Korea is one of the leading countries in ICT field. The rate of ICT spread has been increasing very rapidly. Korea has the world's highest broadband Internet access penetration. In 2005, 72% of Korean population is using the internet, and the diffusion of PC in numbers is 54% (Fig.1). These are remarkable achievements compared with that KOREA is an upper-middle-income economy on the basis of GDP per capita. ITU analyzed the Korean case and presented several factors that made Korea a big success in this field beyond wealth. These are factors: the government support, high rate of rural residency, competition among operators and technologies in 2000s, and game industry.

Fig. 1 PC and Internet diffusion in Korea

II. Technology Adoption in Mathematics Education

1. Cyber Learning System

Korea's first comprehensive educational information service, EDUNET (http://www.edunet4u.net) was launched in 1996 to operate the cyber learning system, and it has been managed by the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS, http://www.keris.or.kr). According to KERIS, 80% of all teachers and 41% of all students had subscribed to the EDUNET until 2003. ICT-based teaching and learning materials such as electronic textbooks and tests up to the secondary level for each school subject are provided through the EDUNET for self-directed cyber learning to reduce private tutoring expenses and strengthen public education. Most resources for mathematics education is mostly in tutoring type, and in EDUNET, computer is used as a result checker or a tool for demonstration/ communication rather than a tool for problem solving.

2. Curriculum, Textbooks, and Tests

Korean mathematics curriculum is controlled by the government. It has been changed twice in 1992 and 1997 and started to be implemented from 1994 and 2000, respectively. The technological perspectives that calculators and computers may help mathematical learning was reflected in the 6th mathematics curriculum. And more active adoption of technology in mathematics teaching is explicitly recommended at the 7th National Curriculum of Mathematics (MOE, 1997).

Since the extent of technology adoption was one of the criteria of the official's certification for the 7th mathematics curriculum, all textbooks include some mathematics activities using calculators or computers. But most activities with ICT in mathematics textbooks use ICT as a tool for routine operations and visual demonstrations of mathematical principles and hinder their full capacities. One of the reasons is that the contents or learning sequences of the 7th curriculum are not changed much in accordance with technology adoption.

In Korea, no calculators are allowed in mathematics exam. Students have to solve problems without calculators in regular examinations as well as Korean Scholastic Ability Tests(KSAT) for the college entrance. The answers of these test items are not that complicated; paper and pencils suffice. Using calculators is time consuming.

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