South Korean classrooms face 'turmoil' as AI reshapes education

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into daily life, South Korean classrooms are experiencing a profound and turbulent transformation. While the education system appears to operate under the influence of the college entrance exam, underlying confusion and doubt are growing. Educators and parents are questioning the utility of the knowledge being constantly injected into students' minds, especially when AI can perform many tasks more efficiently. The core question is: What should we teach our children?

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AI can be the best servant or the worst master.

The 5th People and Digital Forum's afternoon session explored these questions. Keynote speaker Kim Hee-sam, an educational economist at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), presented AI as a potential tool for personalized learning. Unlike traditional systems that rank students from a single starting line, AI enables the creation of diverse starting circles tailored to individual interests, aspirations, and foundational knowledge. In this AI era, the ideal talent is someone who learns collaborative attitudes and capabilities through interaction with others and can create new things by connecting various fields. Kim referenced Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives, suggesting AI can elevate learning from basic recall and understanding to deeper levels of evaluation and creation.

However, the potential of AI in education is not yet a widespread reality. AI can be "the best servant or the worst master," as noted by Kim, who highlighted practical classroom changes where AI engages students as active learners. Despite these possibilities, significant challenges persist. Park Sook-ja, a professor at Sogang University, emphasized redefining "literacy" in the age of AI. She argued that literacy now extends beyond text to encompass various sign systems, images, senses, and experiences, requiring "relational reading and writing." While AI can easily replicate traditional literacy, Park believes that the unique human capacity for reading and writing can become a tool for becoming more "human," fostering a strong inner self against the potentially overwhelming influence of AI.

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Literacy now extends beyond text to encompass various sign systems, images, senses, and experiences, requiring 'relational reading and writing.'

Lee Soo-jung, a high school English teacher, vividly conveyed the shock and urgency felt in the education field. Teachers, parents, and students are inadequately prepared for advanced technology. The gap between students from economically advantaged backgrounds and those without is widening, now exacerbated by AI literacy. While children, as digital natives, readily adopt AI, teachers struggle to keep pace. Evaluating students also presents a greater challenge. Despite ongoing curriculum reforms, the reality of the college entrance exam, which heavily emphasizes test-taking skills, remains dominant. Lee warned that without swift action to reduce inequality in AI access, the AI divide could become permanent.

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The gap between students with AI-literate parents and those without is widening, and if we don't hurry to reduce inequality in AI access, the AI divide society will become solidified.

Education critic Lee Beom, a strong advocate for reforming the admissions system, sees AI as a crucial tool to transform the current multiple-choice-based college entrance exam. AI-powered essay scoring and personalized tutoring could potentially curb the expansion of private education. He believes that well-designed AI feedback can act as a safety net against declining student abilities. Lee stressed the urgency for the government to establish a clear direction and methods for AI-era education, fearing that private education will preemptively seize EdTech, leaving public education further marginalized.

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If the government does not quickly establish the direction and methods for AI-era education, private education will preemptively seize EdTech, and public education will become even more powerless.