[WORD_ON_THE_WEB] 'The public education system is broken'

CNN reported Saturday that Korea is the most expensive country in which to raise a child.

According to analysis released by Jefferies Financial Group using data from YuWa Population Research, Korea is the most expensive country in which to raise a child based on percentage of per capita GDP. China comes in second, followed by Italy.

The report concludes that Korea and China top the list because of excessive education and childcare costs. In both countries, parents are also expected to bear the brunt of university tuition fees, rather than students taking out loans to pay back in later life.

#private_education_is_the_problem
“These are strange times that we live in, where a student can’t even follow a lecture without private education. The public education system is broken. Education fees are the second factor that breaks an average citizen’s back, following housing prices.”
“The education costs are the number one problem in Korea. I think my family will have at least 30 percent more money to spare if we didn’t have to spend so much on private education.”

#treat_all_jobs_equally
“The gap between rich and poor is so big that it creates a difference in the way certain jobs are treated. It makes people desperate for a good college degree, and the education fees grow accordingly. A normal worker should be able to make a good living, no matter what the job is.”
“One reason for this is that workers, especially manufacturers in small industries, have bad working conditions. One should be able to make a decent living no matter what job one has, but that’s not the case right now. So parents are doubling down on private education.”

#birthrate_stalemate
“The birthrate in Korea will never go up if the education system stays the same.”
“This society should stop prioritizing educational background. We must come up with policies and regulations to fix societal problems like this.”

BY LEE SI-YEOUNG, YOO JI-WOO [yoo.jiwoo@joongang.co.kr]