Sparked by global capitalism's demand for new knowledge and new commodities, as well as new logistical systems to deliver them, the nature of education has changed significantly. Universities, in striving to become a part of this knowledge society, have focused on responding to these demands, at the expense of the humanities and social sciences.

The dominance of this way of thinking, primarily a product of Western educational thought, has clearly affected approaches to education in the East. The originalities, authenticities, and unique perspectives of the East have failed to get enough attention, subsumed by the focus on science and technology. However many education systems are still endeavouring to capture some of the indigenous and authentic culture of their home countries, incorporating national cultural ideals, even in subjects with a primarily vocational focus. Although the drive for scientific knowledge has led to a degree of standardisation and convergence, cultural differences still play a role in the education theory and policy of different countries.

This book examines these cultural differences between different East Asian and South Asian countries, with chapters ranging from historical educational analysis to contemporary re-interpretations of the construction of society and education in the East. This book was originally published as a special issue of Comparative Education.

SoongHee Han is Professor of Lifelong Learning in the Department of Education at Seoul National University, South Korea. He is the president-elect (2016-2018) of The Korean Society of Lifelong Education.　His academic work has focused on developing a new platform for discourses on educational theory, especially centred on the framework of lifelong learning, learning societies, and complex learning ecologies. He has published articles in journals such as the International Review of Education, the International Journal of Lifelong Education, and the Asia Pacific Education Review.

Peter Jarvis is Emeritus Professor of Continuing Education at the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. He is the editor of The Routledge International Handbook of Learning (with Mary Watts, 2012). He is the author of Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society (Routledge, 2008), a trilogy of volumes on lifelong learning; Learning to be a Person in Society (Routledge, 2009); and Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: Theory and Practice (Routledge, 4^th ed., 2010). He is also founding editor of The International Journal of Lifelong Education - now in its 30^th year.