Learning Disability as Oxymoron in South Korea: Confucius’s Befuddlement

• In Event: Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual iPresentation Only: SIG-Disability Studies in Education Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Learning Disability (LD) is a fairly unknown term among the general public in South Korea. Contrary to the U.S where one in five public school students have LD or attention problems. The LD population in South Korea is strikingly low (0.02%). This paper aims to make sense of a puzzling apathy of learning disability in Korea, and offers one possible explanation by zooming in on Korea’s cultural ethos heavily rooted in Confucian ideology. A deeper analysis of the philosophical grounds of Confucianism led to conclude that three elements of Confucianism contribute to Korea’s low prevalence of LD: Epistemological assumptions on knowledge, an emphasis of unity and harmony, and teachers’ morality.

Author

• Jung - Ah Choi, St. Peter's University