• Korean Journal of Comparative Education
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.29-52
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• 2018

Social changes have added to new challenges to adult literacy policies in Korea. These changes not only require most adults to improve their literacy skills, but also require them to learn new competencies. In this context, this study aims to examine whether the Korean literacy policy has properly responded to the new literacy needs. For this purpose, this study not only aims to examine the adult literacy policies of UK and Australia, but also plans to suggest implications for the Korean government. The findings of the study are as follow. Both UK and Australian governments have developed literacy education funding programs, performance management system, and professional development program for literacy educators, all of which are needed for the provision of high quality adult literacy programs. The Korean government has also implemented the similar system since it formulated the adult literacy policy in 2006. However, there are significant differences between the Korean case and those of Australia and UK. Where both UK and Australia governments target every adult who has needs for literacy education, the Korean government only targets the poorly-educated elderly. Accordingly, the Korean government has failed to accommodate various literacy needs of adults. As a way of addressing the limitations of the Korean policy, the government should innovate the adult literacy policy in a way that it helps every adult develop knowledge and skills at anytime and anywhere.