4.5% of Adults Struggling with Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic Skills

Adult illiteracy decreased by 2.7%p since 2017
Adult literacy rate 79.8%, literacy ability score 85.1
Higher age, lower income, and rural residence linked to lower literacy ability

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] It has been revealed that there are 2 million (4.5%) illiterate adults who have difficulty reading, writing, and arithmetic. Literacy skills were lower among those with lower educational attainment and monthly household income, and among older age groups.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education announced the results of the 3rd Adult Literacy Survey, which investigated the basic literacy levels of Korean adults. As of last year, the proportion of illiterate adults (literacy level 1) was 4.5%, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points compared to 2017.

The literacy rate of Korean adults was 79.8%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from 2017. When literacy scores are converted to a 100-point scale, the average was 85.1 points, 4 points higher than in 2017.

Literacy ability is classified into four levels: Level 1, called 'illiterate,' where reading, writing, and arithmetic are impossible (4.5%) ▲ Level 2, where reading, writing, and arithmetic are possible but daily life application is insufficient (4.2%) ▲ Level 3, where simple daily life application is possible but public and economic life application is insufficient (11.4%) ▲ Level 4, where literacy is equivalent to middle school education or higher (78.7%).

Literacy skills decline with increasing age, lower monthly household income, lower educational attainment, and residence in rural farming and fishing villages. The gap by educational attainment is the largest at 64.7 percentage points. Among those with no formal education, 66.9% were illiterate, whereas 95.7% of those with a university degree or higher were at level 4 or above. The gap by monthly household income was the second largest at 61.9 percentage points. Among those with a monthly income of 1 million won or more, 34.3% were at level 1, the highest proportion, while among those earning 5 million won or more, 91.6% were at level 4 or above, the highest proportion.

The Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education will hold the "2021 Literacy Month in Korea Proclamation Ceremony" online on the 8th. Poet Na Taeju will be appointed as the literacy education ambassador, and a special lecture on literacy education will be held. Through the online exhibition hall on the National Literacy Education Center website, 148 award-winning poems and short writings will be exhibited until the end of the year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "As shown in the results of the adult literacy survey, there are still many illiterate people in our country," adding, "We will not only generously support literacy learners to communicate with the world through writing and lead happy lives, but also expand support to digital and media literacy areas considering technological and social changes."