On 14 November 2017, the Korean National Commission for UNESCO (KNCU) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) of the Republic of Korea organized the first National Forum on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 – Education 2030, to discuss the Republic of Korea’s current status in achieving and the means of implementing SDG 4 targets and the relevance and validity of the existing indicators at the national level.

Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) formally adopted at the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, SDG 4 is the stand-alone goal on quality education. This goal builds upon the Incheon Declaration adopted at the 2015 World Education Forum, organized by UNESCO and hosted by Republic of Korea, with the objective to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030.

More than 100 participants representing government institutions, educational organizations academia and civil society gathered at the Forum to discuss the future direction of Korean education in line with the SDG 4-Education 2030 goals. The Forum reviewed in-depth Korea’s current status in the light of the SDG 4-Education 2030 targets, identified strengths of the Korean education system and examined areas for further progress. Contributions from academia and civil society, in particular, provided insights from different stakeholders on the key issues, comparative advantages and areas for improvement in the Korean education system.

The Forum concluded with agreement between all stakeholders on the need for a concrete strategy for implementing SDG 4, with particular emphasis on a holistic, coordinated approach that both builds on existing strengths and closing gaps between Korean education and SDG 4-Education targets. Key recommendations are as follows:

Policies and Strategies: The national agenda for sustainable development should be aligned with SDG 4-Education 2030. Until 2030, there will be three administration changes in Korean Government and it is crucial that the sustainable development agenda is maintained as a national priority regardless of these changes. In addition, because education policies are interdependent on and have far-reaching influences across different sectors, sector-wide coordination between and within government ministries is crucial to ensure the holistic implementation of SDG 4-Education 2030 targets. Most importantly, ensuring progress on SDG 4-Education 2030 necessitates government-led action and accountability on advancing policies towards quality education.

Monitoring: Although the Republic of Korea has already achieved a number of global indicators, structural inequalities and educational gaps in age, gender, and region still exist and are key areas which the country can focus on in its implementation of SDG4-Education 2030 targets. Monitoring the process of implementation requires certain criteria to evaluate the level of achievement. It is therefore necessary to develop systematic national indicators for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all.

Advocacy and Communication: Advocacy of SDG 4 should engage all stakeholders and it can be effective way of implementation. Promoting public awareness of SDG 4-Education 2030 is also important to build a good foundation to ensure government accountability.

International cooperation in education: Education was a key factor that allowed the Republic of Korea, a recipient country of financial aid following the aftermath of the Korean War, to become a donor country. Korea should share its knowledge and experience of overcoming the difficult times to developing countries and help them achieve SDG 4 targets. As international society expects significant role in education from Korea, national efforts for international cooperation in education should be increased.

The SDG4–Education 2030 Forum will be held annually, and from 2018 will focus on each individual SDG 4 target. It will be an opportunity to share current status, identify priorities, review progress and discuss implementation strategies for each target and its indicators. As the focal point for implementation of SDG 4 in Korea, KNCU is also organizing the Education 2030 consultation meeting in Korea. The meeting consists of representatives from the Ministry of Education, KNCU, and national education institutes such as the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI), the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE), and the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training (KRIVET). At the meeting, current status of implementation of SDG 4 in Korea was shared and future plan for it was discussed. KNCU is also planning to operate Working Groups (WGs) on SDG 4 targets in cooperation with national education institutions responsible for each education target in the Republic of Korea. Preliminary meetings with six institutions were held in 2017 to discuss focus areas, scope of operations and working methods. In 2018, WGs will officially launch and begin operations, and will include various stakeholders in education such as central and local governments, national and local education-related institutions, academic, CSOs and NGOs. Their work will focus on advancing each individual SDG 4 target by collecting and analyzing relevant data, organizing seminars to raise awareness, review progress, discuss means of implementation, as well as publish regular monitoring reports on the Republic of Korea’s progress.