Bachelor's Degree Examination for Self-Education(BDES) makes it possible to obtain a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 without attending a regular college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 or university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 by passing the examination administered by the government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

.

The Constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

 of the Republic of Korea states the government should promote lifelong education. To actualize this, "the Law of Bachelor’s Degree Examination for Self-Education" was established on the 7th of April in 1990.

History

• 1990 April 7, Promulgation of the Act of Bachelor's Degree Examination for Self-Education (Statute
  Statute
  A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
  
   No. 4227)
• 1990 June 20, Establishment of the Department of the Degree Approval at the National Board of Educational Evaluation
• 1992, The 1st Conferment of Bachelor's Degrees
• 1998 January 1, Transfer of the control to Korea National Open University
  Korea National Open University
  Korea National Open University is a national university of South Korea, which provides distance learning programs in Korean for more than 180,000 students. It was established in 1972 as a branch faculty of Seoul National University, with 2-year junior college courses...
  
  (KNOU)
• 2008 February 15, Transfer of control to National Institute for Lifelong Education(NILE) according to "the amendment of the Lifelong Education Act"

Major

• Korean Language & Literature
• English Language & Literature
• Business Administration
• Public Administration
• Law
• Computer Science
• Home Economics
• Childhood Education (Only 3rd and final exam)
• Nursing (Only final exam)
• Chinese Language & Literature (Closed)
• Mathematics (Closed)
• Agriculture (Closed)

Three major fields(Chinese Language & Literature, Mathematics, and Agriculture) were closed because of the decrease in the number of applicants. But, those who already passed more than a course in the three major fields are still allowed to apply for their further examinations.

Childhood education is established only in the 3rd and the final examination and Nursing is established only in the final examination because it needs practicum

Practicum

A practicum is a college course, often in a specialized field of study, that is designed to give students supervised practical application of a previously or concurrently studied theory. Practicums are common for education and social work majors...

.

Process

There are 4 exams for obtaining a bachelor's degree. Applying each exam needs qualification. For example, a person who is eligible for applying 2nd exam don't need to pass 1st exam.

• 1st exam: Qualifying Examination for Liberal Arts
• 2nd exam: Qualifying Examination for Major-Basic
• 3rd exam: Qualifying Examination for Major-Advanced
• Final exam: Comprehensive Examination

Each exam is once in a year. So it takes a year at least to obtain a bachelor's degree.

External links

• National Institute for Lifelong Education (Republic of Korea)