Korea stifled by private education burden

South Korea is stifled under the weight of private education. The burden is heavy for both rich and poor families. The economy is stumbling in an unprecedented slump, yet the private education industry is thriving. According to Statistics Korea, monthly spending on private academies after school for families in the top 20-percent income group with children aged 13 to 18 averaged 1,143,000 won ($871), taking up 17.5 percent of their total monthly expenditure of 6.53 million won.

Spending on children’s private education nearly equals what these families paid for food and drinks (636,000 won) and housing and utility bills (539,000 won). But that’s just an average. In reality, parents in their 40s and 50s spend millions of won a month on sending their children in middle or high schools to after-school academies.

Relatively poor families are no different. Monthly private education cost 482,000 won for the bottom 20-percent income group, more than their food and beverage cost. It cannot be a normal society if lower income families must spend more on educating their children than living cost. If so, what is the need for public education?

Private education has become indispensable in Korea. According to a recent survey by the government, 78.3 percent of all students in elementary, middle and high schools in the country received private education last year. The ratio is 84.3 percent in Seoul. All students are taking some form of private education because everyone else is doing it.

The private education industry has grown bigger even during the Covid-19 pandemic. The JoongAng Ilbo found that cram schools totaled 24,284 in Seoul as of May, tripling the population of convenience stores. It is why Korea is referred to as the “republic of private education.” Spending on private education totaled 26 trillion won last year, accounting for 1.2 percent of the GDP. The spending increased 10.8 percent despite the decline in student numbers.

Korea owes the world’s lowest birthrate to the horrendous private education cost. A survey by Shinhan Life on men aged from 25 to 39, over-the-top childcare and education cost was cited the biggest reason behind the low birthrate. The factor was second after the social environment that hardens the balance of work and family care for females of the same age group.

Hefty cost of child education is making young people give up having babies. Private education is the culprit of hardening the lives of children and households. The country needs to come up with effective measures to normalize public education fast. Korea is surrendering a healthy and sustainable future if it chooses to stay as the republic of private education.