The Jeonbuk Education Newspaper reported that despite Jeonbuk Superintendent Seo Geoseok's emphasis on academic improvement and promise of enhancing the quality of education, the continuous decline in the competitiveness of Jeonbuk students in Seoul National University's early admission process shows a discrepancy between his public commitment and the actual policy outcomes.

The number of Jeonbuk students accepted in the early admission process of Seoul National University was 46 in the 2022 academic year during the term of the previous superintendent. However, since Superintendent Seo took office, the number has decreased for four consecutive years to 31 in 2023, 20 in 2024, and 18 in 2025. Compared to 2022, the number of successful applicants in 2025 has decreased by more than half, indicating a significant decline in Jeonbuk's academic competitiveness.

On the other hand, in Chungbuk, which has a similar educational environment to Jeonbuk, the number of successful applicants increased to 64 in 2024 and 78 in 2025. Chungbuk succeeded in strengthening the competitiveness of both top-tier and mid-tier schools by producing successful applicants from various high schools (approximately 37 schools) within the region. This contrasts sharply with Jeonbuk.

After these results, Superintendent Seo mentioned that "we should diligently support so that the School Life Record (Student Record) can be recorded substantively for students who want early admission." However, if his words are to be taken at face value, it can be interpreted that the decline in the competitiveness of Jeonbuk students in early admission was due to a lack of diligence in recording the Student Record by teachers. This is a misdiagnosis of the essence of the problem and can be seen as a poor response that does not offer a fundamental solution.

Therefore, in order to verify whether the difference in Seoul National University entrance exam scores between Jeonbuk and Chungbuk is simply due to the difference in Student Record recording, we compared the curricula. Chungbuk started operating the exploratory subjects on a semester basis from 2022, while Jeonbuk still maintains the annual system. In the semester system, the amount of learning can be adjusted to eight or fewer subjects per semester, it can respond flexibly to career changes, and it can actively utilize performance evaluations. On the other hand, in the annual system, students have to learn the same subjects throughout the year, and it is difficult for students to engage in self-directed learning due to the excessive burden of internal assessments and exam preparation. It is highly likely that Chungbuk created a favorable environment for early admission through the operation of the semester system.

Also, Chungbuk provides intensive career counseling from the second semester of the first grade to help students make choices that match their aptitude and career. On the other hand, Jeonbuk still adheres to the annual system, limiting students' choices and putting a heavy burden on internal assessments. This has resulted in a gap in the operation of exploratory subjects between Jeonbuk and Chungbuk.

For reference, in August 2022, at the beginning of Superintendent Seo's term, the Jeonbuk Education Newspaper published an article titled "Student-Centered Curriculum Organization, Semester System or Annual System?" [Link to the article]

One of the important factors in college admissions is the selection method of regional national universities. Comparing the 2025 admissions process of Chungbuk University and Jeonbuk University, Chungbuk University selects 29.5% through the comprehensive student record selection, while Jeonbuk University selects only 14-16% through the comprehensive student record selection. In particular, for the pre-medical department, Chungbuk University selects 18% through the comprehensive student record selection, but Jeonbuk University selects only 3%. The remaining 97% are selected absolutely dependent on the college entrance exam or internal assessments. Furthermore, there are no restrictions on entering medical school even if you do not take essential subjects such as life sciences or chemistry in medical school.

Overall, Jeonbuk education is not providing students with opportunities to enhance their competitiveness in early admission. This is not a simple policy difference, but it means that Jeonbuk students have been deprived of the opportunity to have a self-directed learning environment using the semester system. As the admission process of regional universities continues to focus on the college entrance exam and internal assessments, the motivation to introduce the semester system at the school site has decreased. Therefore, the Jeonbuk Office of Education did not hesitate to introduce the semester system, but it failed to establish a strategy considering the fundamental competitiveness of students in college admissions.

The Jeonbuk Office of Education should now fully introduce the semester system curriculum. The 2022 revised curriculum states that 'it is organized and operated so that students can complete subjects on a semester basis,' making the operation of the semester system a principle. However, it is difficult to expect that the academic gap will be resolved simply by changing the curriculum. As Chungbuk introduced the semester system first and has consistently managed academic achievement, Jeonbuk also needs continuous improvement and evaluation.

In particular, there is a concept of 'the effect of the first move.' This refers to the benefit gained by black going first in Go, and proactive response is also important in education. Although it is difficult for Jeonbuk to catch up with the advantages that Chungbuk has gained through the transition to the semester system in a short period of time, it must take action now. In recent academic achievement surveys, Chungbuk showed a balanced distribution of achievement in major subjects such as mathematics, while Jeonbuk focused on securing internal assessment differentiation, creating a large learning gap and difficulty in adapting to the achievement evaluation system.

In the end, to enhance Jeonbuk's educational competitiveness, comprehensive changes are needed, not just the problem of the Student Record writing method, but the operation of the curriculum and the college entrance examination. It will only be meaningful when the Jeonbuk Office of Education takes active support to overcome the difficulties of the educational field.