High School Credit System Graduation Credit Calculator

Overview

This calculator tracks progress toward the 192-credit graduation requirement that applies to Korean high school students under the 2022 revised national curriculum, split into 174 subject credits and 18 creative experiential activity credits. One credit equals sixteen 50-minute class sessions, so 192 credits amount to 2,560 hours over three years. Alongside the running credit total it also judges individual subjects: enter a subject's total number of sessions, absences and achievement rate and it reports whether the subject is passed or failed, and how many more sessions you can miss. Since the system took full effect for the 2025 first-year cohort, the common pitfall is having enough total credits while one subject quietly fails the per-subject thresholds.

Formula

High school credit system graduation and per-subject completion rules (2022 revised national curriculum, Korean Ministry of Education)

[Graduation credits]
Graduation = 192 cumulative credits over three years
  · 174 subject credits + 18 creative experiential activity credits
  · 1 credit = 16 sessions of 50 minutes → 192 credits = 3,072 sessions = 153,600 minutes = 2,560 hours
Credits remaining = 192 − credits earned
Subject credits remaining = 174 − subject credits earned
Activity credits remaining = 18 − activity credits earned
Credits per semester = credits remaining ÷ semesters remaining

[Per-subject completion — both conditions required]
① Attendance ≥ two thirds of that subject's class sessions
     Minimum attendance = ceil(total sessions × 2/3)
     Maximum allowed absences = total sessions − minimum attendance
② Achievement rate ≥ 40% (level E or above)
     Below 40% is recorded as level I, meaning not completed
Failing either condition means the credit is not awarded and the subject must be retaken through supplementary or substitute instruction.

Example: a 4-credit subject runs 4 × 16 = 64 sessions per semester. Minimum attendance is ceil(64 × 2/3) = 43 sessions, so up to 21 absences are allowed. With 6 absences and a 68% achievement rate, attendance is 58 of 64 (90.6%) and both thresholds are met, leaving room for 15 more absences.

How to Use

1. 1Enter the subject credits and creative experiential activity credits you have accumulated so far, which appear on your school record or the completion summary your school issues.
2. 2Enter how many semesters remain out of the six semesters in a three-year high school course.
3. 3Check how many credits are still missing against the 174 subject and 18 activity thresholds, and the average credits you need per remaining semester.
4. 4In the per-subject table, enter each subject's name, credit value, total class sessions, absences so far and achievement rate as a percentage. Use the add button for more rows and the trash icon to remove one.
5. 5Review each subject's pass or fail verdict together with the minimum attendance required, how many further absences you can afford and how far the achievement rate is from the 40% line.
6. 6Read the summary at the bottom for the number of failed subjects and the total credits you must recover through supplementary instruction.

Examples

Background

The high school credit system took full effect for first-year students in the 2025 school year under the 2022 revised national curriculum. The graduation standard moved from 204 units (180 subject units plus 24 activity units) to 192 credits (174 plus 18), cutting roughly 330 hours of instruction across the three years. The substantive change behind the renaming from units to credits is that seat time alone no longer earns a credit: a student must reach a minimum achievement standard. That is why two thresholds were introduced together — attendance of two thirds of a subject's sessions and an achievement rate of at least 40%, with anything below 40% recorded as level I and routed into supplementary or substitute instruction. Defining one credit as sixteen 50-minute sessions gives schools a common unit despite differing timetables. The detailed operation of supplementary instruction and the treatment of excused absences are set by provincial education offices' credit recognition guidelines and each school's academic record regulations.

Tips

• ✔Because one credit equals 16 sessions, a subject's session count is roughly its credit value times 16 — 64 sessions for a 4-credit subject, 48 for a 3-credit one. Use the actual figure from your teacher where possible, since school calendars shift the count slightly.
• ✔Attendance is counted per subject, not per school day. Missing a single day only adds an absence to the subjects timetabled that day, so subjects concentrated on one weekday reach the limit first.
• ✔The 40% achievement rate is the floor of level E. Anything below it is recorded as level I, so securing 40 raw points matters more than the relative grade when a subject is at risk.
• ✔Many schools offer supplementary tasks or classes before a failure is finalised. If your achievement rate is drifting toward 40%, raise it with the subject teacher during the semester rather than after grades close.
• ✔The 18 creative experiential activity credits cannot be replaced by subject credits. Exceeding 174 subject credits does not help if activity credits fall short of 18, so track the two separately.
• ✔If the credits needed per semester exceed about 34, you are outside the range a normal timetable can carry. At that point discuss supplementary instruction or recognised out-of-school learning with your homeroom teacher.

FAQ