Education in east Asia varies widely, due to the cultural and political histories of each country. The communist governments of China, North Korea, and Vietnam mandate schooling differently from the limited democracy of Hong Kong and the parliamentary government of Japan. The history of the educational philosophies, systems, and curricula of seventeen East Asian countries are described here, with a timeline highlighting educational developments, and a special day in the life feature, a personal account of what it is like for a student to attend school in that country.

Gerard A. Postiglione is a Professor at the Wah Ching Center of Research in Education on China at the University of Hong Kong.
Jason Tan is an Associate Professor in the Policy and Leadership Studies Department at the National Institute of Education in Singapore.