Education System of Finland & South Korea

Both Finland and South Korea are well-known for their exceptional schools. However, these countries share very little similarities. In fact, there is a huge contrast in their differences. Yet, both are the leaders in world’s education.

What are the similarities?

What are the differences?

	FINLAND	SOUTH KOREA
Study Time (Average school day)	5 hours with very little homework	9am-5pm with additional classes at night
Testing	Only ONE standardized test in academic study	Tons of standardized tests with massive, high-pressure college entrance exam
Academic Pressure	Care very little about grades	It’s all about the marks and good grades.
Use of Technology	Spend most of the time in the real world, out-of-classroom activities	Integrated technology in classrooms
Recess	Believe in giving  the kids a lot of playtime with 75 minutes of recess a day	No real recess. Only 10 minutes break to shuffle between classes.

There is no “one size that fits all”. What matter most are the teachers’ passion in teaching and learning, and the society’s way of thinking as a whole.