Fulbright U.S. Education Center

Private institutes (학원 in Korean) are a dominant force in South Korea’s education market.  There are institutes for the study of English and other foreign languages, other academic subjects, and for advice and help on study abroad.  At the elementary and secondary levels, the vast majority of Korean students attend not only public school, but also a private institute.  Fulbright frequently receives questions from representatives of U.S. schools about the role of institutes in South Korea, how to contact them, and so forth.   In an effort to better respond to such questions and to understand the role of private sector educational institutes here, the Fulbright Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2003 with the Korea Overseas Study Association (KOSA).  The MOU was expanded in 2005 to call for joint efforts in three major areas.

1. WEB CONTENT  The development of high quality web content, in both Korean and English, aimed at schools, professional associations and educational organizations in both Korea and the United States.
2. TRAINING  The design, conduct and improvement of training seminars for KOSA member agencies.  In complementary fashion, the design and delivery of training sessions on Korea’s education market for representatives of U.S. schools and educational organizations.
3. PROMOTION Joint efforts to promote U.S. Study Fairs in Korea, visits and presentations by specific U.S. schools, and other educational events. 

This blog will provide information about our cooperative efforts with KOSA along with periodic updates on the role of private institutes in education here and in international educational exchange.  In addition, we will accept your questions and attempt to answer them to the best of our ability. 

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 5:55 pm and is filed under private institutes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.