OECD study ranks Korean 5-year-olds top at reading and numbers, but average with emotions and feelings

Korean 5-year-olds are the best in the world at reading and numbers — but when it comes to understanding other people's feelings and navigating social situations, they rank in the middle of the pack, according to a study published Wednesday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

“International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study,” also known as IELS, found that Korean 5-year-olds scored 545 points, the highest among surveyed countries, on a combined literacy and numeracy measure. Britain came in second at 525 points, followed by Azerbaijan at 501 and the Netherlands at 493.

On social and emotional development, Korea placed fifth, tied with Azerbaijan, at 501 points. Britain led that category with 511 points, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malta, both at 507. The social and emotional assessment measured whether children could understand others' feelings, engage in prosocial behavior and avoid disrupting those around them.

The IELS surveyed approximately 24,000 five-year-olds across eight countries and territories: Korea, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UAE, Azerbaijan, Brazil and Malta. In Korea, 2,894 children participated in 2024.

The study found a clear link between parental socioeconomic status and child development outcomes: Children whose parents had higher incomes and professional occupations performed better across all measured categories. 

Girls consistently outperformed boys on social and emotional development by a significant margin.

The OECD urged governments and families to focus from the earliest stages of life on closing the education gap that opens along socioeconomic lines. 

Its practical advice centered on frequency of reading from books; playing with numbers; painting and drawing; teaching letters; teaching numbers; teaching songs, rhymes and poems; taking children on visits; and creating regular opportunities for children to play with their friends at home.

“The combined effect of these activities was greater than the effects of parental education and family socioeconomic status,” said the report. 

The OECD also noted that children’s books may matter less as objects themselves than as indicators of rich parent-child reading engagement and a learning-focused home environment.

“While the number of children’s books in itself represents a resource rather than a direct interaction, the availability of these books reflects not just families’ economic resources, but also the variety and quality of the inputs for parent-child reading activities and parents’ valuing of such interactions.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY KIM MIN-SANG [[email protected]]