Today and Yesterday in Early Childhood Education in Korea

Early childhood education has always been considered important in Korea, with the education of the child valued highly, regardless of the parent\u27s educational background or socioeconomic status. The main social facility for early childhood education outside home in Korea is called Yoo Chee Won, which means kindergarten. This paper describes the country\u27s approach to early childhood education. The bulk of the paper describes Yoo Chee Won, including demographic trends fueling its growth, figures on its availability and use, its cost, and the requirements for parent support. The paper details the national kindergarten curriculum and teacher education requirements. A concluding section describes corporate support for early childhood education and the Samsung Center for Early Education and Development