The Effectiveness of “Happiness-Oriented” Education Reforms in China, Japan and South Korea

Intense academic competition has long characterized East Asian societies, which brings about health and cost issues for students and their family. Japan, China, and South Korea have recently begun implementing burden-relieving policies framed with a focus on student happiness: Japan has Yutori Education, South Korea has Free Semester, while China has recently begun implementing Dual Reduction Policy (DRP). All three sought to pull children back from the exam machine by cutting class hours, homework, or off-campus tutoring. This study systematically reviews these reforms since 2000, examining their rationales, key features, effects on students’ well-being, unintended consequences, and stakeholders’ perceptions of the happiness-competition trade-off. The outcome demonstrates the similar pattern across all three countries: students in the three countries experienced a reduction in mental health issues in the short term. China had the most notable reduction, Japan the least, and Korea fell in between. Yet, worries about academic performance, shadow education, and the overall widening of inequality were common across all three countries. The study concludes that for DRP to avoid Japan’s abrupt reversal and Korea’s marginalisation, it must simultaneously advance evaluation reform, equitable compensation mechanisms, teacher workload relief, and a broader cultural redefinition of success.