“30 Years of OECD Membership: Achievements and the Future of Korean Education” Seminar Held

November 5: “2026 Korea-OECD International Seminar”

Marking the 30th anniversary of Korea’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an event was held to look back on the achievements of Korean education over the past 30 years and explore its future direction.

On November 5, the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) and the Ministry of Education announced that they would hold the 2026 Korea-OECD International Seminar at the Westin Josun Seoul under the theme “30 Years of OECD Membership: Achievements and the Future of Korean Education.”

The Korea-OECD International Seminar is held annually to explore the latest education trends and consider the future direction of education.

This year, it will provide a forum to discuss the direction Korean education should take amid an era of major transformation, including student well-being and holistic growth, building local education ecosystems, creating a lifelong learning society, and AI-driven innovation in learning and teaching.

At the opening ceremony, OECD Deputy Secretary-General Frantisek Ruzicka and Taeung Paik, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the OECD, delivered congratulatory remarks.

In the keynote address, Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, will assess the achievements and challenges of Korean education reflected in key OECD indicators, including PISA 2025 and OECD education indicators, under the theme “30 Years of OECD Membership and the Achievements of International Cooperation in Korean Education.” He will examine the impact of digital devices and AI on learning, the importance of students’ curiosity, initiative, and scientific thinking, and the role of support from teachers and families. He will also raise questions and offer insights on the direction education should take to prepare for the future in the age of AI.

In Session 1, Youngsun Go, president of the Korean Educational Development Institute, will present “30 Years of Korean Education Through Data: Korean Education Policy Discourse and the Role of the OECD.” The presentation will look back at how OECD data, including Education at a Glance (EAG), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), have been used in Korean education policy discourse over the past 30 years. It will review the achievements and challenges of education during that period and consider the significance of evidence-based policy discussions and cooperation with the OECD.

In Session 2, Moonhee Kim, president of the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, will discuss Korean students’ achievements and school experiences as reflected in PISA from 2000 to 2025 under the theme “25 Years of Korean Students Through PISA: Toward a Balance Between Achievement and Well-Being.” The presentation will highlight issues requiring attention, including reading achievement and disparities in mathematics achievement despite high overall performance. From the perspective that well-being is an important educational outcome in its own right, separate from academic achievement, it will outline how education can ensure foundational skills and promote well-being for all students.

The final panel discussion, titled “A New 30 Years for Korean Education in an Era of Major Transformation,” will be moderated by Jaeyoung Jeong, president of the Korea Education and Research Information Service. The panel will discuss the direction education should take from four perspectives: transformation in values, spaces, target groups, and methods.

Participants will include Stanton Wortham, dean of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College; Youngtae Cho, director of Seoul National University’s Center for Population Policy Studies; and Hanul Park, vice president of Global Talent at SK hynix. They will examine the current state of Korean education from a range of perspectives, including education centered on student growth, demographic change and local education, the talent profile and development needed in the age of artificial general intelligence (AGI), and education for the responsible use of AI, while exploring the future of Korean education.

The Korean Educational Development Institute said, “This seminar is highly meaningful because representatives from international organizations, government, academia, and business will look back on the achievements of Korean education made through 30 years of cooperation with the OECD and explore a direction for the next 30 years of Korean education amid rapidly changing social conditions.” It added, “We hope this will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen educational cooperation between Korea and the OECD.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.