Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T20:11:09.429Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A Reflection on Practical Training in Legal Education in South Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

Soogeun OH*
Affiliation:
Ewha Womans University Law School, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

The emphasis on practical training in legal education has come to the fore in many countries. It is little different in South Korea, where curricula for legal education now include a range of courses categorized as “practical training.” The author questions whether the subjects taught under the title “practical training” effectively prepare students for practice in the real world. Education in legal theory and practical training are connected, which makes the categorization of courses specifically aimed at practical training inappropriate. More emphasis should be given to instilling practice awareness throughout all of legal education. It is argued that, in order to develop professional skills, incorporating practice awareness throughout the entire legal education curricula is important—that is, not limiting such skills to practical training courses, but integrating them throughout the teaching of legal theory.

Type
Legal Education in East Asia
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Dean, Ewha Womans University Law School, Seoul, Korea. President, Korean Association of Law Schools. Correspondence to Soogeun Oh, Ewha Womans University Law School, Ewhayeodaegil 52, Seodaemungu, Seoul, 03760, Korea. E-mail address: [email protected]. The author is grateful to Prof Setsuo Miyazawa, who organized the session on East Asian Law and Society at the Annual conference of the Association of American Law Schools in 2016, where the original version of this paper was presented. This work was supported by the Ewha Womans University Research Fund of 2015.

References

Han, Sanghee (2008) “Educational Ideals and Direction for Professional Law Schools,” in K. Kim, ed., Law Schools and Legal Education, Seoul: AcaNet, 7982.Google Scholar
Kwon, Youngjun (2008) “Civil Procedure: Legal Theory, Doctrine and Practice.” 49 Seoul National University Law Review 313354.Google Scholar
Lim, Ji Won (2012) “The Education of Civil Law: A Purely Subjective Model Based on Personal Experiences.” 132 Justice 73102.Google Scholar
Maxeiner, James (2009) “Integrating Practical Training and Professional Legal Education: Three Questions for Three Systems,” in J. Klabbers & M. Sellers, eds., The Internationalization of Law and Legal Education, The Hague: Springer Netherlands, 3739.Google Scholar
Park, Jun (2015) “Legal Theory and Practical Training at Professional Law Schools,” presented at the 120 Years of Contemporary Legal Education, SNU Law Research Institute Symposium, Seoul National University, 4 September 2015.Google Scholar
Sullivan, William M., Colby, Anne Wegner, Judith W. Bond, Lloyd& Shulman, Lee S. (2007) Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law, London: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar