. This chapter examines English education in South Korea from the late 1990s through the mid-2000s, a period shaped by the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis and the implementation of the Seventh National Curriculum. As economic restructuring intensified competition in education and employment, English proficiency became increasingly central to individual success and global mobility. The chapter highlights how the Seventh National Curriculum promoted learner-centered instruction, differentiated learning, and communicative competence, marking a formal departure from uniform, grammar-focused teaching. At the same time, information and communication technologies (ICT) began to influence English classrooms through multimedia materials and online resources. Despite these reforms, high-stakes examinations continued to constrain classroom practices, limiting the realization of communicative goals. The period also witnessed the rapid escalation of “English fever,” characterized by early English education, overseas study, and heavy reliance on private tutoring, which deepened socioeconomic disparities. Overall, the chapter argues that this era institutionalized both the aspirations and contradictions of communicative English education in South Korea.