Chuncheon, South Korea, Adopts U.S. College's Reading Model

Residents of Chuncheon, South Korea, are seeing a shift in local public schools as the city implements a new educational framework. The curriculum, known as the Great Books model, originates from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. Instead of traditional lectures or standardized testing, classes focus on guided discussions of canonical texts. Students at Toegye public elementary school, for example, debate whether the creature in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein qualifies as human. One student, Ma Yeonwoo, argued that the character is a human being without a soul. The class then applied this reasoning to artificial intelligence, concluding that while AI is intelligent, it lacks creativity because humans created it.

The city government established this partnership with St. John's College last year. Chuncheon Mayor Yook Dong-han stated that he wanted to introduce a distinct educational philosophy to the city. He described the initiative as a small but revolutionary achievement that challenges established practices. The program currently includes 120 college students and approximately 770 younger students across the country. There are also 40 teachers undergoing training, according to Lee Yonghwa, a professor at Incheon National University. Lee co-founded South Korea's first Great Books program in 2019.

The adoption of this model responds to specific academic trends in the region. International test scores, such as PISA results, indicate a post-pandemic decline in reading skills among South Korean students. Additionally, 51% of South Korean students report using AI chatbots to study at least once a week, based on OECD data. Lee Yonghwa noted that students are losing the capacity to memorize facts because they rely on AI to collect information. He warned that if students cannot reason independently, they cannot judge the quality of AI-generated results.

The curriculum requires students to rely solely on their readings and peer discussions, without using outside sources like the internet. Texts include works by Aristotle, Shakespeare, and Euclid, as well as Korean authors like Nobel laureate Han Kang. In one local high school, students read Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail. They discussed the concepts of just and unjust laws and connected King's ideas to the 2024 martial law attempt by former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Lee Yonghwa expressed admiration for students making these local connections.

St. John's College President J. Walter Sterling described the seminar tables as miniature republics where ideas clash but people cooperate. He wrote last year that this type of civic participation helps stitch the fabric of democracy. The city of Chuncheon, known for its mountains, lakes, and local dish dakgalbi, hopes this educational approach will provide students with more time to read and think rather than merely memorize facts for competitive exams.

The program continues to expand in South Korea. Lee Yonghwa said the student interest has exceeded expectations. The city government maintains the academic partnership to promote the model, aiming to offer an alternative to the intense pressure of college entrance exams and cram schools.