Abstract Book of the 8th International Conference on Innovative Research in Education
Year: 2025
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Some Philosophical Issues on Shadow Education in Korea
Jae-Bong Yoo
ABSTRACT:
One of the burning issues in modern Korea is shadow education that is called the use of private after-school academies and tutors. Korea maintains one of the world’s highest academic achievements, as shown in the results of PISA and TIMSS. However, it can be argued that the academic success of Korean students is not due to the excellence of school education per se, but to the excellence of shadow education, or at least to the combinations of public and shadow education.
Nevertheless, shadow education in Korea causes many problems, both educationally and socially. One of the most serious educational problems is that excessive private tutoring can seriously compromise a student’s well-being, damaging their physical and mental health due to lack of sleep or too much stress, etc. Shadow education is also regarded as a serious threat to the public education system. The opponents of shadow education who wish to defend public education argue that it is precisely the presence of shadow education that damages the performance of public education. The fact that Korean students get good grades and get into prestigious universities is largely due to shadow education. This, however, depends on the financial capabilities of their parents. Not only does this create inequality in education, but it also reproduces social class.
This paper addresses some philosophical issues related to shadow education, namely, students’ well-being, the relationship between public education and shadow education, and the issue of educational justice.
Keywords: shadow education in Korea, students’ well-being, relationship between public education and shadow education, and the issue of educational justice