Lifelong Education
Home > Statistics & Documents > Statistics > Lifelong Education

Lifelong learning participation rate

The lifelong learning participation rate in 2020 was 40.0%, which resulted in a 1.7%p decline compared to last year.

-25 to 64 years old ·2017: 34.4 ·2018: 41.2 ·2019: 41.7 ·2020: 40.0 -25 to 79 years old ·2007: 29.8 ·2008: 26.4 ·2009: 28.0 ·2010: 30.5 ·2011: 32.4 ·2012: 35.6 ·2013: 30.2 ·2014: 36.8 ·2015: 40.6 ·2016: 35.7 ·2017: 35.8 ·2018: 42.8 ·2019: 43.4 ·2020: 42.1

<Lifelong learning participation rate by year>

Since 2017, older adults aged 65-79 have been included in the subject of the survey.

It turned out that more women (40.3%) than men (39.7%) engaged in lifelong learning. The gender gap is gradually decreasing over time.

Gender gap: 2017 (4.0%p) – 2018 (3.4%p) – 2019 (1.8%p) – 2020 (0.6%p)

By age group, the participation rate of adults aged between 25 and 34 years (50.2%) was higher than that of adults aged between 65 and 79 years (29.5%). By income bracket, the participation rate of high earners (average monthly household income: more than 5 million won) was 15.7%p higher than that of low earners (average monthly household income: less than 1.5 million won), which accounted for 45.4% and 29.7%, respectively. The participation rate of the vulnerable reached 27.4%, which was 12.6%p lower than the overall lifelong learning participation rate, which was 40.0%.

Based on the average monthly household income divided by the total number of family members, the vulnerable is defined as households with incomes below 50% of median income.

Discouraging factors

Nearly 30% of the respondents replied that they were unable to become a lifelong learner—despite their desires. The biggest reason (54.2%) was ‘lack of time due to a busy work schedule.’

-Lack of time due to a busy work schedule: 54.2 -No education institutions nearby: 19.1 -Lack of time due to family care: 16.1 -Low motivation: 15.3 -High tuition fees: 12.2 -Insufficient information: 10.1 -No friends to learn with: 6.6 (%)

<Top 7 answers>

2020 lifelong learning survey overview

(Unit: total, person, %)

2020 lifelong learning survey overview: Category, Number of institutions, Number of programs(Total, Less than 1 month, More than 1 month), Number of learners, Number of instructors(Total, Less than 1 month, More than 1 month), Number of administrators, Number of licensed lifelong educators, Licensed lifelong educator placement rate
Category Number of
institutions 		Number of
programs 		Number of
learners 		Number of instructors Number of
administrators 		Number of
licensed lifelong
educators 		Licensed lifelong
educator
placement rate
Total Less than
1 month 		More than
1 month 		Total Less than
1 year 		More than
1 year
Total 4,541 281,420 86,648 194,772 24,397,282 73,829 20,076 53,753 20,688 5,665 78.9
Attached to school Attached to
elementary and
middle schools 		8 38 1 37 824 25 7 18 21 7 75.0
Attached to
college
(graduate school);
Subtotal 		414 27,622 1,106 26,516 817,357 11,219 3,298 7,921 2,074 656 80.4
Subtotal 422 27,660 1,107 26,553 818,181 11,244 3,305 7,939 2,095 663 80.4
Remote type 1,048 106,037 15,282 90,755 20,117,127 15,154 3,864 11,290 6,468 1,313 76.8
Attached to
company 		Attached to
retail 		376 86,454 53,447 33,007 1,134,057 19,958 3,354 16,604 1,595 477 97.9
Attached to
companies 		37 1,204 334 870 69,920 485 56 429 200 43 89.2
Subtotal 413 87,658 53,781 33,877 1,203,977 20,443 3,410 17,033 1,795 520 97.1
Attached to civic association 474 3,990 984 3,006 200,491 3,068 659 2,409 1,354 490 74.1
Attached to
media organization 		1,098 6,814 1,170 5,644 295,938 5,092 2,445 2,647 3,151 934 74.3
Knowledge and human
resources development type 		594 10,172 2,632 8,080 595,274 5,825 1,718 4,107 2,678 658 76.8
Municipal lifelong
learning promotion institute 		17 2,248 1,253 995 46,792 618 254 364 290 176 100.0
Lifelong learning center 475 36,301 10,439 25,862 1,119,502 12,385 4,421 7,964 2,857 911 83.6

Note: Licensed lifelong placement rate = Number of institutions that have not hired licensed lifelong educator / Total number of lifelong education institutions x 100

Program by target / topic

-Distribution of programs by demand target ·Adults: 78.4% ·Elderly: 1.3% ·Integration: 6.9% ·Teenagers: 2.6% ·Children: 10.9% -Distribution of programs to distinguish topics ·Vocational training: 36.9% ·Arts and culture: 30.1% ·Humanities: 21.2% ·Compensatory education: 11.3% ·Adult basic education/literacy: 0.3% ·Citizen engagement: 0.1%

Program and learner by lecture method

-Distribution of programs by lecture method ·Offline program: 52.2% ·Online program: 47.2% ·Online/offline program: 0.6% -Distribution of learners by lecture method ·Online learner: 82.6% ·Offline learner: 16.8% ·Online/offline learner: 0.6%

Lifelong learning by region

-National ·Number of institutions :4,541 ·Number of instructors: 73,829 ·Number of learners: 24,397,282 -Seoul ·Number of institutions: 1,856 ·Number of instructors: 28,632 ·Number of learners: 18,791,062 -Incheon ·Number of institutions: 152 ·Number of instructors: 2,658 ·Number of learners: 217,712 -Gyeonggi ·Number of institutions: 971 ·Number of instructors: 13,750 ·Number of learners: 2,658,852 -Gangwon ·Number of institutions: 108 ·Number of instructors: 1,798 ·Number of learners: 84,524 -Gyeongbuk ·Number of institutions: 155 ·Number of instructors: 2,612 ·Number of learners: 185,399 -Daegu ·Number of institutions: 150 ·Number of instructors: 3,093 ·Number of learners: 280,956 -Ulsan ·Number of institutions: 42 ·Number of instructors: 1,117 ·Number of learners: 90,638 -Busan ·Number of institutions: 233 ·Number of instructors: 4,424 ·Number of learners: 576,441 -Gyeongnam ·Number of institutions: 158 ·Number of instructors: 3,267 ·Number of learners: 273,216 -Jeonnam ·Number of institutions: 108 ·Number of instructors: 1,570 ·Number of learners: 110,837 -Jeju ·Number of institutions: 30 ·Number of instructors: 288 ·Number of learners: 32,388 -Jeonbuk ·Number of institutions: 120 ·Number of instructors: 2,347 ·Number of learners: 162,215 -Gwangju ·Number of institutions: 117 ·Number of instructors: 2,103 ·Number of learners: 406,451 -Chungnam ·Number of institutions: 137 ·Number of instructors: 2,009 ·Number of learners: 256,295 -Sejong ·Number of institutions: 16 ·Number of instructors: 342 ·Number of learners: 41,692 -Daejeon ·Number of institutions: 102 ·Number of instructors: 2,362 ·Number of learners: 138,866 -Chungbuk ·Number of institutions: 86 ·Number of instructors: 1,457 ·Number of learners: 89,738

Lifelong learning by year

(Unit: total, person, %)

Lifelong learning by year: Year,Number of institutions, Number of programs(Total, Less than 1 month, More than 1 month)
Year Number of
institutions 		Number of programs Number of
passers 		Number of
instructors 		Number of
administrators 		Number of
licensed
lifelong
educators
per
institution 		Licensed
lifelong
educator
placement
rate
Total Less than
1 month 		More than
1 month
2020 4,541 281,420 86,648 194,772 24,397,282 73,829 20,688 1.25 78.9
2019 4,295 244,421 60,207 184,214 16,348,842 75,492 19,772 1.26 79.6
2018 4,169 216,980 53,349 163,631 16,344,658 72,783 20,228 1.29 79.8
2017 4,032 214,413 50,253 164,160 11,897,236 71,723 19,778 1.23 78.1
2016 4,153 212,339 50,551 161,788 11,336,564 73,204 19,842 1.15 76.4
2015 4,144 211,193 54,528 156,665 11,982,654 70,835 18,833 1.11 75.4
2014 4,342 205,546 48,856 156,690 12,919,836 72,477 19,586 1.03 72.5
2013 3,965 180,843 46,999 133,844 18,260,301 72,954 18,376 0.99 69.7
2012 3,768 178,971 49,528 129,443 17,618,495 71,676 17,888 0.93 66.6
2011 3,591 182,844 40,068 142,776 28,920,780 69,016 16,746 0.88 63.0
2010 3,213 160,249 33,743 126,506 27,026,042 64,605 15,491 0.78 57.9
Number of lifelong education institutions by year
-2010: 3,213 -2011: 3,591 -2012: 3,768 -2013: 3,905 -2014: 4,342 -2015: 4,144 -2015: 4,153 -2017: 4,032 -2018: 4,169 -2019: 4,295 -2020: 4,541
Number of programs and learners by year
-2010: 64,605 -2011: 69,016 -2012: 71,676 -2013: 72,954 -2014: 72,477 -2015: 70,835 -2016: 73,204 -2017: 71,723 -2018: 72,783 -2019: 75,492 -2020: 73,829
Number of instructors by year
-Number of learners ·2010: 27,026 ·2011: 28,921 ·2012: 17,618 ·2013: 18,260 ·2014: 12,920 ·2015: 11,903 ·2016: 11,337 ·2017: 11,897 ·2018: 16,345 ·2019: 16,349 ·2020: 24,397 (1,000 number of case) -Number of programs ·2010: 1,602 ·2011: 1,828 ·2012: 1,790 ·2013: 1,808 ·2014: 2,055 ·2015: 2,112 ·2016: 2,123 ·2017: 2,144 ·2018: 2,170 ·2019: 2,444 ·2020: 2,814 (100ea)
Number of licensed lifelong educators by year, Licensed lifelong educator placement rate by year
-Number of licensed lifelong educators per institution ·2010: 0.78 ·2011: 0.88 ·2012: 0.93 ·2013: 0.99 ·2014: 1.03 ·2015: 1.11 ·2016: 1.15 ·2017: 1.23 ·2018: 1.29 ·2019: 1.26 ·2020: 1.25 (number of case) -Licensed lifelong educator placement rate ·2010: 57.9 ·2011: 61.0 ·2012: 66.6 ·2013: 69.7 ·2014: 72.5 ·2015: 75.4 ·2016: 76.4 ·2017: 78.1 ·2018: 79.8 ·2019: 79.6 ·2020: 78.9 (%) -Note: Licensed lifelong placement rate = Number of institutions that have not hired licensed lifelong educator / Total number of lifelong education institutions x 100 -Number of licensed lifelong educators per institution = Number of licensed lifelong educator/Total number of lifelong education institutions