How Can We Improve Premedical Education in Korea?

Yeh, Byung Il

Abstract

When a new educational system for college students in South Korea was established in 1946, the National Committee for Educational Planning adopted a 6-year curriculum of medical education, consisting of a 2-year premedical component and a 4-year medical component. For more than half a century, the premedical curriculum has received little attention. However, it is very important for premedical students to have a range of experiences that could be useful in their future medical careers. In 2005, another change was made to the system of medical education, in which medical schools without a 2-year premedical curriculum were established. This began to stimulate interest in premedical education, and more and more professors have become interested in premedical education as 6-year medical colleges have become more popular than before. Since 2015, the Education and Cultural Center of the Korean Association of Medical Colleges has annually hosted a workshop for redesigning premedical education; these workshops quickly fill up with registrants, reflecting the participants' lively interest in premedical education. The problems of premedical education are mostly due to students' and educators' attitudes. A more effective approach will be needed in the educational system of the future to train highly competent medical doctors. To judge whether an educational program is successful, its aims must be clearly articulated. For this reason, medical colleges must prepare premedical education curricula based on their educational aims. It is expected that the system of premedical education will be strengthened in the future due to the growing awareness of its importance.