Korean literacy up, Korea finds.

The results of a basic literacy test found that only 1.7% of Korean adults are illiterate. The National Institute of Korean Language said it was the first such survey since 1970, when adult illiteracy was at 7%. They sound pleased.

An academy official said global average illiteracy is 60.8 percent in underdeveloped countries, 10.9 percent in developing nations, and about 2.3 percent in developed nations. "Therefore, we can say that Korea has joined the group of advanced nations in terms of basic literacy rate."

Jesus Christ, what 5,000 years of history can do.

The UN keeps track of this kind of thing more frequently than South Korea apparently, and while a 99% literacy rate is awesome, Korea still ranks behind "advanced" countries like Latvia, Poland, Armenia, Cuba, Tajikistan, and Canada. That's because Korea has a sad history I think, unlike Latvia, Poland, Armenia, Cuba, or Tajikistan.

Because the Korean alphabet is so scientific easy to learn, and is designed specifically for Korean, it's no surprise so many can read and write. That latest Chosun Ilbo article doesn't talk about the degree to which they're literate, though. Other studies have found that reading comprehension is down, as is knowledge of the Chinese characters that were used before Hangeul and which form the foundation of the language.