Recently, there’s been growing concern about applicants with relatively low grades being admitted to elementary teacher colleges in Korea. Many people assume that teachers’ academic performance and content knowledge directly influence their effectiveness, fueling fears of declining teaching quality. The common explanation for why lower-scoring students are accepted is straightforward: high-achieving students are increasingly uninterested in teaching careers. Why? Because teachers' authority is waning, workloads are overwhelming, and salaries remain stagnant. However, even a well-meaning public campaign to promote respect for teachers or a program offering incentives for some select teachers won't do much. Each of these concerns ties back to broader societal attitudes and systemic problems in Korea.
Take teacher authority, for instance. True respect isn’t just about students behaving in the classroom; it’s about respecting teachers' professional autonomy in making decisions on curriculum and classroom management. Unfortunately, today's teachers in Korea are often treated as content deliverers rather than respected professionals who regularly make critical decisions and set their own professional standards. There's a widespread underappreciation of the diverse and important educational decisions teachers must make on a daily basis. Without open discussion and fundamental changes in the way people view teachers, calls by government elites to safeguard teacher authority remain quite hollow.
Similarly, the heavy workload teachers face mirrors society's conflicting expectations. Teachers are overwhelmed by administrative tasks and paperwork on a daily basis, leaving them little time to connect meaningfully with their peers or students. A striking example of the profession losing its sense of community is that many schools now turn away teacher candidates seeking field experience simply because veteran teachers can’t find the passion, time or resources to mentor newcomers. Any profession unable to support new members is doomed to wither.
The stagnant salaries for teachers highlight a troubling issue in Korean society. Essential public workers — teachers, police officers, firefighters and healthcare professionals — are expected to make significant sacrifices for minimal compensation. Meanwhile, large sums are willingly spent on flashy luxuries in public projects and tokenistic administrative ventures. Paying teachers decently is oddly considered extravagant, whereas hefty compensation for chaebol CEOs and tech industry billionaires is viewed as “innovative,” revealing a cheap classism of capitalism.
Given these realities, we urgently need to rethink what we value in good teaching. Since few people clearly distinguish good teachers from poor ones, I offer radical (even contrarian) ideas about what makes a great teacher. First, it is so ironic that teachers who have always excelled academically and experienced consistent success might struggle to empathize with students struggling academically or personally. Perhaps those teachers who've overcome their own struggles can offer deeper understanding and encouragement to vulnerable students.
Second, as an expert in mathematics education, I have no hesitation in saying the advanced university-level mathematics required in teacher certification exams is mostly unnecessary. Effective teaching of mathematics at secondary school levels demands primarily a firm grasp of basic undergraduate mathematics, familiarity with school mathematics curricula, pedagogy and adolescent psychology. Teachers should possess not so much a Ph.D. in mathematics as enthusiasm for and knowledge of mathematics — much like those among us who know every detail about our favorite celebrities — to inspire students and illustrate the wonders of math.
My graduate students at Yonsei often ask, "When will Korean education truly improve? Why is this grim outlook on education still so widespread in Korea?” Being naturally pessimistic, I can't say I have the answer. However, I do see clear signs of hope: Imagine the day when school teachers can confidently plan exciting museum visits or adventurous nature trips without fear of angry parents threatening lawsuits. Picture the scene when teachers can join picket lines without fear of stigma or backlash, passionately advocating for what they believe in, including demands for better pay, without fear of retribution. And, imagine a bold, somewhat radical idea taking root — what if families in Korea willingly contributed a monthly education tax of just 100,000 won each, replacing the huge amounts, often over 300,000 won, spent on stressful hagwons and tutoring? These changes would mark a real cultural shift — one where education is no longer treated as an individual family’s zero-sum game of keeping up with the Joneses but embraced more as a shared public good. Only when these scenarios become a reality can we say we are prepared to talk about true educational progress.
Gather with friends or family and discuss the best teachers you remember. You'll likely find that the qualities among these memorable teachers aren't necessarily extensive content knowledge or elite academic credentials, but rather a love for the subject, a sense of humor, encouragement, trustworthiness and a commitment to educating young people. That said, let's stop pretending that lower college entrance exam scores for teacher education programs are a big deal. A real sense of improvement in education requires honest reflection on what makes a great teacher, recognizing qualities far more essential — and far harder to measure — than high scores on exams and elite diplomas.
Lim Woong
Lim Woong is a professor at the Graduate School of Education at Yonsei University in Seoul. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. — Ed.
