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264 13 Special Education in South Korea: Overcoming Conflicts for the Realization of Educational Welfare Korea is a peninsula extending south from the northeast Asian mainland. This peninsula is divided into two parts. One part is communist North Korea; the other is South Korea, which is a democracy and has a market economy. South Korea was home to around 48.2 million people as of July 1, 2010. Seoul, the capital city, has a population of around 10.4 million. South Korea’s population density is 483 persons per 1 square kilometer, one of the highest densities in the world. Yet the birth rate has plummeted over the past 3 decades as a result of the government’s population control policy, recording less than 1.15 expected children for every woman of child-bearing age as of 2009. Korea’s location has historically made it prone to conflict and tension with the neighboring nations of China, Russia, and Japan. In the past, Korea was ceaselessly invaded by those nations. The end of World War II brought about liberation from Japan’s oppressive colonial rule over Korea. However, Korea was then divided along the 38th parallel, with the Soviet Union occupying the north half and the United States occupying the south. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a general election in Korea, which took place on May 10, 1948, in the area south of the 38th parallel. The Government of the Republic of Korea was inaugurated on August 15, 1948. But on Sunday, June 25, 1950, without warning, North Korean troops invaded the unprepared South across the 38th parallel. Thus, the Korean War broke out. It ended with the 1953 armistice. But the two hostile forces are still deployed along the 155-mile demilitarized zone (DMZ), which replaced the 38th parallel. The many wars took a toll on South Korea’s economy, and its citizens’ quality of life suffered. The educational system was also poor, and South Korea did not have enough money and energy to educate children with disabilities. In the first years of South Korea’s independence, religious organizations and welfare organizations led special education. In 1970, South Korea began to solve the necessities of life through the Saemaeul (new community) movement. As the economy began to develop and stabilize in the mid-1970s, interest grew in special education. The Special Education Promotion Law (SEPL), enacted in 1977, brought great changes to special education. Older attitudes that children with disabilities should be cared for in specialized facilities by social workers began to change, and the nation started to actively intervene in their education. At present, South Korea’s special education is developing rapidly, thanks to democratization and economic development (Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development [MEHRD], 2007–2008). Dae Young, Jung International Practices.indb 264 International Practices.indb 264 10/14/11 5:45 PM 10/14/11 5:45 PM Special Education in South Korea 265 SOCIA L FA BRIC Ethnically, Koreans are one family of the Mongolian race. They speak a common language and share a strong cultural identity. Their language, which belongs to the Ural-Altaic family, is distinct from Chinese and Japanese. Koreans use a unique phonetic alphabet called Hangeul that is characterized by an easily understood scientifically designed system. Korean culture is unique in the way it developed through its interactions with diverse outside cultures. Today, Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Cheondogyo (a modernized religion based on Dong Hak), and other religions coexist in Korea. In the absence of a state religion, every Korean is free to engage in the religious life of his or her choice. Korean culture is also characterized by advanced science and technology, which derive from ancient times. Woodblock printing, for example, was developed during the Silla Kingdom (57 bc–935 ad) and was perfected during the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392), when Koreans published the incredible, voluminous Tripitaka Koreana in its entirety, using more than 80,000 woodblock printing plates. Korean creativity is further demonstrated by masterful paintings and sculpture; Korean art can be considered as the third unique aspect of the culture. Paintings on the walls of ancient tombs provide a vivid depiction of life during the Three Kingdoms period (57 bc–668 ad). The Hangeul phonetic alphabet is another source of pride for Koreans. Before Hangeul was invented, Korean intellectuals used Chinese characters but the difficulty of learning the characters left the masses illiterate. Deploring mass illiteracy, King Sejong the Great commissioned royal scholars...

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