Tiger parents want kids to go to learning camps

Social Affairs

Published: 07 Jun. 2022, 19:02 Updated: 07 Jun. 2022, 19:11

Tiger parents want kids to go to learning camps

Demand for summer camps, some abroad, skyrocketed after they reopened for the first time in two years. In this photo, travelers line up in the departure lobby of Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport on Sunday afternoon. [YONHAP]

Ms. Lee, a parent in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, tried to get her fifth-grader into an English language summer camp that was accepting applications through last Friday — but failed.

“As soon as registration was open, I was told that all slots were full,” recalled Lee. “Everyone says this summer vacation is very competitive.”

The 350 places in the camp for elementary to middle school students were filled in one minute.

“I put my child on the waiting list, but they say hundreds of people are waiting,” Lee said. “I’m trying to apply to other English language camps, and I hope I can get accepted in at least one of them.”

Educational summer camps were shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that they're reopening, competition is fiercer than ever.

Demand is especially strong for English language camps run by the elite special-purpose high schools specializing in foreign languages or private high schools. Such camps were popular before Covid-19, as they can help students get into such special-purpose high schools or international middle schools.

“It seems that summer camps run by major schools have become more popular due to the demand of parents who failed to enroll over the past years, as well as the increasing boom of private education,” said a teacher at a hagwon (cram school) in Daechi-dong, Korea’s well-known education hub in southern Seoul.

English camps in Korea, usually for elementary and middle school students, are meant to help children learn to study English on their own.

English camps usually go for 19 nights and 20 days. Kids wake up at 7 a.m. and classes end at 9 p.m. After that, kids are told to do homework or study on their own, even past midnight. Before entering the camp, students are evaluated and classified by level. They can only call their parents once a week.

Fees range from 3.2 million won ($2,544) to 3.8 million won, or 170,000 won to 200,000 won per night.

“Math crash courses” are also popular, and kids from the same cram school often attend together.

“Now that my child got into middle school, I am looking for a math camp because it is time to be committed to math rather than English,” said Ms. Lee, a parent of a seventh-grade middle schooler in Seocho District, southern Seoul.

“There are a lot of sixth graders who are already studying high school math curriculum,” said another hagwon teacher in Daechi-dong. “There are parents who send their kids to a two-to-three-week math camp during the summer vacation because they worry their children may lag behind.”

With international travel finally opening up, camps and school programs abroad — in the United States, the Philippines, and Canada — are also in demand. Prices vary widely, ranging from 4 million won to 10 million won per month.

A child can be sent alone, and some programs allow parents to come along. International camps may include local cultural activities, but those that focus on Korean-style entrance exams for international schools or weekend math classes are more popular.

The disruption of schools during the pandemic only made parents more keen on getting them into learning camps.

"It's a pity that young students' activities are still focused on private education in English and math,” a guidance counselor from a high school in Seoul said. "Schools should provide quality education so that children can enjoy a proper vacation."

BY LEE HOO-YEON [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]