Itaewon Tragedy

Itaewon is an inclusive, multicultural, and the most cosmopolitan part of Korea, and I am deeply saddened by the loss of so many precious young lives. Being born minutes from Itaewon and currently living nearby, the magnitude of tragedy really hits home. My deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy to all those impacted…Rest in Peace! '삼가 고인의 명복을 빕니다' 

In Memory of...

http://www.koreatimes.com/article/1436519

 Perfect storm or perfect opportunity? Future Education in Korea

By Keith Yi, Adjunct Professor at Inha University

 As a Korean American educator who left the motherland almost 50 years ago, I may have a different perspective but the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the continuing globalization is inspiring education reform in Korea. The phrase “perfect storm” oftentimes refers to a rare combination of events that lead to an extremely critical and negative consequence, it is a metaphor to describe when things go terribly wrong. However, currently, the phrase could be used to describe many innovative education trends taking place in Korea that have the potential for a perfect storm to become a perfect opportunity to change the future of public education in Korea.

As the tenth-largest economy in the world, South Korea represents one of the most remarkable economic success stories of the 20^th century. The people’s passion for and state investment in education has been the driving force of national development since the end of the Korean War. However, this extraordinary economic rise came with a cost and is now being threatened. Korea is known for having one of the most merciless education systems in the world– competition over admission into top universities is extremely fierce and the suicide rate amongst young people is one of the highest in the world. Moreover, recently, Bloomberg Global News published an article titled, ‘Burden of raising kids drives South Korean fertility to world’s lowest rate.’ In the article, one of the main reasons for the lowest fertility rate is due to the cost of education, especially a substantial portion of it going to hagwon, private test-prep schools that offer an advantage in the college-admission process.

The above description of the current state of the Korean education system may paint a gloomy picture, but in contrast, there are a number of positive things happening. Educational innovators who “think outside the box” in Daegu and Jeju are disrupting the status quo in their educational communities by partnering with the International Baccalaureate (IB) to implement its core principles such as internationally-mindedness, learner profile, and approaches to teaching and learning. Since the IB is an international educational organization that is driven by its mission to create ‘a better world through education,’ schools are nurturing students as they become compassionate, culturally aware global citizens who think globally and act locally.

Not long ago, Mr. Olli-Pekka Heinonen, the eighth Director General of International Baccalaureate (IB), a former Education Minister of Finland, visited South Korea for high-level engagement with influential educators and offices of education from around the country. The purpose was to participate in an important discussion with Korean educators of how we can better prepare students for the future.

Although the pandemic has given rise to many challenges, it has provided an opportunity, a reset of sorts, to reimagine education in Korea. Like the conceptual learning framework, “Transformative Competencies for 2030,” developed by OECD several years ago, current Korea’s education reform is more competency-based and student-centered. Furthermore, there are plans to establish a credit-based evaluation system for high school students and a renewed focus on digital literacy and AI– these are all positive changes that will ensure the development of students’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to meet the challenges of the 21^st century.

Another area that is receiving a lot of attention from the education community is assessment. Korea is famous for the current college entrance exam called su-neung, which is mostly knowledge-based and summative. The infamous 8-hour exam has been covered by media outlets like CNN and BBC for bringing the whole country to a standstill for one day each November. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I have heard that the stock market opens late, and planes are grounded briefly or rerouted on the day of the exam. Many educators in Korea acknowledge that su-neung, a multiple-choice type of evaluation, does not accurately assess 21^st-century skills and competencies. Therefore, as part of the education reform, there are plans to institute essay-type assessments moving forward starting in elementary schools and then gradually moving up to high schools. Changes to the way we assess students will have a tremendous impact on the teaching and learning that takes place in schools.

Finally, student attainment of capabilities associated with being a global citizen continues to be a priority for many higher education institutions in Korea. Therefore, educators must ensure global citizenship education is integrated into the curriculum and not just as a ‘program’ that is talked about a few weeks or months a year, but rather it needs to become a way of life, a mindset for students. When students are immersed in global citizenship education–deeply, authentically immersed–they will see not only their culture but the world in a new light on the way to becoming a citizen of the world, a true cosmopolitan.

The late Sir Ken Robinson, a world-renowned thinker on education innovation, delivered a speech titled “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” in 2006 that remains one of the most popular TED talks to this day. He said during that speech, “Every education system in the world is being reformed at the moment, and it is not enough. Reform is no use anymore because that’s simply improving a broken model. What we need now is a revolution in education.”  

We may not have a revolution, but there is a perfect storm brewing in the educational community with a variety of innovative and meaningful ideas being implemented by hardworking and very talented teachers, which I hope will result in a perfect opportunity to reimagine education in Korea. As an educator currently working and living back in the motherland, I am looking forward to seeing how this perfect storm will develop in Korea in the next few years.

 

 After working as the South Korea Dual Language International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme Coordinator for the past six months, it is great to see several Korean public high schools starting their IB journey this week in Daegu and Jeju. As a Korean American educator for 35 years, it is meaningful and rewarding to be part of changes taking place in my motherland's education system. The following is an article I wrote for the IB organization:

Reimagining education in South Korea

By Keith Kitong Yi, South Korea DLDP Project Coordinator, Strategic Initiatives, Innovation and Incubation

The late Sir Ken Robinson, a world-renowned thinker on education innovation, delivered a speech titled “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” in 2006 that remains one of the most popular TED talks to this day. He said during that speech, “Every education system in the world is being reformed at the moment, and it is not enough. Reform is no use anymore because that’s simply improving a broken model. What we need now is a revolution in education.”  

 A small, yet very meaningful, revolution is taking place in the Korean education system. In 2019, after decades of attempts at reform and curriculum revisions led by the national ministry of education, the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education (DMOE) and Jeju Provincial Office of Education (JPOE), signed a memorandum of cooperation with the IBO to deliver the Dual Language Diploma Programme (DLDP) in their public high schools. This unique partnership will allow students to take up to four of the six DP courses in Korean. Following the footsteps of Germany and Japan, South Korea will become the third country with formal government partnerships with the IB to offer such a program to public school students.

While we have been working with Governments, districts, and groups of schools through formal partnerships to introduce and support the implementation of our programmes in English, French and Spanish, what makes our collaboration with Japan, Korea and Germany unique is that we are now able to reach a group of students in public schools undertaking IB’s Diploma programme in their own national languages.

As the tenth-largest economy in the world, South Korea represents one of the most remarkable economic success stories of the 20^th century. The people’s passion for and state investment in education has been the driving force of national development since the end of the Korean War in 1953. However, this extraordinary economic rise came with a cost–Korea is known for having one of the most merciless education systems in the world. Competition over admission into top universities is extremely fierce. Students spend an additional 6-8 hours outside of the regular school day attending private academies, called hagwons.

Moreover, the current college entrance exam, su-neung, which is mostly knowledge-based and summative, is an exam that is famous for bringing the whole country to a standstill for one day each November. For many, sadly, their futures are dictated by the outcomes of this single exam. The huge burden on Korean students’ mental well-being due to hagwons and su-neung and the paradigm shift taking place in education to equip students with competencies needed for the 21st century are some of the reasons why Korea is interested in IB programmes.

 The Changing IB Landscape

In a recent Tes magazine interview, Olli-Pekka Heinonen talked about how “courageous” and “future-looking” the early pioneers of the IB were when launching their education model to the world in 1968.  

“Those people would not be happy if we just continue doing the things that they did because the world we’re living in today has different challenges.” We need to create teaching and learning that helps our students to go with the existing challenges and the challenges of tomorrow that we might not be aware of – that’s the heritage I’m responsible for.”

Since the start of the project in 2019, 28 public education schools including seven high schools, nine middle schools, and 12 elementary schools in Daegu and Jeju are disrupting the status quo in their educational communities by adopting the IB’s philosophy and pedagogical practices. In many ways, like the early pioneers of IB, they too are being courageous and future-looking to embrace a new educational model for their students to prepare them for a future world that we cannot imagine today.

In the last three years, the number of IB schools in South Korea has nearly tripled from 14 to 40 schools. The IB landscape, which was primarily private international until 2018, now has twice the number of public education schools. Teachers and heads of these public schools have accepted core IB principles such as international-mindedness, learner profile, and approaches to teaching and learning. Additionally, in contrast to hagwon and su-neung culture that continues to exist in Korea, these public schools have boldly adopted the ‘holistic’ approach to education which is at the center of IB’s philosophy.

With support from the Authorization and IB World Schools department, efforts are ongoing to connect the newly onboarded public education schools with the existing IB community. We can already see the positive outcome of such networking between schools in the ongoing sharing of good practices. Several private international schools have opened their classrooms for public school teachers to observe lessons, connect with experienced IB teachers, and see an IB education in action. It is heartening to see that four teacher education institutions have embarked on their IBEC journey. All these efforts and developments contribute to a stronger IB ecosystem in the country.

Joined Up Support

The ongoing success of this strategic initiative, which is almost like establishing a mini-IB in Korean, would not be possible without continuous support from multiple IB departments.

Development and Recognition colleagues have been supporting the onboarding of interested schools in Jeju and Daegu. The Multilingual Editorial and Publishing department has been most efficiently translating key IB documents into Korean with the highest quality while the Commercial Publications unit has been supporting the translation of IB textbook resources into Korean. Global Marketing and Communications department has been producing quality materials in Korean for public education schools to generate the buy-in.

Professional Development Delivery and IBEN teams, since 2019, have trained more than 1500 teachers in 100+ IB professional development workshops delivered in Korean or with Korean language support.

November 2023 will be the first examination session when roughly 200 DP students are expected to take their examinations in Korean. Examiner Recruitment and Training unit has been actively recruiting bilingual examiners to ensure the high quality and successful conduct of the DP examinations. Soon, Exam Publishing and Assessment Development and Delivery teams will be busy producing live exam papers in Korean and gearing up for operationalizing the first examination session in Korean in November 2023.

The collaborative partnership between all stakeholders has been critically important to offer the best possible support to public education schools in South Korea embracing IB programmes. Global Director, Business Development, Haif Bannayan, extends his sincere thanks to all the internal IB units that have been giving their support for this project.

What’s NEXT?

Our work with government offices in Korea (and in Japan) paves the way to a new approach to introducing IB programmes in education systems at the national level.

For now, I want to leave you with this quote from Mr. Young Koo Lim, the Head of Pyoseon High School, a newly authorized IB World School:

“We believe that the IB equips young people with the knowledge and insight to become thoughtful human beings and global leaders. While continuing to monitor reforms that are taking place in Korea, we will do our best to provide an international model of world-class education in Jeju.”

With the new school year fast approaching and the first cohort of DP students ready to enter the IB classrooms, stakeholders are full of energy, excitement, and anticipation as they engage in this meaningful attempt at reimagining education in Korea. 

"WALK 18 for STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH"

Today is May 5th, a national holiday in Korea, Happy Children’s Day. As a father who raised two children and a teacher for 35 years, it's a very important day for me recognizing and celebrating all the children.

I decided to walk about 6-7 miles, carrying a golf bag on my shoulders on the streets of Seoul. Why walk that kind of distance with a golf bag? The answer is simple, for children, our future.

There is a famous saying that I have often said to my students, “Words may inspire, but only action creates change.” Today, I decided to, in my own personal way, do something about a very serious and important issue, not only here in Korea, but in the US as well. I am talking about student suicides and student mental health. 

Last week, I read an article in Korea Times about a study that just came out. It stated, that last year, 1 out of 3 middle and high school students in Korea thought about suicide, which is a staggering figure and shocking news. I believe in the US for teenagers, suicide ideation is around 17-18% so much less than here in Korea, but still too high. In the article, it said that the two major reasons were academic stress and anxiety about the future and career path.

 For many years, Korea has ranked very high in the suicide rate for all age groups, which is a sad story in itself; however, for young adults, it is the number one cause of death in Korea. I know in the US the suicide rate and mental health is a serious issue as well, especially recently due to the ongoing pandemic.

 Personally, when I read this article it brought back painful and sad memories for me. I’ve been a teacher and school principal for over thirty years in both New York and Korea and four years ago, my last year as a high school principal before I retired, I attended five funerals of young adults, all my former students. It was one of the most difficult school years for me as an educator. And recently, only a few weeks ago, I received news of another former student in New York passing away at a young age.

 I realize suicide and mental health is uncomfortable topic for many people and in many cultures. And I know there is a shame and stigma attached to the topic, especially here in Korea; therefore, it does not get discussed a whole lot in the media, at least not out in public. For example, that article did not get any major newspaper or TV coverage at all. I think this is so true, especially here in Korea, but with one of the highest rates of suicides in the world, that should not be.

 I believe we need to get rid of the stigma and talk about it, bringing this serious issue out in the minds of people so that we can start to deal with it in a constructive way. And we need help from everyone - the schools, parents, teachers, mental health experts, politicians, and media to turn around this sad statistic.

 So that’s the background information about WHY. Now, let me tell you what I did. Well, a few months ago I came across a famous golf pro, Rick Shiels, in England that gives YouTube video golf lessons. He decided to do a fundraiser to bring awareness to mental health in his country called, “Walk 18 for Mental Health.”

 Back in February when the UK was under COVID-19 lockdown, he heard about the rise in mental health issues due to the fact that people were not able to socialize like in the past. So in his own way, he did something about it, something positive. I am from America where golf culture is very different than here in Korea. Unlike in Korea, you just join up with a stranger (White, Black, Asian, white-collar, blue-collar, etc.) at the course and you enjoy 4-5 hours of golf walking and talking about work, family, life, and many other topics. Perhaps that social interaction is why I am so passionate about it and love to play golf. Because golf courses are accessible to everyone, you can play at a public course for about 20-30 dollars in many cases carrying your golf bag. I must have played over a thousand rounds of golf in the US in my lifetime and most of the time carrying my golf bag like what I did today.

 Anyway, that golf pro in England decided to walk carrying his golf bag about 6-7 miles each day, which is the approximate length of 18 holes of golf so that’s where ‘Walk 18’ comes from. He did this for the entire month of February, 28 days, around his hometown. His goal was to raise £10,000, but he raised close to £50,000. ($70,000) for a charity that helps people struggling with mental health, which was amazing. Again for me, it is not to raise money but if you feel the need to support your local or national mental health organizations, please do so.

 My reason for doing this as I said is to bring awareness to the issue of student suicide and mental health. I created this T-shirt with the logo, “Walk 18 for Student Mental Health.” It also says, “It’s okay not to be okay,” which is the saying that is widely used in the US when mental health professionals talk about this very important issue. Basically, it means it’s okay to say that you’re not okay. Expressing your emotions is never a bad thing, and if you’re not okay, it’s okay to say so to someone - to your parents, your brother or sister, your friend, your teacher, whoever.

 Another thing that you may have noticed on my t-shirt is the symbol of the semicolon(;). I know in Korean writing this punctuation is not used; but in English, it is used when the writer rather than ending a sentence, decide to continue. It represents hope that your story isn’t over yet. It also represents courage to the ones who decide to fight instead of ending it all.

 So today as we recognize Children’s Day in Korea, I thought to myself, it’s a perfect day for me to be doing this in celebration of all the children who are our hopes and dreams for a better future world. Obviously, I got some attention from people since seeing a person walking and carrying a golf bag is not something you will witness on the streets of Seoul every day or any day for that matter. Hopefully, some noticed the t-shirt with an important message on it and think about the issue of student mental health.

 If nothing else, at least I got a solid 7-mile walking exercise today, which they say is very good for your mental health. So with that being said, this is my Day 1 ‘Walk 18 for Student Mental Health.’ Not sure if I can match Rick Shiels’ 28 days, he is much younger than me, but I will do my best. I want to finish by saying a quote, from one of my favorite movies of all time, Dead Poets Society, by Robin Williams, Carpe Diem! It means Seize the Day, which also means embrace the moment and live your life to the fullest.

 I just want to say to students, you are all very precious gifts and I love you all.

Walk 18 for Students (학생 정신건강을 위한 걷기)

My Next Chapter

It is a good thing that I don't make a living writing blog or being a YouTuber since this is the first time I am uploading a post in about 6 months! Since publishing the book, "I Touch the Future, I Teach, and "retiring" for the second time last July, it has been an interesting six months. My original plan after leaving NLCS Jeju was to go back to the U.S. and this time really follow through with the plan of retiring in sunny southern California. The plan was to play golf at least five days a week and perhaps be a substitute teacher or Uber driver part-time. My children thought that I was joking about becoming an Uber driver, but I was quite serious since I love to drive. Anyways, those plans came to a dead stop when the pandemic hit last year, and perhaps it was destiny telling me that I need to continue being an educator for a bit longer. 

Since last September, I have been working for Inha University, one of the top universities near Seoul, Korea. More specifically, I am helping the university to gain recognition to start the International Baccalaureate Educator Certificate (IBEC) program. Currently, there are only about 50 or so such programs around the world, and Inha University will be one of the first in Korea. Along with the increase in Korean public schools offering the IB, the IBEC program will be instrumental in preparing and training the next generation of IB teachers, which I am thrilled to be part of. 

At this point, I am not sure where this new chapter of my life will lead, but I am excited and looking forward to what lies ahead, stay tuned... 

  

PODCAST-FIRST EPISODE

Finally, my summer break project to upload English audio version of my book, "I Touch the Future, I Teach," is off and running! Please check it out...

yilove2teach channel

THE LAST LESSON

A week from now, I will be saying goodbye to North London Collegiate School (NLCS) Jeju - for the second time!

My association with the school started ten years ago when I first went for an interview at NLCS UK in London. After serving as the Head of Junior School who, along with many others, helped establish the school as one of the best international schools in Korea, I left in 2015 to take on the principalship at Walter Panas High School (WPHS) in New York. The total of ten years at WPHS as assistant principal and principal was one of the best gifts I received as an educator. After a brief six months of "retirement," I came back to Korea to NLCS Jeju to be the Head of Parent Relations working to build stronger partnerships and relationships between the school and parents.

Fast forward to today, this morning I delivered an assembly message titled, "Teachable Moment" to students in the senior school via online. Yes, times of COVID-19, so sad. As teachers, sometimes we have to take advantage of significant events that occur around the world and use it as an opportunity to teach students about a particular aspect of life. We all know there are two very important current events that have impacted our lives in many ways these past several months - the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement.

Hopefully, my last lesson resonated with some students, and the message was well received. NLCS Jeju is an IB World School and as such, we must ensure that the students aspire to the following ideal: The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

There is a saying, "never say never," but I believe this will be my farewell to secondary education. I am grateful to have enjoyed the thirty-four-years of my educational journey, blessed with meeting so many exceptional students, dedicated staff, and supportive parents along the way.

At this point, I am not exactly certain where my life's journey will take me, but I am sure it will be somewhere related to my motto since I became a teacher - "I Touch the Future, I Teach."

Stay tuned...