Unspoken Stories by North Korean and Korean-American Educators: A Trioethnography on South Korean Education

ABSTRACT

This paper articulates the challenges of the South Korean education system through a co-constructed narrative, employing duoethnographic methodology. The authors offer critical and contextualized perspectives on their personal and professional observations on the dysfunctional aspects of South Korean education including dehumanization and overachievement. Drawing upon the framework of education for sustainable development, the authors suggest implications for educational reform both at the micro and macro, and practical and conceptual levels. This study is significant in that it considers voices of educators with socio-political backgrounds often marginalized in South Korean society.