Human Rights Education for Higher Education in Korea

The second phase (2010-2014) of the World Programme for Human Rights Education calls for an action for human rights education in higher education. While the plan has been widely promoted, there has been little national level research analyzing human rights education in higher education. Human rights education in higher education is important not only for educating ethical citizens committed to human rights but also for knowledge and expertise to meet current human rights challenges. Using empirical data on human rights education at both undergraduate and graduate levels in Korea, this research examines and evaluates human rights education in higher education in South Korea. Findings suggest that human rights education in higher education in Korea has not been accessible to students majoring in broad range of disciplines but to few social science and law majors. It also lacks academic programs specialized in human rights, which is essential to create knowledge and experts in human rights. Implications and future directions are discussed.