Introduction | How is the 'Future of Learning' Changing?

Part 1: The Meaning of Studying Changes

01 The Future of Learning Tools
In the age of automatic machine translation, should you still learn a foreign language? | Why you should still learn a foreign language | Pros and Cons of Coding Education | The Real Reason to Learn Code | Understand the Pros and Cons of Digital Textbooks | Why Open Online Lectures Fail | Why They Banned PowerPoint

02 The Future of Universities
The College Entrance Exam Competition Will Change in a Low Birthrate Society | The Distinction Between Liberal Arts and Sciences Disappears | The Secrets of Professor Choi Jae-cheon, a Writing Scientist | Universities in Crisis | The Way We Recruit Talent Is Changing | New Universities Are Coming | We Must Learn How to Learn

03 The Future of Jobs
What's the shelf life of my job? | Emerging and declining jobs in Korea | The paradox of jobs that are currently booming | The generation that lives the longest but has the most job insecurity | The concept of work is changing | What is the future of doctors, pharmacists, and lawyers? The paradox of professional occupations | Is the future of professional occupations truly bleak? | "I've already decided on my career path" | What kind of education should I pursue?

Part 2 Future Abilities

04 Creativity
The Demand for Creativity | Misconceptions About Creativity | Creativity is 'Connection' | How to Make Creative Connections | Creativity is 'Curiosity' | 'Safe Base' for Fostering Curiosity | Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset | Creativity is a 'Square Peg'

05 Critical Thinking
The Ultimate Goal of Education | Why Do We Struggle with Critical Thinking? | Why Teaching Critical Thinking Is Difficult | The 'Four Idols' That Obsess Human Cognition | Understanding Cognitive Instincts and Error Propensities | Traps Targeting 'Cognitive Misers' | Why Fake News is So Dangerous in Developed Countries | The Fool with the One Ring | Four Tools for Critical Thinking | Reading: The Beginning of Critical Thinking | Critical Thinking is an 'Attitude to Life'

06 Self-control
The Truth and Misconceptions about the Marshmallow Test | The Marshmallow Test's Reversal | An Environment That Develops Patience | 'Small Happiness' and 'YOLO': A Generation That Can't Delay Gratification | Being Patient in the Digital World | How to Use Your Mind as You Will | The 'Power of Habit' Strategy | The 'Power of Mind' Strategy | How to Avoid Being a Slave to Desire | The Seven Elements of Happiness | Secrets of Life from a Death Camp Survivor

07 Collaborative skills
What Google Discovered Through Human Resources Data Analysis | People Are Stronger Together | 'Complex Problems' Can't Be Solved Alone | Why Did Apple Build Its Donut-Shaped Headquarters? | We Must Learn to Learn Together | Centaur's Guide to the Future of Collaboration | Empathy, a Rarity in the Digital Environment | Communication Begins with Empathy

Part 3: How to Determine Your Own Future

08 People who discovered their inner motivation
What Motivates You | The Paradox of Compensation | Entering Your Dream College, But Facing "College Sophomore Syndrome" | Inner Motivation is Created | The Power to Endure 10,000 Hours | Unchanging Preferred Career Rankings and Korean Society | "Self-Awareness" is the Most Practical Knowledge | The Path to Self-Discovery: "Sudden Change" | "Endureable Trials" and "Learned Helplessness" | The Secrets of "Masters of Life"

09 Starting Point and Ultimate Goal of Learning
Where do I stand in "Navigating the Fog"? | The Secret of the Top 0.1% of Students | Ability that Children Have but Computers Don't | Metacognition: The Control Panel and Steering Wheel of Learning | "Discovering Ignorance" That Enables Learning | Why It's Difficult to Develop Metacognitive Abilities | Self-Objectification: Boosting Metacognition | Metacognition: The "Licorice of Pharmacy"

The Future Changed by Robots and Artificial Intelligence
What to learn and what to teach

“Korean students waste more than 10 hours a day at school and academies, studying for knowledge that will not be needed in the future and for jobs that will not exist.” World-renowned futurist Alvin Toffler expressed concern about Korea’s entrance exam-oriented education system and emphasized educational reform suitable for the 21st century.
Since the shock of AlphaGo shook Korean society in March 2016, attempts at reform have been made in the Korean education sector, which was late to recognize the crisis.
In preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Ministry of Education has made coding education, which covers the language of digital and artificial intelligence, mandatory starting in the 2018 school year.
In the private education market, coding academies are rapidly increasing, fanning anxiety with aggressive marketing.
Conversely, there is also a strong argument that there is no need to learn coding.
Andreas Schleicher, OECD Education Director, criticized coding education as a waste of time, saying, “We’re teaching coding to three-year-olds now, and by the time they graduate from college, they won’t even remember what coding is.”
What choices should students and parents make as they face the prospect of college and career advancement? Should they learn coding, or should they forgo it?

Currently, the hottest questions in the Korean education field
Realistic answers and concrete advice

Having personally met countless parents, teachers, and students who are feeling a sense of crisis about the changes brought about by artificial intelligence and robots, the author examines the numerous pressing questions raised in the educational field one by one and presents practical alternatives.
In an age where Google's real-time translation earphones, "Pixel Buds," Naver's translation app, "Papago," and high-quality translation apps that instantly translate menus by pointing the camera at them, is it really necessary to learn a foreign language? Why should we learn a foreign language, and how can we motivate students? Is it right to immediately introduce online video lectures (online lectures), digital textbooks, and various educational apps to the classroom? If so, have these smart devices actually helped enhance learning in the classroom? While the fundamental assumptions of traditional education and learning are being shaken, we still tend to view the future and make choices based on methods and standards that were prevalent in the past.
This book focuses on the most pressing questions in the current Korean education landscape, guiding those struggling with anxiety and a sense of crisis to make wise choices.


Creativity, critical thinking, self-control, collaboration…
How to Develop "Soft Skills"—The Future's Abilities

Is Korean education competitive amidst global and macroeconomic changes surrounding the educational environment?
Our country's entrance exam-oriented education system has long ranked students based on their ability to guess the correct answer, but this is bound to change in the future.
"Hard skills" that can be replaced by machines, such as reading comprehension, typing and programming skills, math skills, and machine operation skills, are not included in the competencies for the future.
Future education must be directed toward fostering an attitude and ability to embrace complexity and unpredictability without fear.
It's about developing 'soft skills' such as creativity, critical thinking, self-control, and collaboration.
This book examines the roots of South Korea's education system, which has neglected "soft skills," which are more difficult to specifically assess, compared to "hard skills," and meticulously examines what kind of educational environment must be created at home and at school to foster these abilities in students.
Furthermore, we explore ways to discover and develop soft skills, uniquely human abilities, across fields such as humanities, philosophy, psychology, and science.


The essence of study that does not change even as times change,
We must learn 'metacognition'

The author views 'metacognition', the ability to understand what one knows and what one does not know, as the core and most powerful tool for studying.
People with developed metacognition have excellent learning abilities.
Because you can objectively assess your own condition, you can know what to study within a limited time, reflect on the meaning of what you are doing, receive feedback, and continuously grow.
If you have the metacognitive ability to step back and look at a problem and find its essence, you can find solutions no matter how unfamiliar the environment or new problem you encounter.
However, metacognition is the most advanced cognitive ability that humans possess, and not many people are able to use it freely.
This book presents specific methods for fostering metacognitive abilities through education and learning, based on various statistics, experiments, and research.


The future is full of uncertainty and volatility, so studying with short-term goals and visible results is very likely to fail.
Only those who understand the fundamental values ​​that remain unchanged even in an uncertain future and constantly study toward them can achieve fruition and happiness.
Cutting-edge technology and an uncertain future once again call into question the essence of learning.
We need to learn a new way of studying that looks beyond immediate test scores and college admissions to a future 10 years in the future.
This book will provide the answer.