Lawmaker says education key to winning hearts of voters living abroad


Overseas Korean schools have long been a blind spot for the government and National Assembly and it is time they paid attention to the issue, even if only to win votes abroad, said a second-term lawmaker.

Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party, who is also on the parliamentary education committee, has lately been preoccupied with the university tuition issue.

But there is another educational issue to which he has long been devoted.

“People, especially politicians, know little about overseas Korean schools, though they are a major national issue involving the education of some 10,000 Korean students all over the world,” An told The Korea Herald.

In 2009, An motioned a bill to financially support education in overseas Korean schools.

“Up until then, the level of governmental support was minimal, despite the fact that Korean society was known for its zeal for education,” he said.

This year, a budget of 55.4 billion won ($51.6 million) was allocated to the project.

“The amount was a cutback from the 80 billion won submitted by the Education Ministry, but was nevertheless an increase, compared to that in the past,” the lawmaker said.

The present system calls for the local Korean community to raise 50 percent of the school incorporation fee, with the government covering the remaining amount after making necessary confirmation.

Also, 70 percent of the operating costs would be taken over by the government, though details would vary depending on the size and individual circumstances of each school.

“Despite the increased support, a majority of overseas Korean schools still face financial hardship and a severe lack of qualified teachers,” An said.

The lawmaker first took interest in the issue when he visited Korean schools in China in 2006.

“Though the schools accommodated a significant number of Korean students, the conditions of their facilities were shocking,” he said.

“The decades-old buildings were not only decrepit but also threatened the safety of the students.”

There was, however, no legal grounds for the government to allocate its budget to the improvement of overseas school facilities, he said.

“The number of Korean people in foreign countries soared by the year but the legislature’s sight did not quite catch up with such change,” the lawmaker said, calling the situation a legal vacuum.

None of the overseas Korean schools are public, as they were privately established on the demand of the local community, but their special circumstances require them to be treated like public schools, he said.

This is especially so in Asian neighbors such as China and Japan, he added.

“A Korean student who attended a local Chinese school, with no educational alternatives, will naturally be more familiar with the Chinese viewpoint of the Korean history,” he said.

“A certain range of official curriculum should be offered at least to those who wish to maintain their personal identity as Koreans living overseas.”

In an attempt to raise the profile of overseas schools and to form a network for them, An led the establishment of an association of school directors in 2009.

“Back then, the government was totally reluctant to be involved in the network as it feared protests from schools in Korea,” An said.

However, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho attended this year’s annual meeting of the association, which was held at the National Assembly earlier this month, and offered a congratulatory speech. The floor leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties also attended the event.

Their attendance was largely related to the overseas voting system which is to take effect next year, he admitted.

Under the revised public office election law, overseas Korean nationals will be able to cast their votes in general elections from next April in designated booths in their adopted country.

“Parties, in a move to win overseas votes, have increased their contact with Korean communities in foreign countries over the past few years,” the lawmaker explained.

“Through such processes, lawmakers came to better understand how important overseas schools are in Korean communities.”

Overseas education was now an important issue but no politician would tackle it if not for the potential support of some 2.3 million overseas Korean nationals, he said.

“I have been devoted to the issue for two consecutive parliamentary terms, and I am glad that many changes have taken place to turn the public’s eye to overseas education, even if they may have occurred for a political reason,” An said.

Now, the task is to maintain a proper balance in regard to the special circumstances of the overseas schools, he said.

“The Board of Audit and Inspection once cut the budget of a Korean school located in Japan, citing that it failed to allocate sufficient time to Korean language classes,” An said.

“However, overseas schools have their own regional colors, and the Korean government should be flexible enough to acknowledge their diversity in order to efficiently incorporate them into an integrated system.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)