The school system in the Republic of Korea consists of one to three-year pre-schools and kindergartens, six-year elementary schools, three-year middle schools, three-year high schools, and four-year colleges and universities, which also offer graduate courses leading to Ph.D. degrees. There are also two- to three-year junior colleges and vocational colleges. Elementary schooling is compulsory with an enrollment rate of nearly 100 percent. Three more years of compulsory middle school education have been implemented nationwide since 2002.

Although preschool education is not yet compulsory, its importance has been increasingly recognized in recent years. Preschool education is regarded as very important in terms of helping pull up the low birth rate, resolving social polarization, and allowing a greater number of women to work outside the home.