Reform English Language and Knowledge Industry Related Education to Survive in the 21st Century

English has become the Global Communication Medium in the Knowledge-Based Economy: The V. S. Economy is facing difficulty after 10 years of sole prosperity in the world between 1991 and 2000. But there is no denial of the fact that the American economy has been the leader of the knowledge-based economy since early 1990`s. In the last decade, the United States enjoyed sustained prosperity and near perfect employment. Meanwhile, the core technology of the new economy such as IT and internet, have been shared by traditional industrial powers and many emerging industrial powers such as South Korea.<BR> Observers attribute the causes of the Japanese Economic problem in the last 10 years and the Asian economic crises between July 1997 and late 2000 to the lack of preparation for the knowledge economy. Others arrest that the powerful performance of the American economy since 1991 in contrast to the high unemployment rate of the OECD nations is a sign of different degrees of adaptation to the knowledge economy. These cases can be reinterpreted as different cultures initially prepared themselves for the new economy with different degrees of success. A leading economic newspapers in Korea, Maeil Economic Daily has been staging a campaign since 1997 claiming that the only way our of the Korean economic predicament is knowledge management.<BR> In parallel to the development of the new economy, the English language has been emerging as the dominant medium of global communication for the knowledge workers. They are the dominant players of the knowledge economy, fast replacing manual workers, the champions of the industrial economy of the last two hundred and thirty years. The quality and quantity of knowledge workers will determine national survival in the coming borderless competition. In turn, the knowledge workers` survival depends on the global network to constantly process knowledge and information employing English language in real time.<BR> Problems and Remedies of the Emerging Global Language Acquisition and Potential Cultural Clash : The new role of the English language is accompanied with new problem which should be addressed in new perspectives. One problem involves ways to effectively redesign traditional English education programs in regions where English is not a native tongue. A second problem is the massive social demands made by the use of the English accompanied by the potential conflict with the national identity because no language is free of culture.