%, and Christians comprised 51.8% of the Korean believers. The number of believers was 22,597,824 (50.7 percent of Korean population) (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 1999). Although Confucians only account for 0.9 percent of Koreans, Confucianism remains a core culture in Korean society. 11 Between 1965 and 1996, the average annual growth rate of GNI (gross national income) reached about 8 percent, and GNI per capita increased from 105 to 11,380 US dollars (National Statistical Office: Seoul, Korea, 1999). In addition, between 1945 and 1999, Korean higher education increased from 19 schools, 1,490 teachers, and 7,819 students to 354 schools, 55,718 teachers, and 3,154,245 students (Ministry of Education and Korean Educational Development Institute: Seoul, Korea, 1999). The total student population of higher education expanded by 403 times. ReferencesAllen, H. N. (1908). Things Korean (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company). Bishop, I. B. (1897). Korea and Her Neighbors (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company). Brown, A. J. (1919). The Master of the Far East (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons). Choo, Y. H. (1961). The Education in the Yi [Choson] Dynasty (Seoul: Soodo Women's Teachers College). Fisher, J. E. (1928). Democracy and Mission Education in Korea. Published Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University. Gale, J. S. (1909). Korea in Transition (New York: Young People's Missionary Movement of the United States and Canada). Kim, B. (1145). Samguk-sagi [Historical Record of the Three Kingdoms]. (Trans.) Byung-do Lee (Seoul, Korea: Eulyu-moonhwasa). Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters), (Trans.) Basil Hall Chamberlain (1973) (Tokyo: The Asiatic Society of Japan). Lee, B. (1986). Hanguk-yuhaksayak [A Brief History of Confucianism in Korea] (Seoul, Korea: Asiamoonhwasa). Lee, J. K. (1997). A Study of the Development of Contemporary Korean Higher Education. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. The University of Texas at Austin. Lee, K. (1984). A New History of Korea (Trans.) Edward W. Wagner & Edward J. Shultz (Cambridge, MA.: Harvard-Yenching Institute). Lee, S. (1989). The Emergence of the Modern University in Korea, Higher Education, 18, pp. 87-116. Lee, S, H. (1958). The Social and Political Factors Affecting Korean Education (1885-1950). University of Pittsburgh, Unpublished Ph. D. Dissertation. Mckenzie, F. A. (1920). Korea's Fight for Freedom (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company). Ministry of Culture and Tourism (1999). The Condition of Religion in Korea. Seoul, Korea. Ministry of Education and Korean Educational Development Institute (1999). The Statistical Yearbook of Education. Seoul, Korea. National Statistical Office (1999). Social Indicators of Korea. Taejeon, Korea. Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD 697), Vol. I, (Trans.) W. G. Aston (1896) (London: The Japan Society). Rim, H. Y. (1952). Development of Higher Education in Korea during the Japanese Occupation (1910-1945). Unpublished Ed.D. dissertation. Teachers College, Columbia University. Son, I. (1985). Hanguk-kehwa-kyoyuk-yunku [A Study of Education in the Enlightenment Period of Korea] (Seoul, Korea: Iljisa). The Korean National Commission for Unesco [KNCU] (1960). Unesco Korean Survey (Seoul, Korea: The Dong-a Publishing Co., Ltd.). Underwood, H. H. (1926). Modern Education in Korea (New York: International Press). Yu, B. (1992). Hanguk-kyoyuk-gwacheongsa-yunku [A Study of the History of Curricula in Korea] (Seoul, Korea: Kyohak-yunkusa).
About the AuthorJeong-Kyu LeeAssociate Research Fellow The Division of School Education Research Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) 92-6 Umyeon-dong, Seocho-ku Seoul, S. Korea
Joint Professor of Higher Education Administration
Email: jeongkyuk@hotmail.com
Dr. Lee received his Ph.D. in higher education
administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr.
Lee has written a number of articles
in higher
education administration focusing on organizational culture
and leadership, social and ethical values, and religious and
philosophical ideas of Korean higher education. Several of
his articles have been translated into English, French, and
Spanish. |
Copyright 2001 by the Education Policy Analysis ArchivesThe World Wide Web address for the Education Policy Analysis Archives is epaa.asu.edu General questions about appropriateness of topics or particular articles may be addressed to the Editor, Gene V Glass, glass@asu.edu or reach him at College of Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-0211. (602-965-9644). The Commentary Editor is Casey D. Cobb: casey.cobb@unh.edu . EPAA Editorial Board
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