Abstract
As of January 26, 2021, around 18.8 percent of confirmed COVID-19 patients in the Republic of Korea were in their 50’s and only 3.75% were children below 10 years old. This figure may just be a drop in the bucket, yet the profound effects of this global pandemic on young children’s development cannot be overlooked. COVID-19 has not yet been considered a “children’s disease” because of very few confirmed cases and for those who have contracted it, the fatality rate has been very low. Relying on an aggressive trace-test-and-quarantine program, South Korea has so far weathered this crisis without major lockdowns. It has been hailed by various countries for “flattening the curve” in a short period of time. This paper investigates how the education sector in South Korea responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. It documents the educational experiences in making the Nuri Curriculum more relevant and effective as significant educational adjustments were put into action to deal with the new policies related to South Korea’s COVID-19 response. A description of the innovative alternative practices in terms of the physical and temporal environments as well as curricular strategies implemented in Kindergarten schools and child care centers are elaborated in this paper. This is supplemented with feedback gathered from interviews with early childhood educators, which reveal both the difficulties and psychological rewards that they have experienced.
Highlights
The first coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in South Korea was reported on January 20, 2020 during the winter break in most schools
Korea’s quick response was in line with lessons learned from how it managed the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2015. The difficulties they encountered with MERS became a blessing in disguise for preparing Korea’s response to COVID-19
This paper investigates how the South Korean government countered the COVID-19 crisis and mitigated its impact on early childhood education services
Summary
The first coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in South Korea was reported on January 20, 2020 during the winter break in most schools. The South Korean government through its Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCPA) issued new policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic. These broadly include: (a) eased distancing in daily life (or social pause); (b) shift to online classes after school opening was postponed three times; and (c) recommendation on work from home arrangement. South Korea became a model for other nations to emulate in fighting COVID-19 This was attributed to an early response system as soon as the first case was detected, real-time and frequent dissemination of information to the public, tapping the private sector to help the government, and an organized national effort (rather than by provincial or city levels) in solving the pandemic.
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