Education and challenges at Public Schools and Christian Alternative Schools in South Korea
Christian worldview on schooling and education is based on the scripture, where it was written that children need be trained in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). As Christian parents, we need to keep evaluating our educational practices and the schooling system that our children are attending.
In South Korea, the government provides free and compulsory education to all children. The future of a nation depends on the quality of education it provides to its citizens. On August 27th, 2019, KBS News published an article on their website saying that South Korean children and teenagers are the unhappiest among the OECD countries. On October 11th, 2023, Korea Herald newspaper published that suicide caused more deaths than COVID-19 during the pandemic in South Korea. When all hope is lost, and there is no purpose to live, people commit suicide. Education is meant to provide direction, purpose and goal in life, and prepare children to face the challenges of adulthood. However, these news articles show that the present situation in South Korea is very dark.
In response to this situation, South Korean churches have started Christian alternative schools to help children receive education from a biblical worldview. However, the government education department does not recognize these Christian schools. Only schools that follow the curriculum made the government education board are recognized. Graduates from Christian alternative schools need to take the National High School Graduation Test and Korean SAT in order to apply for admissions in Korean universities. In the university admission process, graduates from a government public schools have an advantage over the home-school and Christian alternative school graduates.
In the United States, home-schooled and Christian private school graduates do not have this disadvantage. When the Supreme Court banned Bible reading and prayers in American public schools, concerned parents turned to Christian private schools for their children. These schools have been teaching all subjects including math and science from a Christian perspective. Graduates from these schools were able to get admission into colleges and universities all across the United States because the Christian schools came together to form an accrediting body to recognize and represent them at the government education department.
Some of the Christian alternative schools in South Korea are able to bring this advantage from the United States to South Korean students. One such school is the Busan Logos Christian International School (BLICS). The founder of the school, Dr. Paul Doosik Kim did his doctoral studies in the United States. Serving as the Senior Pastor of Logos Presbyterian Church, his vision in starting BLICS is for training future leaders to fulfill the Great Commission. From kindergarten to high school (K-12), students receive education from a Christian perspective. The school provides educational materials written from a biblical worldview that focus on academic rigor and encourage critical thinking. Students learn how the Bible is relevant to every academic subject because each textbook includes biblical worldview shaping. BLICS is accredited to Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), Accreditation International (AI), and National Council for Private School Accreditation (NCPSA). Graduates from BLICS are eligible to apply to universities all across the United States. Some of the graduates were also accepted into universities in Canada, Australia, and Singapore.
However, BLICS success story is not shared by all Christian alternative schools in South Korea. As long as the government education board doesn’t provide recognition to Christian schools, students face challenges in getting admissions into Korean universities locally. There is a need for churches and Christian alternative schools in South Korea to come together and form an accrediting body or organization that can represent them to the Korean education board.
This report is written by Prem Kumar Tirumani. The author can be reached at tirumani@naver.com