History of English Teaching Programs in South Korea

Co-teaching programs in South Korea began in 1995 with the launch of the Native English-Speaking Teacher (NEST) policy and the English Program in Korea (EPIK). These programs were designed in response to the growing global demand for English proficiency, aiming to provide students across all regions in South Korea (i.e., both urban and rural) with access to communicative English instruction through a co-teaching model for language learning.

The EPIK program is at the forefront of these initiatives as it pairs native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) (from countries such as the U.S., UK, South Africa, and others) with Korean co-teachers in public schools. Other English teaching programs in Korea include GEPIK, SMOE, and other private options. The goal is to create collaborative teaching environments that promote cultural exchange and improve students’ English communication skills through immersive experiences.

Research on native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) in Asia has increasingly drawn attention to issues of marginalization, occupational well-being, and pedagogical mismatch, all of which hinder effective collaboration in co-teaching settings. Although co-teaching programs were designed to foster partnership, studies reveal that many classrooms still operate under a “one teaches, one assists” model (Moodie et al., 2023), with native teachers often relegated to limited roles such as pronunciation or conversation support. Furthermore, recent findings suggest that NESTs frequently report lower levels of occupational well-being compared to their Korean co-teaching counterparts. 

Despite policy intentions, long-standing challenges—such as unclear role expectations, cultural disconnects, and emotional strain—continue to impact the effectiveness of co-teaching in Korea.