Strategies for Bridging the Digital Divide in Education between South and North Korea after Unification

The paper explores ways of bridging the digital divide between the two Koreas and applying ICT to educational development that will be mutually beneficial to North and South Korea on the way towards and after unification. It compares thinking and developments on both sides of the peace line and identifies the different priorities and programs that are currently under way. It shows that North Korea has a great interest in training professionals in the field of digital education but because of its economic conditions. North Korea is selectively training an elite core of ICT specialists to work in a few elite institutions and is still at the embryonic stage of development. By contrast, South Korea's educational development and e-transformation is at the proliferation stage. These differences are seen as constraining educational and economic development when unification becomes a reality. The study suggests that there should be a collaborative approach to addressing these issues and that this should be embarked on as soon 1) Contact E-mail: iljurha@snu.ac.kr 2) Contact E-mail: eunmo04@snu.ac.kr Authors are BK21 participants. The research was funded by Institute for Unification Studies in Seoul National University THE SNU JOURNAL OF EDUCATION RESEARCH 158 as possible. It argues that this should be needs-based and built upon mutual understanding. It also envisages that there will be a need for a cross-sector approach, legal, regulatory and policy changes, expanded access to ICT, enhanced capacity to utilize ICT and professional development and it suggests how these might be achieved within a framework of peaceful coexistence and cooperation in education.