The incoming president wants all school subjects to be taught in English and to bring back emigrants to help take a nation to fluency by 2013. James Card reports on a bold plan that has already hit trouble

A far-reaching overhaul of South Korea's English education system announced last week by Lee Myung-bak, the country's newly elected president, has caused consternation among teachers and provoked a major political challenge even before his official inauguration.

The five-year plan to radically change the way English is taught in schools, including a call for all subjects to be taught in English, is being backed by a $4.2bn budget. But even the offer to shift the cost of teaching children from increasingly burdened families to the state-school system has been met with scepticism from parents who see it as increasing competitiveness in the education system.

A month after winning December's election with a comfortable majority, Lee, a former mayor of Seoul and a Hyundai Construction executive, raised the issue of English education to an equal footing with national priorities, such as economic prosperity and peace with North Korea. Announcing his plan, Lee and his transition team said that it was a key to achieving international competitiveness.

Read the rest at the Guardian Weekly

Copyright © James Card.