Cram school tuitions climb as more students retake Korea's college entrance exam

A student in Jongro Academy, a private cram school, takes a mock test for the suneung, or College Scholastic Ability Test, on Aug. 31, 2022. [NEWS1]

“It’s a 10-month sentence and a 40 million won [$31,000] fine,” said Mrs. Kim, the mother of a 12th grader, after searching how much it costs to have her child spend another year studying for the suneung, or College Scholastic Ability Test.

In Korea, many high school seniors who did not get into the school of their dreams wait for nearly a year for the next suneung, held every November.

Some 28 percent of all suneung takers last year, or 142,303 individuals, were high school graduates, suggesting they were retakers. The ratio of retakers to high school seniors was the highest in 22 years.

Suneung hagwon, or private cram schools, offer prep classes for the exam taught in a wide variety of ways.

Major private education institutes such as Megastudy and Daesung Mimac opened classes for suneung retakers on Monday. Some of these classes specifically target medical schools, others teach on the weekends. There are even “boarding hagwon” that provide room and board to students.

Parents of suneung hagwon students pay around 2 million won per month on average, with the cost climbing to 3.5 million won at boarding hagwon in Seoul.

Some parents pay over 4 million per month when practice exams, textbooks and special lectures are included.

The average tuition for private universities last year was 7.52 million won, according to the Korea Higher Education Research Institute, an education think tank. Medical schools cost 10.5 million.

This is to say that if a student registers for a regular suneung hagwon from January to October, the hagwon fee can easily triple some universities’ tuition.

“I may have to get a loan from the bank to register my kid,” said Lee, parent of a student who wishes to take a third shot at the suneung to get into medical school.

Rising labor costs and low birth rates have accounted for the high prices, according to the hagwon industry.

“Higher teaching pay and fewer registrations make us lower the student cap for classes, which in turn leads to higher registration fees paid by students,” said Lim Sung-ho, head of private cram school Jongro Academy. “We are aware of the heavier financial burden on parents.”

Experts say it may take Koreans a while ease their suneung hagwon frenzy.

“Students and parents choose to retake the suneung as they believe it is worth all the time and money,” said Park Nam-gi, a professor at Gwangju National University of Education.

He explained that as the gap between social classes widens, the desire for an individual to climb up the social ladder strengthens.

“Those who are left behind in the process are subject to an increased sense of deprivation,” Park added.

BY LEE HOO-YEON, JANG YOON-SEO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]