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ABSTRACT
This paper explores the relationship between education policy and the trajectory of English fever in Korea. English fever refers to a fervent desire to become proficient in English at almost any cost. English fever started with governments’ globalisation efforts in the 1980s and further intensified in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Drawing on policy enactment theory and analysing policy documents, this paper shows how English fever, once having taken root in Korean society, defied all policy measures to tackle it. The English language having a close relationship with social equity, these policies pursued an additional aim of increasing educational equity for students from low-income families. Their impact, however, proved minimal, partly due to educational stakeholders’ resistance. In order to relieve pressure on students, presidents Pak Geun-hye and Mun Jae-in tried to decrease the strong emphasis on English in curricula during the last decade.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 ‘Doobo Shim and Joseph S. Y. Park, ‘The Language Politics of “English Fever” in South Korea’, Korea Journal 48 (2008): 136–59. Other terms such as English-language ‘craze’ and ‘frenzy’ are also used to describe the phenomenon, see Bok-Rae Kim, ‘The English Fever in South Korea: Focusing on the Problem of Early English Education’, Journal of Education and Social Policy 2 (2015): 117–24.
2 Joseph Sung-Yul Park and Sohee Bae, ‘Language Ideologies in Educational Migration: Korean jogi yuhak Families in Singapore’, Linguistics and Education 20 (2009): 366–77; Jeehun Kim, ‘“Downed” and Stuck in Singapore: Lower/Middle-Class South Korean Wild Geese (kirogi) Children in Public School’, Research in Sociology of Education 17 (2010): 271–311; Jiyeon Kang and Nancy Abelmann, ‘The Domestication of South Korean Pre-College Abroad (PSA) in the First Decade of the Millennium’, Journal of Korean Studies 16 (2011): 89–118. Early study abroad or pre-college study abroad peaked in 2006, with 47% of participants being primary and 53% secondary students.
3 Tae-Young Kim, ‘Motivation and Attitudes toward Foreign Language Learning as Socio-Politically Mediated Constructs: The Case of Korean High School Students’, Journal of Asia TEFL 3 (2006): 165–92.
4 Hyera Byean, ‘English, Tracking, and Neoliberalization of Education in South Korea’, TESOL Quarterly 49 (2015): 867–82; Shim and Park, ‘The Language Politics’.
5 Hyundong Kim, ‘Iljarieseo Yeongeoneungnyeok Jungyoseonggwa Gaeinui Yeongeoneungnyeogi Jaejikgigane Michineun Yeonghyangeul Saengjonbunseok [English fluency, English skill as performance factor, and self-development for English skill, and its related retention intention]’ (paper presented at Korean Labour and Income Panel Study conference 2017, Seoul, Korea, 27 October 2017); Ingrid Piller and Jinhyun Cho, ‘Neoliberalism as Language Policy’, Language in Society 42 (2013): 23–44.
6 Jae Jung Song, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls: Globalisation, Social Class and South Korea’s International Schools’, Globalisation, Societies and Education 11 (2013): 136–59.
7 Jin-kyu Park, ‘“English Fever” in South Korea: Its History and Symptoms’, English Today 25 (2009): 50–7.
8 In 2017 individual households spent monthly about 384,000 Won (US$359.38) per child on supplementary education, which constitutes 15.5% of the average income. English learning represented more than half of expenditure. See ‘Monthly Spending on Private Education up 33% in 2017 from 10 Years Ago’, Korea Herald, March 17, 2018, http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180317000070; 2018nyeon Chojunggo Sagyoyukbijosa Gyeolgwa [Survey of 2018 expenditure on private education at primary, middle and high schools], http://www.kostat.go.kr/portal/korea/kor_nw/1/7/1/index.board?bmode=read&aSeq=373552.On the impact on student life of private tutorials, see Hoon Choi and Alvaro Choi, ‘When One Door Closes: The Impact of the Hagwon Curfew on the Consumption of Private Tutoring in the Republic of Korea’, IREA Working Papers (2015), https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2689777; Seon Kyeong Rhie, Si hyoung Lee and Kyu Young Chae, ‘Sleep Patterns and School Performance of Korean Adolescents Assessed using a Korean Version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale’, Korean Journal of Pediatrics 54 (2011): 29–35.
9 Sloan Bousselaire, ‘Hagwons in South Korea’, The Borgen Project, October 25, 2017, https://borgenproject.org/hagwons-south-korea/.
10 Timo Fleckenstein and Soohyun Christine Lee, ‘The Political Economy of Education and Skills in South Korea: Democratisation, Liberalisation and Education Reform in Comparative Perspective’, Pacific Review 32 (2019): 168–87.
11 John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, revised ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971/1999); Harry Torrance, ‘Blaming the Victim: Assessment, Examinations, and the Responsibilisation of Students and Teachers in Neo-liberal Governance’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 38 (2015): 83–96; James S. Coleman, ‘What is Meant by “an Equal Educational Opportunity”?’, Oxford Review of Education 1 (1975): 27–9.
12 See for example Jinhyun Cho, ‘Sleepless in Seoul: Neoliberalism, English Fever, and Linguistic Insecurity among Korean Interpreters’, Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication 34 (2015): 687–710; Hyunjung Shin, ‘Language Skills and the Neoliberal English Education Industry’, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 37 (2016): 509–22.
13 Jinhyun Cho, English Language Ideologies in Korea: Interpreting the Past and Present (Cham: Springer, 2017); Shim, ‘Englishized Korean: Structure, Status’; Jae Jung Song, ‘English as an Official Language in South Korea: Global English or Social Malady?’, Language Problems and Language Planning 35 (2011): 35–55.
14 Andrew B. Kipnis, Governing Educational Desire: Culture, Politics, and Schooling in China (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011), 128; see also, Nancy Abelmann, So Jin Park and Hyunhee Kim, ‘College Rank and Neo-Liberal Subjectivity in South Korea: The Burden of Self-Development’, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 10 (2009): 229–47; Park, ‘English Fever’.
15 Byean, ‘English, Tracking’; Abelmann, Park and Kim, ‘College Rank’; Cho, ‘Sleepless in Seoul’; Song, ‘English as an Official Language’.
16 Nikolas S. Rose, Powers of Freedom: Reframing Political Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
17 Mee-ryang Jeong, ‘1990nyeondae Ihu Hanguk Yeongeoyeolpunggwa Daehagui Pyehae [Social conditions of english fever and its harmful effects for universities since the 1990s in Korea]’, Sahoewa Yeoksa[Society and History] 92 (2011): 131–68.
18 See for example, Jamie S. Lee, ‘Globalization and Language Education: English Village in South Korea’, Language Research 47 (2011): 123–49; Nan-hee Ku, ‘The Structure and Characteristics of Korean Educational Competition Considering the New Prestige High School Fever: Focused on the Case of Foreign Language High School’, [in Korean] Korean Studies Quarterly 34 (2011): 59–89.
19 See for example, Jinhyun Cho, ‘English Fever and American Dreams: The Impact of Orientalism on the Evolution of English in Korean Society’, English Today (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S026607841900052X; Shim and Park, ‘The Language Politics’; Park, ‘English Fever’; Jeong, ‘Social Conditions of English Fever’.
20 For example, Cho, ‘English Fever and American Dreams’.
21 ‘Igyuho mungyojanggwan “Siryong yeongeo-reul gareuchigetda” [Minister of Education Iguho, “We will teach practical English”]’, Donga Ilbo, July 18, 1981, https://newslibrary.naver.com/viewer/view.nhn?editNo=2&printCount=&publishDate=1981-07-18&officeId=00020&pageNo=9&printNo=18395&publishType=00020&articleId=&serviceStartYear=1920&serviceEndYear=1999 (accessed November 1, 2019). From 1981, newspaper articles started to feature English learning or education, rather than English.
22 Other newspapers were also consulted in order to obtain further information.
23 The MOE’s online database can be found at https://moe.go.kr/boardCnts/list.do?boardID=316&m=0302&s=moe (accessed August 11, 2020).
24 Tae-Hee Choi, ‘Implementation and Impact of Language-in-Education Policies: Insights from South Korea and Hong Kong’, in Routledge International Handbook for Schools and Schooling in Asia, ed. Kerry Kennedy and John Chi Kin Lee (London: Routledge, 2018), 518–24. On policy enactment theory more generally see Stephen J. Ball, Meg Maguire and Annette Braun, How Schools Do Policy: Policy Enactments in Secondary Schools (London: Routledge, 2012); Stephen J. Ball, ed., Michel Foucault and Education Policy Analysis (London: Routledge, 2017).
25 For detailed discussion of the shapers, see Choi, ‘Implementation and Impact’.
26 Tae-Hee Choi and Allan David Walker, ‘A Heuristic Model for Tailoring Teacher Development to Educational Reforms: Focusing on Ambiguity and Conflict Generation’, Teaching and Teacher Education 74 (2018): 72–84.
27 See for example, Hee-ja Yi, ‘14-dae daetongnyeong seongeo-ui jeongchaek gongyage gwanhan yeongu: minjadang-gwa minjudang jeongchaeg-ui bunseok: pyeongga-reul jungsim-euro [Analysis of the 14th Presidential Election Pledges and Evaluation: Democratic Liberal Party vs. the Democratic Party]’ (Master’s thesis, Sangmyung University, 1994); Sang-myeong Lee, ‘A Study on the Establishment Legislation of National Education Committee’ [in Korean), Journal of Law and Politics research 17 (2017): 131–54. The central role played by the government is often attributed to the legacy of the Confucian tradition: see Paul Robertson, ‘The Pervading Influence of Neo-Confucianism on the Korean Education System’, Asian EFL Journal 4, no. 2 (2002): 1–11, and Weiming Tu, ‘Implications of the Rise of “Confucian” East Asia’, in Multiple Modernities, ed. Shmuel N. Eisenstadt (New York: Routledge, 2017), 195–218.
28 In this article, transliteration follows the Revised Romanisation (RR); however, the name of individuals will follow the official government websites, such as the Presidential Archives (http://pa.go.kr/global/en/main.jsp), the current President’s official website (http://english.president.go.kr/) and regional governments’ websites (e.g. https://english.gg.go.kr/governor/). For reference, the RR transliteration will be provided in parentheses when the name appears for the first time.
29 Of the eight presidents, Presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun (No Muhyeon) and Moon Jae-in are from progressive parties and the rest from the conservative ones.
30 Leighanne Kimberley Yuh, ‘The Royal English Academy: Korea’s First Instance of American-Style Education and the Making of Modern Korean Officials, 1886–94’, Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies 15 (2015): 109–29.
31 E. G. Kim-Rivera, ‘Language Education in Korea under Japanese Colonial Rule’, Language Policy 1 (2002): 261–81.
32 Kyuhoon Cho, ‘Protestantism, Education, and the Nation: The Shifting Location of Protestant Schools in Modern Korea’, Acta Koreana 19 (2016): 99–131. See also Kyung-Ja Park and Hyunsun Im, For English Education in Korea (Seoul: Bini Books, 2018).
33 Byean, ‘English, Tracking’.
34 Tae-Hee Choi, ‘Glocalization of English Language Education: Comparison of Three Contexts in East Asia’, in Sociological and Philosophical Perspectives on Education in the Asia-Pacific Region, ed. Chi-Ming Lam and Jae Park (London: Springer, 2016), 147–64.
35 Jeehyae Chung and Tae-Hee Choi, ‘English Education Policies in South Korea: Planned and Enacted’, in English Language Education Policy in Asia, ed. Robert Kirkpatrick (Cham: Springer, 2016), 281–99.
36 Tae-Hee Choi and Constant Leung, ‘Uses of First and Foreign Languages as Learning Resources in a Foreign Language Classroom’, Journal of Asia TEFL 14 (2017): 686–703.
37 Cho, ‘Sleepless in Seoul’; Shim and Park, ‘The Language Politics’.
38 Park, ‘English Fever’.
39 Chung and Choi, ‘English Education Policies’; see also Cho, ‘Sleepless in Seoul’.
40 Chung and Choi, ‘English Education Policies’; Shim, ‘Englishized Korean’. See also James P. Thomas, ‘Nationalist Desires, States Spectacles, and Hegemonic Legacies: Retrospective Tales of Seoul’s Olympic Regime’, in The East Asian Olympiads 1934–2008: Building Bodies and Nations in Japan, Korea, and China, ed. William M. Tsutsui and Michael Baskett (Leiden: Global Oriental, 2011), 87–105.
41 ‘Yeongeo deutgisiheom bangsong KBS Gyoyungnadio [KBS Education Radio Channel to broadcast English listening tests]’, Donga Daily, May 9, 1983, https://newslibrary.naver.com/viewer/index.nhn?articleId=1983050900209212009&editNo=2&printCount=1&publishDate=1983-05-09&officeId=00020&pageNo=12&printNo=18951&publishType=00020 (accessed November 1, 2019); ‘88 Ollimpikdeung daebi modeun gyeongchalgwane yeongeohoehwa gyoyuk [In preparation for the 88 Olympic Games, all policemen learn English conversation skills]’, Maeil Business News, February 11, 1983, https://newslibrary.naver.com/viewer/index.nhn?articleId=1983021100099211012&editNo=1&printCount=1&publishDate=1983-02-11&officeId=00009&pageNo=11&printNo=5212&publishType=00020 (accessed November 1, 2019).
42 Lee, ‘Globalization and Language Education’.
43 Byean, ‘English, Tracking’.
44 Park, ‘English Fever’.
45 Lee, ‘Globalization and Language Education’; Byean, ‘English, Tracking’.
46 Park, ‘English Fever’.
47 Seonsub Jeong, ‘Oneomin yeongeogyosa 59-myeong 2-hakgi buteo baechi [59 English native speaking teachers to be dispatched to schools from semester 2]’, Kyunghyang Shinmun, August 1, 1995, https://newslibrary.naver.com/viewer/index.nhn?articleId=1995080100329122009&editNo=40&printCount=1&publishDate=1995-08-01&officeId=00032&pageNo=22&printNo=15498&publishType=00010 (accessed November 1, 2019).
48 Ministry of Education, 7th School Curriculum of the Republic of Korea (Seoul: Ministry of Education, 1997).
49 Park, ‘English Fever’.
50 Wonsik Park, ‘Manggukbyeong gwaoe “cheoltoe” ppuri monnaerinchae pyoryu [Ban on private tutorials still not effective]’, The Hangyoreh, July 29, 1992, https://newslibrary.naver.com/viewer/index.nhn?articleId=1992072900289118003&editNo=6&printCount=1&publishDate=1992-07-29&officeId=00028&pageNo=18&printNo=1299&publishType=00010 (accessed November 1, 2019).
51 Ibid.
52 Hoon Choi and Alvaro Choi, ‘When One Door Closes: The Impact of the Hagwon Curfew on the Consumption of Private Tutoring in the Republic of Korea’, IREA Working Papers (2015), https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2689777.
53 See Roy Tseng, ‘The Idea of Freedom in Comparative Perspective: Critical Comparisons between the Discourses of Liberalism and Neo-Confucianism’, Philosophy East & West 66 (2016): 539–58.
54 Andrew Eungi Kim and Innwon Park, ‘Changing Trends of Work in South Korea’, Asian Survey no. 3 (2004): 440. Cho, ‘Sleepless in Seoul’.
55 Jung-Mi Lee, ‘An Analysis of the Dilemma Factors and Policy Reaction Strategies to Education Marking Opening’, Journal of Educational Administration 24 (2006): 103–24.
56 Piller and Cho, ‘Neoliberalism as Language Policy’.
57 Un Shil Choi and Don Min Choi, A Study on the Prospects and Strategies Towards Opening of the Education Sector (Seoul, Korea: Korea Education Development Institute, 1991).
58 Kim and Park, ‘Changing Trends of Work’; Andrew Eungi Kim, ‘The Social Perils of the Korean Financial Crisis’, Journal of Contemporary Asia 34 (2004): 221–37; Piller and Cho, ‘Neoliberalism as Language Policy’.
59 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, ‘Gwaoewaui Jeonjaeng? Tonggyebuteo Dasi’ [War with private tutorials? Reviewing the statistics]’ (2007), http://www.korea.kr/special/policyFocusView.do?newsId=148640676&pkgId=49500252 (accessed November 1, 2019). To provide a relative scale of this mobility, the growth rate of student flow through the Erasmus scheme during the four-year period between 1998 and 2002 stood at about 22% for the whole European Union. See Carlos Rodríguez González, Ricardo Bustillo Mesanza and Petr Mariel, ‘The Determinants of International Student Mobility Flows: An Empirical Study on the Erasmus Programme’, Higher Education 62 (2011): 413–30.
60 Park, ‘English Fever’.
61 Juyoung Song, ‘Language Ideology and Identity in Transnational Space Globalization Migration and Bilingualism among Korean Families in the USA’, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 13 (2010): 23–42.
62 Park, ‘English Fever’.
63 Shim and Park, ‘The Language Politics’, 146.
64 ‘Lee Myung-bak Urges Participation in English-Language Education Initiatives’, The Hankyoreh, February 1, 2008, http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/267073.html (accessed November 1, 2019).
65 Presidents from progressive parties often emphasise equalisation of schools and free education, while those from the conservative parties represent the interests of businesses and elites (see Lee, ‘A Study on the Establishment Legislation’).
66 Junseong Hwang, Hagwonbeomnyeong chegyejeongbireul wihan jeongchaeng yeongu[Preparatory research for instituting hagwon regulations] (Seoul, Korea: Korean Educational Development Institute, 2014).
67 Sunwoong Kim and Ju Ho Lee, ‘Private Tutoring and Demand for Education in South Korea’, Economic Development and Cultural Change 58 (2010): 259–96.
68 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, ‘Hakgyogyoyungmaneuro yeongeo malhago ikgo sseulsu itge … ’ Insuwi, 30il ‘Yeongeogonggyoyuk wanseong peurojekteu gongcheonghoe’, http://www.korea.kr/special/policyFocusView.do;jsessionid=LrHlcRCGW2bvFrm9rdW3yTr0sxBXT76Q2lhnvrn14QkVmtQyMw3N!-678070917?newsId=148647950&pkgId=49500346&pkgSubId=&pageIndex=1 (accessed November 1, 2019).
69 Government of South Korea, Wigireul Neomeo Miraero2009 Gukjeongunyeong Seonggwa [Overcoming crisis and reaching for the future: 2009 Report on the President’s Management Agenda] (Seoul: Government of South Korea, 2009).
70 Lee, ‘Globalization and Language Education’.
71 Sookmyung Women’s University is renowned for its TESOL degree, and the arrangement for a dual degree for MA TESOL with the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa.
72 Lee, ‘Globalization and Language Education’.
73 Insu Song and Jeehee Yun, Hyeonjeongbu 5nyeondongan Chodeung Sagyoyukbineun Jogeum Julgo Junggodeung Sagyoyukbineun Keunpogeuro Sangseunghayeotseumnida [Individual households’ expenditure on private education in primary education decreased a little but increased considerably in secondary education] (Seoul: Sakyoyuk Geokjeongupnun Sesang, 2013).
74 SMOE, 2009–2013 Junggi Seoul Gyoyuk Jaejeong Gyehoek[2009–2013 Mid-term fiscal plan for education in Seoul] (Seoul: SMOE, 2009).
75 Byungmin Lee, Eugene Yoon, and Hyo-shin Lee, Nam-yoon Kim, Jiyoung. Kim and Sung Eun Yu, Seoul Yeongeo Gong gyoyuk Ganghwa Jeongchaek Seonggwa Bunseok Mit Baljeon Bangan Yeongu: Yeongeo gyoyuk Damdang Illyeogui Hyoyuljeok Baechi Banganeul Jungsimeuro [Analysis of the impact of the School Managed Innovation of Learning English project and its implications: focusing on effective human resourcing] (Seoul: SMOE, 2011).
76 Tae-Hee Choi, ‘Hidden Transcripts of Teacher Resistance: A Case from South Korea’, Journal of Education Policy 32 (2017): 480–502.
77 Tae-Hee Choi, ‘Structure, Agency and the “Teaching English in English” Policy: The Case of South Korea’, in Agency in Language Policy and Planning: Critical Inquiries, ed. Jeremie Bouchard and Gregory P. Glasgow (New York: Routledge, 2019), 214–36.
78 SMOE, Geullobeol Injae Yangseonggwa Sagyoyukbi Jeolgameul Wihan Seoul Yeongeogonggyoyuk Ganghwagyehoek [School Managed Innovation of Learning English to develop human resources and to reduce individual households’ expenditure on private education] (Seoul: SMOE, 2008).
79 Song and Yun, Hyeonjeongbu 5-nyeon dongan [Individual households’ expenditure].
80 Piller and Cho, ‘Neoliberalism as Language Policy’.
81 Yong-duk Hong, ‘Money-Eating English Village to Shut Its Doors’, The Hankyoreh, June 1, 2016, http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/746357.html (accessed November 1, 2019).
82 Lee, ‘Globalization and Language Education’.
83 Ibid.
84 Song, ‘English as an Official Language’; Song, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’.
85 Kiseok Kim, Jongjae Kim, Hangu Ryu, Gilchan Choi and Seongsik Kim, Pyeongjunhwa Jeongchaegi Hageopseongchwie Michineun Yeonghyange Gwanhan Jongdan Yeongu[A longitudinal study on the impact of standardisation of schooling] (Seoul, Korea: Korea Education Development Institute, 2005).
86 Shim and Park, ‘The Language Politics’.
87 Abelmann, Park and Kim, ‘College Rank’.
88 Hyung-Jai Choi and Jin-Yeong Kim, ‘The Wage Premium of English Skills in the Korean Labour Market’ [in Korean], KLEA Dissertation 32 (2009): 61–92.
89 Kim, ‘Iljarieseo Yeongeoneungnyeok[English fluency, English skill].
90 Hak-seong Han, ‘Yeongeo yeolpung-ui heo-wa sil [Myth and truth of English fever]’, Donga Ilbo, February 4, 2002, http://www.donga.com/ISSUE/Vote2016/News?m=view&date=20020204&gid=7785537 (accessed November 1, 2019); see also, Maeil Business News, 2004 Sin Hanguk Gyeongje Bogoseo: Hanguk Gyeongje Je2ui Wigiga Daga Ogo Itda [2004 financial report on Korea: yhe pending 2nd financial crisis] (Seoul: Maeil Business News, 2004).
91 OECD, PISA 2012 Results: Ready to Learn: Students’ Engagement, Drive and Self-belief volume III, https://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-volume-III.pdf (accessed November 1, 2019).
92 Choi, ‘Structure, Agency’.
93 Donghui Park and Eunseo Koo, ‘Yeongeo Gonggyoyuk Jeongsanghwa Oechideoni … Gyosa Yeonsubido Eopsaetda [Promise to restore public schooling … but to cut off teacher development budget]’, The Hankyung, January 23, 2018, https://www.hankyung.com/society/article/2018012397131 (accessed November 1, 2019).
94 Joonghyuk Choi, ‘“Gyoyukbu NEAT Pyeji” … Pyeonggawon “1000eok Mulgeopum” Sulleong [“The abolition of the NEAT by the Ministry of Education” … Commotion over “100 billion Won waste”]’, JoongAng Daily, October 18, 2013, https://news.joins.com/article/12890201 (accessed November 1, 2019).
95 Jaehyun Noh, ‘Go1buteo Suneungyeongeo 90jeom Jsangimyeon 1Deunggeup … Jeoldaepyeongga Hwakjeong [The current senior high year 1 students get Band 1 with 90 out of 100 … Confirmation of absolute assessment]’, Yonhap News, October 1, 2015, https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20151001055900004 (accessed November 1, 2019).
96 Hwajin Choi, ‘Daeip Banghyang Sagyoyukjeolgam Inseongjungsi: tteut Joeuna Hyeonjangeun Mangmak [New direction for college entrance to curb private tuition and whole person development: well-meant policy with low feasibility]’, The Hankyoreh, March 23, 2015, http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/PRINT/683577.html (accessed November 1, 2019).
97 Minhee Jeon, ‘Geumji – yuye – geumji – heoyong – bulbal: orakgarak chodeung 1-2-Haknyeon banggwahu Yeongeosueop [Ban – postponement – ban – allowance – abortion: wishy-washy policy on extra-curricular English lessons for primary 1 and 2]’, Jungang Ilbo, January 3, 2019, https://news.joins.com/article/23258811 (accessed November 1, 2019).
98 Min-ho Jung, ‘Korea Lifts English Education Ban for First, Second Graders’, The Korea Times, March 14, 2019, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/03/181_265365.html (accessed November 1, 2019).
99 Faras Ghani, ‘South Korea Bans English Education for First and Second Graders’, Aljazeera, 3 March 2018, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/south-korea-bans-english-education-graders-180302100352881.html (accessed November 1, 2019).
100 Bo-eun Kim, ‘After-school English class ban stirs dispute’, The Korea Times, January 2, 2018, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/01/181_241848.html (accessed November 1, 2019).
101 Ministry of Education, ‘Bak Geunhye jeongbu gyoyuk gaehyeok seonggwa-reul malhada [Outcomes from Park Geun-hye’s educational reform]’, March 2016, https://happyedu.moe.go.kr/happy/bbs/selectHappyArticle.do?bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000281&nttId=5472 (accessed November 1, 2019).
102 Hyejin Shin, Soyeon Ahn and Yuwon Kim, ‘A Policy Analysis on the Process-Based Evaluation: Focusing on Middle School Teachers in Seoul’, Journal of Curriculum Evaluation 20 (2017): 135–62.
103 Free Semester Programme, since 2016: a system in middle schools that aims to enhance the happiness and well-being of students by giving them opportunities to explore dreams and aptitudes (Seoul: Ministry of Education, 2018).
104 Korean Educational Statistics Service, 2019-nyeon Jeonguk Inga Daeanhakgyo Hyeonhwang [2019 Licensed alternative schools] (Seoul: Korean Educational Statistics Service, 2019).
105 Statistics Korea, 2018-nyeon chojunggo [Survey of 2018 expenditure].
106 Ministry of Economy and Science, Sobijamulgajisu [Consumer price index], May 2, 2020, http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1060 (accessed November 1, 2019).
107 Areum Cho, ‘Hanhae 224beonina … Susiyong Gyonaedaehoe Nambal [224 competitions in a year … to help with year-round college admittance]’, The Hankook-Ilbo, October 12, 2017, https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201710121119479666 (accessed November 1, 2019).
108 Inhwa Jung, ‘Daean Eomneun Sahoe Sogui “Daeanhakgyo”’ [Alternative schools in a society where there are no alternatives]’, Snupress, November 17, 2019, http://www.snunews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=20751 (accessed November 1, 2019).
109 Jihoo Shin, ‘Sagyoyukbi Tto Yeokdae Choegochi [Private tuition hits another record]’, The Hankook-Ilbo, March 15, 2018, https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201803151519843171 (accessed November 1, 2019).
110 Sunyoung Park, ‘Suneung Yeongeo Jeoldaepyeongga Ttukkeong Yeolligo … Gil Ireun Yeongeogyoyuk [Absolute assessment … English education which lost its way]’, The Hankook-Ilbo, November 25, 2017, http://hankookilbo.com/v/bb0a1c1c09fc45979500cbc3c59170f6 (accessed November 1, 2019).
111 For example, see Stephen J. Ball, ‘Big Policies/Small World: An Introduction to International Perspectives in Education Policy’, Comparative Education 34 (1998): 119–30.
112 Ball, Maguire and Braun, How Schools Do Policy.
113 Cho, ‘English Fever and American Dreams’.
114 Choi and Walker, ‘A Heuristic Model’.
115 Sunhoi An, ‘The Validity Analysis of the Private Education Expense Reduction Policy through Normalizing Public Education: Focusing on the Relation with College Admission System’, Journal of Education and Culture 21 (2015): 39–69; Tae-Joong Kang, Hye-Jung Song and Jin-Kyung Kim, ‘An Analysis of Possible Impacts of the Admissions Officer System on College Preparation Behaviours’, Asian Journal of Education 13, no. 4 (2012): 1–34.
116 Choi, ‘Implementation and Impact’.
117 Choi, ‘Structure, Agency’.
118 Annette Braun, Stephen J. Ball, Meg Maguire and Kate Hoskins, ‘Taking Context Seriously: Towards Explaining Policy Enactments in the Secondary School’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 32 (2011): 585–96; Choi, ‘Implementation and Impact’.
119 Kim, ‘English Fluency’; Piller and Cho, ‘Neoliberalism as Language Policy’.
120 See Joseph Zajda, ‘Globalisation and Its Impact on Education and Policy’, in Second International Handbook on Globalisation, ed. Joseph Zajda (Melbourne: Springer , 2015), 105–25.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Tae-Hee Choi
Dr Tae-Hee Choi is Associate Professor at The Education University of Hong Kong, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK, and of the East-West Center, USA. She has extensive experience in English-language teaching, teacher education and policy advisory. Her current research focuses on education policy processes, teacher development therein, and the interrelationship between languages and policy processes. Dr Choi has been leading several multinational comparative research projects investigating the impact of education policies in public schooling. For further details on her research, see https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tae_Hee_Choi.