The purpose of this study is to examine diverse theoretical views of credential society and find out the general foundations for explaining Korean society. It was suppooed that the phenomena of credential society are historiclly associated with both social structure and individuals. I found several facts in this review, these are as follow: First, the approaches choose their own linkage and level of disscussion, i. e., personal needs, status group-industrial structure, class relation, the state, culture, the late development-world system etc. This means that each takes a different view on 'what is the most important agent of the phonomena of credential society'. Second, each approach presuposes the different view about society and schooling. For example, each understood differently whether society has rulling-ruled relationship or not, whether society is self-regulated or not, and whether schooling in capitalist society serves to ruling class or reflects the general will. Third, also in their emphasizing aspects, especially in structural approaches, each emphasizes differently political, economical, or cultural aspects, In short, epistemological foundations are different. Thus it seems that we nero to have obvious understanding of existing society, schooling, and individuls. It is true that every approach has more or less applicabilities. But because of specificities of our society, their arguments are not wholly applicable. And the identity of Korean credential society will not be revealed by displaying a numer of fragmental facts. Rather, we must notice that specificities of our society function as the stuructured 'pattern' or 'syndrome'. These Specificities require to over come rigidity and limits of universal logic of existing theories. Thus, in disscussing of Korean credential society, as we focus on the fact that its phenomena are appeared in inter-regulative relation between individuals and social structure, the imprtant things for us to search are what is the epistemological system pursuing more schooling and what is social condition to regulate epistemological system of individuals. it seems that the historicity of these phenomena was determined by dynamic relationship between them. It is necessary for next studies to elucidate these problems.