International Baccalaureate (IB) Transforms Teaching and Assessment... Pyoseon High School Opens Its Classrooms to Educators Nationwide

【Financial News | Jeju = Jeong Yong-bok, Reporter】 International Baccalaureate (IB) education, which moves beyond a model in which teachers explain knowledge and students memorize answers by incorporating questions and inquiry, discussion and writing, and experiments into both classes and assessments, was showcased to education officials from across the country in a public high school classroom in Jeju Province.
Pyoseon High School held the “2026 IB DP World School Open Day” on the 18th, with approximately 80 education officials from inside and outside the province as well as parents and guardians of enrolled students in attendance.
Rather than holding a conventional school information session, the event focused on opening actual classrooms to demonstrate how IB teaching and assessment differ from those at typical high schools.
IB is an international education program operated by the International Baccalaureate, a nonprofit educational foundation headquartered in Switzerland. The Diploma Programme (DP), designed for students aged 16 to 19, consists of six subject groups and three core components: Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the Extended Essay (EE), and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS).
The differences in IB classes are evident not only in the curriculum but also in the assessment system. Most DP subjects conclude with external examinations, while classes also include various internal assessments, such as presentations, projects, reports, experiments and inquiry activities. Rather than simply testing whether students can memorize isolated facts, the system assesses how they analyze information, construct arguments and solve problems.
The Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education also divides DP assessment into internal and external assessment. Internal assessment includes presentations, projects, reports, practical work and inquiry activities, while external assessment is conducted primarily through written and essay-based examinations graded by examiners appointed by the IB headquarters. Students can earn both a Korean high school graduation qualification and an IB diploma.
On the morning of the event, Pyoseon High School opened second-year DP classes in English B, History, Physics, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches, Language and Literature, Chemistry and Biology.
After the open classes, participating teachers shared their experiences designing lessons and assessments for each subject and held a question-and-answer session. During a comprehensive curriculum meeting, teachers who had observed the classes exchanged views on how the IB DP is operated and how it can be applied in schools.
Pyoseon High School’s IB program holds considerable symbolic significance in the introduction of IB education to public schools in Jeju Province.
The Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education and the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education introduced a Korean-language DP program into public education in 2019 in cooperation with the IB. Pyoseon High School became the first public school in Jeju Province to receive IB World School authorization in 2021 and began fully operating DP classes for second- and third-year high school students the following year.

Pyoseon High School is currently the only high school IB World School operating the DP in Jeju Province. According to the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education’s figures as of March this year, there are 18 IB schools in the province: 12 elementary schools, five middle schools and one high school. These include certified IB World Schools as well as candidate and interested schools.
At Pyoseon High School, first-year students complete a preparatory course centered on common subjects in the national curriculum before undertaking IB education in their second and third years. Students select six subjects from Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences and Mathematics, study them for two years, and complete TOK, EE and CAS as well.
IB’s prominence in Jeju Province also stems from the policy goal of strengthening the educational competitiveness of general high schools in rural township areas. The plan was to establish a public education system centered on Pyoseon High School that connects IB curricula across elementary, middle and high schools, allowing students in the region to receive internationally recognized education and assessment.
IB, however, is not a cure-all model that solves every problem in the existing school system. It requires long-term teacher training and expertise in lesson and assessment design, while students face the academic burden of completing inquiry assignments, an extended essay, and both internal and external assessments. As IB education expands, teacher recruitment, assessment expertise and its connection to domestic university admissions must also be carefully considered.
This is also why Pyoseon High School opened its classrooms to outsiders. Rather than explaining IB’s achievements through the program’s name or university admissions results, the school sought to have its approach examined firsthand: how students ask questions and conduct inquiries in actual classes, and how teachers assess their work.
In the afternoon, the school also held an “Education Community Day” for parents and guardians of enrolled students. They toured the dormitories and educational activity spaces and observed classes. An IB DP workshop on applying to overseas universities provided information about university admissions.
Hong Il-sim, principal of Pyoseon High School, said, "We hope this will be an opportunity to share examples of IB DP curriculum, teaching and assessment operations with IB school officials nationwide and to facilitate communication between parents and the school about educational activities."


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