This page compares the education systems of France and South Korea.
Education System Overview
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| System Type | Public-private mix; Governance model: Centralized, with national rules for curricula, qualifications and teacher recruitment, while regions, departments and municipalities manage responsibilities such as buildings, equipment and local services. [French Ministry] | Public/private mix; mixed governance combining national policy and standards with decentralized local education administration. The Ministry of Education operates at the national level, while 17 Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education oversee local education. [Korea MOE] |
| Governing Body | Ministry of National Education for school education and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space for tertiary education. | Ministry of Education (MOE); 17 Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education; and local Offices of Education. [Korea MOE] |
| Government Expenditure on Education (% of GDP) | 5.32% of GDP (2022, latest available value for general government expenditure on education). [World Bank] | 5.4% (2022). [World Bank] |
Education Structure & Compulsory Schooling
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory Age Range | From age 3 to age 16. A separate training obligation applies from ages 16 to 18 and can be fulfilled through schooling, vocational training, employment, civic service or an approved support pathway. [Éduscol] | Approximately age 6 to age 15, covering six years of elementary school and three years of middle school. [Korea MOE] |
| Total Compulsory Duration (Years) | 13 years of compulsory instruction (ages 3–16), followed by the separate training obligation through age 18. | 9 years: 6 years of elementary education plus 3 years of middle school. [Korea MOE] |
| Pre-primary Education (ECE) Access | Compulsory from age 3. In 2024, the schooling rate was 98.5% at age 3 and 100% at ages 4 and 5. [French Ministry] | Optional; enrollment among children aged 3–5 was 95.7% in 2023. [OECD] |
| Primary + Secondary Education Structure (Years) | 5 + 4 + 3 (Primary + Lower Secondary/Collège + Upper Secondary/Lycée). Pre-primary education normally adds three years before primary school. [French Ministry] | 6 + 3 + 3: six years of elementary school, three years of middle school and three years of high school. The broader system is commonly described as 6-3-3-4 when the standard four-year university stage is included. [Korea MOE] |
| Vocational vs. General Upper Secondary Split (%) | Approximately 29.3% Vocational / 70.7% General & Technological among lycée students in 2025, based on 661,600 vocational and 1,599,400 general and technological students. [French Ministry] | 14.9% Vocational / 85.1% General (2023). [OECD] |
Academic Calendar & Instruction Time
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Year Start (Typical Month) | September. [French Ministry] | March. The first semester begins in March. [Korea MOE] |
| Academic Year End (Typical Month) | July. [French Ministry] | February, following the second semester and winter vacation period. [Korea MOE] |
| Instruction Weeks per Year | 36 weeks. [Légifrance] | — |
| Instruction Days per Year | — | At least 190 days per school year for elementary, middle and high schools, subject to limited statutory reductions in specified circumstances. [Korean Law] |
Grading System
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Primary/Secondary Grading Scale | The 0–20 scale is widely used in secondary education, while competency-based assessment is also used, particularly during compulsory schooling. | Assessment varies by school level. Middle-school achievement commonly uses A–E achievement levels. For students entering high school from 2025, the former nine-grade internal ranking system was replaced by a five-grade system under the 2028 university admissions changes. [Korea MOE] |
| Higher Education Grading Scale | Commonly 0–20, with 10/20 generally representing a passing mark; higher education programs use ECTS credits within the LMD degree structure. [Campus France] | Institution-specific; 4.5 and 4.3 GPA scales with letter grades are commonly used. |
Language of Instruction
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Instruction Languages (K–12) | French | Korean is the main language of instruction in the national school system. |
| Other Official / Minority Instruction Languages (K–12) | Regional languages can be taught through bilingual or specialized programs, including Breton, Basque, Catalan, Corsican, Occitan and regional Germanic languages. | — |
School Provision & Access (K–12)
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Public School Enrollment Share (K–12, % of Students) | 86.4% in primary education and 78.8% in secondary education in 2025. [French Ministry] | Primary: approximately 98% / Secondary: approximately 72% (2024). [World Bank] [World Bank] |
| Public School Tuition Fee (Annual, Local Currency) | $0 tuition. Public primary and secondary education is tuition-free. [French Ministry] | $0 standard tuition for public elementary and middle education; nationwide free high-school education was extended to all grades from 2021, covering admission fees, tuition, school operation support fees and textbooks within the statutory scheme. [Korea MOE] |
| Public Schools Nationwide Availability | Yes, with public primary and secondary education provided nationwide. | Yes. Public schools operate nationwide under the metropolitan, provincial and local education administration system. [Korea MOE] |
| Private School Enrollment Share (K–12, % of Students) | Approximately 13.6% in primary education and 21.2% in secondary education in 2025. [French Ministry] | Primary: approximately 2% / Secondary: approximately 28% (2024). [World Bank] [World Bank] |
| Private Schools (Geographic Concentration) | — | — |
International Schools (K–12)
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Number of International Schools (Total) | — | 45 government-listed foreign/international K–12 institutions: 38 foreign schools, 3 foreign educational institutions at elementary/secondary level and 4 Jeju international schools. [ISI] |
| Number of IB World Schools | — | 134 schools are listed by the International Baccalaureate school finder for the Republic of Korea. [IB] |
| Main International Programmes Offered | International Baccalaureate, International Sections, Cambridge programs and American-style curricula, depending on the school. The IB currently lists French schools offering PYP, MYP, DP and CP programs. [IB] | International Baccalaureate (IB), American, British, Canadian and other authorized foreign curricula, depending on the school. [ISI] |
Resources & Learning Environment (K–12)
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Teacher Qualification (Public Schools) | From the 2026 recruitment session, the main external teacher recruitment competitions opened at Bachelor’s level (bac+3), followed by two years of paid initial training. Transitional bac+5 competitions continue through 2027 for candidates already following the previous route. [French Ministry] | A recognized teacher qualification certificate is required. Standard Grade 2 regular-teacher routes are completed through approved university-level teacher education with prescribed major and teaching coursework; public-school recruitment also follows the applicable appointment process. [Korean Law] |
| Average Class Size (Primary) | 21.1 students in elementary classes (2025). [French Ministry] | 18.6 students (2026). [KEDI] |
| Average Class Size (Lower Secondary) | 25.7 students in collège classes (2025). [French Ministry] | 24.5 students (2026). [KEDI] |
| Average Class Size (Upper Secondary) | 30.2 students in general and technological lycée classes / 18.4 students in vocational lycée classes (2025). [French Ministry] | 23.1 students (2026). [KEDI] |
System Performance & Learning Outcomes (OECD/PISA)
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| PISA Participation Years | 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2025. [OECD] | 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2025. [OECD] |
| PISA 2018 Scores (Mathematics / Reading / Science) | 495 / 493 / 493. [OECD] | 526 / 514 / 519 [OECD] |
| PISA 2022 Scores (Mathematics / Reading / Science) | 474 / 474 / 487. [OECD] | 527 / 515 / 528 [OECD] |
| PISA 2025 Scores (Mathematics / Reading / Science) | 458 / 456 / 483. France performed close to the OECD averages of 463 in mathematics, 461 in reading and 482 in science. [OECD] | 522 / 501 / 526 [OECD] |
| PISA Performance Trend 2000–2025 | France’s 2025 results were lower than in 2022 in mathematics and reading and about the same in science. The 2025 results were among France’s lowest PISA results across all three domains and were below the levels recorded in 2015. [OECD] | Korea has participated in every PISA cycle since 2000. Between 2022 and 2025, mathematics and science performance was about the same, while reading was lower. Compared with a decade earlier, mathematics and science were about the same in 2025, while reading was lower. [OECD] |
| Strongest Subject Area (PISA 2025) | Science (Score: 483), followed by mathematics at 458 and reading at 456. [OECD] | Science — 526 points. [OECD] |
Higher Education System
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Higher Education Institutions (Total) | More than 3,500 public and private higher education institutions. [Campus France] | 416 higher education institutions (2026). [KEDI] |
| Number of Universities (Research Universities) | 78 universities and communities of institutions. [Campus France] | 188 general universities in the official 2026 higher-education classification. [KEDI] |
| Number of Universities of Applied Sciences / Colleges | — | 126 junior colleges (2026). [KEDI] |
| Main Institution Types | Universities; Grandes Écoles; engineering schools; business and management schools; art and architecture schools; specialized institutions; IUT and STS programs. | General universities, universities of education, junior colleges, graduate-school universities, cyber universities and other specialized higher education institutions. [Korea MOE] |
| Tertiary Enrollment Share by Ownership | — | Public: 20.3% / independent private: 79.7% (2023). [OECD] |
| English-Taught Degree Programmes (Bachelor + Master, Total) | More than 1,600 programs taught in English. [Campus France] | — |
| Share of Tertiary Programmes Taught in National Languages (%) | — | — |
| Share of Tertiary Programmes Taught in English (%) | — | — |
| Main Global Ranking Used | Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2026. [Campus France] | QS World University Rankings 2027. [QS] |
| Universities in Top 100 (Selected Ranking) | 4 in ARWU 2026: Paris-Saclay University, PSL University, Sorbonne University and Université Paris Cité. [Campus France] | 4 in QS 2027: Seoul National University (#38), Yonsei University (#42), Korea University (#=52) and KAIST (#65). [QS] |
| Universities in Top 500 (Selected Ranking) | 17 in ARWU 2026, including the four institutions in the Top 100 and 13 additional institutions ranked from 101 to 500. [Campus France] | 17 South Korean universities are ranked within the top 500 in QS 2027. [QS] |
| Universities in Top 1000 (Selected Ranking) | 27 in ARWU 2026. [Campus France] | 31 South Korean universities are ranked within the top 1000 in QS 2027. [QS] |
| National Accreditation / QA Agency (Higher Education) | Hcéres (High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education), which evaluates higher education institutions, programs and research units. [Hcéres] | Korean University Accreditation Institute (KUAI), affiliated with the Korean Council for University Education, is the recognized institutional accreditor for four-year universities. [KCUE] |
| International Students (Total) | 443,500 foreign students were enrolled in French higher education in 2024/25. [Campus France] | 307,464 foreign students in higher education (2026), including 223,191 degree students and 84,273 non-degree students. [KEDI] |
| International Students Share of Total Tertiary Enrollment (%) | Approximately 15% in 2024/25. [Campus France] | 10.0% in 2026 (307,464 foreign students among 3,072,261 higher-education students). [KEDI] |
Education Costs (Indicative)
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Public University Tuition Fees – Domestic / Regional (Annual, Local Currency) | Approximately $210–$740 per year for standard public Bachelor’s, Master’s and engineering registration fees in 2026/27; some institutions and programs charge different amounts. [Campus France] | Approximately $3,180 average annual undergraduate tuition at national/public universities, based on the official national/public average of KRW 4,265,841.8. [Study in Korea] |
| Public University Tuition Fees – International / Non-EU (Annual, Local Currency) | Approximately $3,400–$4,700 per year for differentiated Bachelor’s and Master’s fees in 2026/27 at institutions applying the national fee schedule; exemptions and lower fees apply in some cases. [Campus France] | — |
| Typical Tuition Fees for English-Taught Programmes (Annual, Local Currency) | — | — |
| Language School Costs (Monthly, Local Currency) | — | — |
Major Education Updates & Policy Changes
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–2010: Key Updates & Reforms | ||
| 2010–2020: Key Updates & Reforms | ||
| 2020–2024: Key Updates & Reforms | ||
| 2025–2026: Key Updates & Reforms |
General Overview (Narrative)
| Category | France | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | France operates a centralized education system with national curricula, qualifications and teacher recruitment alongside local responsibility for school facilities and services. Compulsory instruction runs from age 3 to 16, followed by a training obligation through age 18. Primary and secondary education follow a 5+4+3 structure, with upper secondary students choosing general, technological or vocational pathways. Most students attend public schools, which are tuition-free. In PISA 2025, France scored 458 in mathematics, 456 in reading and 483 in science; mathematics and reading were lower than in 2022, while science was about the same. Higher education includes more than 3,500 institutions, including universities, Grandes Écoles, engineering schools, business schools and specialized institutions. France had 443,500 foreign students in higher education in 2024/25. Current changes include bac+3 teacher recruitment from the 2026 session, the first early mathematics examination for the baccalauréat in June 2026, and new mathematics programs introduced for seconde and première in the 2026/27 school year. | South Korea uses a 6-3-3-4 education structure with national policy led by the Ministry of Education and local administration carried out through 17 Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education and their local offices. Elementary and middle school provide nine years of compulsory education, while free high-school education has applied nationwide across all grades since 2021. The school year begins in March, and elementary, middle and high schools normally provide at least 190 instructional days. Korean is the main language of instruction. The system includes general and vocational high-school pathways, with vocational programmes accounting for 14.9% of upper-secondary enrollment in 2023. In PISA 2025, Korea scored 522 in mathematics, 501 in reading and 526 in science, with science recording the highest of the three scores. Higher education included 416 institutions in 2026, while the number of foreign students reached 307,464. Current school changes include the High School Credit System, the five-grade high-school internal ranking system for cohorts entering from 2025 and revised credit-completion rules from 2026. The Ministry is also expanding AI-related teaching support in schools and funding general AI curricula at selected universities. |