[Our Fifth Issue on Unknown Korean Meanings] Literacy Gap Widens... Need to Create Classrooms for Reading Books in Public Education

Solutions Experts Suggest
Empathy and Critical Skills Through Reading
Need for Broad Social Efforts to Resolve

Editor's NoteHangul will celebrate its 576th anniversary in two days. It is our script that King Sejong of Joseon promulgated in 1446 with the creation of Hunminjeongeum. It is also the lifeblood of our national culture. However, today, the situation facing our Hangul is difficult. It is said that the number of people who can read but cannot understand is increasing. This phenomenon is called a decline in literacy skills. It is not just a problem of some lacking literacy skills. It is a problem for all of us who have neglected training in reading. On the occasion of the 576th anniversary of Hangul Day in 2022, this paper aims to examine the current state of declining literacy and seek alternatives.

A foreign visitor at the National Hangeul Museum in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is looking at the Hunminjeongeum installed inside the museum. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Cho, Byungseon Gong, Gyumin Oh] "There are always kids like that everywhere."

It is not just now. It has been like this ever since English classes were introduced in schools. There have long been students who could not understand the concept of the English grammar 'to-infinitive' even after teachers repeatedly explained it. In the past, these students were considered 'students who are not good at studying' or 'students below basic academic skills.' Lee Hyung-jin (52, pseudonym), an English teacher at a middle school in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, said, "The way we look at those kids has changed now." He described, "Out of 30 students, there are three or four friends whose literacy skills are particularly poor."

This teacher does not have the luxury of explaining the 'to-infinitive' concept until those three or four students understand it during class. Otherwise, the concentration of the other students is disrupted. He said, "Students with poor literacy usually do not understand the concept of grammar itself, so they have no interest in the class," adding, "They often leave their seats frequently, saying they need to go to the bathroom, which also disrupts the class."

Kang Min-kyung (29, pseudonym), a Korean language instructor at an academy in Daegu, fully understands Lee's feelings. "Sometimes there are students who read the sentence 'We should not cause environmental pollution' and ask, 'Why can't we cause environmental pollution?' Then I tell them to read it again because they misread it, but a lot of time is taken up by such questions." There have always been students who could not read well. However, recently, the number of students who outright refuse to read has increased significantly. Kang said, "I feel that the gap in literacy skills has become even more severe."

The definite answer is reading... Public education must lead

In educational settings, reading is cited as a common factor among students who are 'rich' in literacy skills. Lee Mihyun (32, pseudonym), who works at an elementary school in Seoul, said, "When I see children with good literacy skills, their parents always take time to read books to them or guide them to read." Experts also agree on this point. Kim Woo-jung, a professor in the Department of Chinese Character Education at Dankook University, said, "Although we live in a world where information can be obtained through videos, there are things that can only be gained through reading," adding, "Reading allows indirect experience of new worldviews and learning how to express those worldviews with various vocabularies."

However, the reality is not easy. Lee Mihyun said, "Due to the development of video media such as YouTube, it seems that more children are distancing themselves from books than in the past," adding, "It would be good if they had more time to read books, but the reality is that they cannot." Seo Hyuk, a professor in the Department of Korean Language Education at Ewha Womans University, also pointed out, "Children have an absolute lack of time for reading," and "High-level or difficult words should be encountered in books, but since they do not read, literacy problems arise."

The role of public education is emerging against this background. Professor Seo said, "Public education must cultivate the ability to think critically and creatively through high-level reading discussions." Professor Ryu Woong-jae of the Department of Media Communication at Hanyang University also said, "Public education should institutionalize reading of classics and humanities books from middle and high school," adding, "This will not only solve literacy issues but also develop the ability to empathize, cooperate, think critically, and express oneself."

A view of a chapter covering classical Chinese prose and poetry in a former high school Chinese character textbook

Chinese character education is not a panacea... A comprehensive diagnosis is needed

Some argue that Chinese character education is necessary to overcome the decline in literacy skills because Sino-Korean words occupy a large proportion of the Korean language. In fact, according to the status of word types provided by the National Institute of the Korean Language's Standard Korean Dictionary, as of May this year, Sino-Korean words number 235,173, accounting for 55.6% of the total headwords (422,890). However, experts caution against this claim. Shin Ji-young, a professor in the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Korea University, said, "Among the Korean words that have caused the literacy controversy, there are words unrelated to Chinese characters, such as 'sah-eul' (three days) and 'na-eul' (four days)," adding, "Instead of heightening the sense of crisis based on inappropriate grounds, we need to take time to examine the issue comprehensively."

Baek Won-geun, director of the Book and Society Research Institute, said the decline in literacy is "a problem complicatedly intertwined with income, academic background, and education level." This can be interpreted as meaning that a comprehensive diagnosis and society-wide efforts are necessary for a solution. President Yoon Suk-yeol also urged inter-ministerial cooperation at a Cabinet meeting in August after receiving a report on the 'Plan to Train One Million Digital Talents,' saying, "Educational programs that can improve digital literacy must be systematically provided." However, at least until now, no plans for inter-ministerial cooperation have been heard.