Higher Education Reforms in South Korea: Public—Private Problems in Internationalising and Incorporating Universities

Abstract

This article analyses the policy and practices of restructuring higher education in South Korea in light of the distinctive characteristics of Korean higher education development and government–higher education relations. The role of government in the development of higher education in Korea has been typically as a direct regulator rather than a coordinator. However, the global trend towards neo-liberal policies, such as privatization and a ‘lean’ state which coordinates market competition, began to be influential in Korea during the 1990s, which eventually led to a shift in higher education policies. There is a public rhetoric about neo-liberal public sector reforms and restructuring; and policy implementations are being made accordingly. The article critically reviews the current government's political rationale for restructuring higher education against the backdrop of ‘globalization’. It is suggested that despite such influences, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has not yet shifted its role in regulating the higher education sector: the fundamental relations of the MOE and the higher education sector have not changed. This article discusses why and how the relations of government to higher education are, in fact, unchanging in Korea.