Junior college education in Korea started principally as a vocational training program in 1960s mainly for enforcement of industrial intermediate technical manpower. Since first Ministry of Education of Korea approved allied health professional education program with 2-year course started in 1963, the role played by the force at various fields related with medical and health sciences has become one of the indispensable factors to bring up standard of health, and eventually dedicating the nation´s improvement of welfare indices.
However, the education itself has been staggering in a way because of monopoly policy of the government and self restriction of the educators involved in the junior college level of education, Another reason was that, like in any other countries, higher education, 4-year college, should go ahead of the 2-year program in every respect. Nonetheless, junior college education program has been gradually but very slowly upgraded to meet the standard set by the Ministry, and after 30 years of hard try, the balance of supply and demand of the forces became closely equivalent. Curricula of some fields were extended to 3 years from original 2 years, and even bachelor´s degree along with graduate courses have been initiated. Still major working forces engaged in the country´s medical and health professions are junior college graduates with almost no opportunity to transfer for advanced educational institution due to the barrier set by the law for the time being.
The restriction made the quality of the entire forces being limited and disadvantageous to cope with the ever developing professional technology of the world.
To enrich the educational and vocational programs of the allied health science, the factors mentioned below should be considered seriously.
1. The transfer opportunity for junior collage graduate to higher educational institutions must be open.
2. The educational institutions should be given more liberty to operate and develop their own institutions.
3. To upgrade the quality of the forces, specialty, sub-specialty and grade cerificate system of the profession must be established by the appropriate organizations.
4. Evaluation system of institutions, students, and teaching must be strengthened as one of the means to maintain higher quality of the education.
5. The curriculum development programs for the profession should be based upon the priciple of multidisciplinary program to cover wide range of modern needs.
6. For their recognition and achievement in education, the proper degree should be awarded to the junior college graduates. Presently, only diploma is given to them.
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