[neop]

Education in South Korea is often cited as the reason for their economic growth, but that doesn't quite match up, as discussed in this article:

http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/0000000CA640.htm

There's also this article which talks about the downsides of their focus on education (for example, 40% of graduates are unemployed four months after leaving university):

http://www.economist.com/node/21541713

My personal take is that their economic growth and rise in test scores are both the result of the way their culture is set up. South Koreans tend to be extremely competitive and live under constant pressure to outperform their peers. For students this means that they study harder and for longer periods of time to do well in tests which makes them get some of the best scores around the world. For working people this means working an unhealthy amount of hours (South Korea often ranks at the top of the charts when it comes to measuring working hours) which is the most likely explanation for their economic growth. Both of these facts also contribute to South Korea having one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Furthermore, I think there is a key point when it comes to education. South Korea is doing great at tests because that's what they're training for. Their education system centers around doing well in tests, not necessarily about learning the right concepts. There is a very big focus on memorization and they care more about doing well on a test than on actually learning. It is not uncommon for them to focus on memorizing previous exam questions to get the right answer rather than actually understanding the concepts to be able to correctly answer questions.