This research explored how American policies on Korean Education was planned, adapted and applied during the period of U. S. Military Government, 1945-1948. In order to obtain and analyze the necessary data conceptual-logical analysis, ethnography and historiography were employed. The researcher interviewed thirteen knowledeable informants in order to test interpretation of the data in light of their first hand experiences and reminiscences. American policies on Korean education was mainly planned by American officials who served in Korean Military Government, some committees which were composed of Korean leaders only, American advisory members only or each side members, and educational survey mission to Korea who were appointed jointly by the department of State and the War Department. American educational policies were adopted in the areas of educational ideologies, teaching and learning processes, and educational administrative policy. The Koreans become aware of American educational theories, practies and values through Koreans and Americans. However, there bound to be some contradictions and conflicts in the processes of applying American educational policies. All American educational principles could not be applied in the Korean educational situation during the USAMGIK era. Korean educators could not completely accomplish American educational policies. American educational policies, however, had a positive impact on Korean's awareness and sensitivity to democratic principles. Although the American educational concepts did have observable effects in the Korea during the decades that followed the USAMGIK era, there are other aspects that remained relatively little affected. American educational principles were based on ideological assumptions that were not shared by many Koreans. For example, the highly centralized administrative structure of Korean education had remained with few effort to decentralize or provide for local control of the public schools. Also, considerable instruction is still formal, with little activity or experimentation. Thus, the American intervention in Korean education produced many desirable results, but in other aspects it did not contribute very much to Korean educational policies and practices.