Students need resting spaces in overheated private academy districts. Parents are turning to campers.
Published: 27 Jan. 2026, 18:40
![People walk on a street in Daechi-dong, a neighborhood dense with private education institutes in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 4, 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/27/ecbf24f8-fbf4-4812-bf00-e9138ed40b1e.jpg)
People walk on a street in Daechi-dong, a neighborhood dense with private education institutes in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 4, 2025. [YONHAP]
A camper van parked along a curb in Daechi-dong, a neighborhood in southern Seoul known for its dense concentration of private academies, has ignited debate among parents about the rising costs and pressures of private education.
Photos of the van began circulating in online parent communities in the Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa districts on Sunday. Many speculated that parents are using camper vans as makeshift resting spaces for children shuttled between hangwon (cram school) classes throughout the day.
The sight drew criticism, who called it a stark symbol of Korea’s overheated private education culture — in which attending lessons on a wide range of subjects for hours after school is the norm — colliding with soaring housing costs.
In Gangnam and neighboring Seocho, it is not unusual for parents to retrofit vans — often Hyundai Starex models — into camper-style vehicles during school breaks so that their children can rest, nap or eat between classes. The lack of affordable, short-term lodging near hagwon clusters is believed to be driving the shift.
![Students enter a cram school in the Daechi-dong neighborhood of Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 4. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/27/1a76d75f-79f2-4ea2-a64d-c97658cab0ec.jpg)
Students enter a cram school in the Daechi-dong neighborhood of Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 4. [YONHAP]
“You can rest and eat in a camper van, so it seems that people are renting them while their children attend classes in Daechi,” one commenter wrote.
“If there's a gap between classes, kids nap in the van, and when traffic enforcement shows up, the parents just drive around the block,” another comment read. “At this rate, Daechi will be packed with camper vans.”
“Some students who don’t live nearby take only a few special lectures here, and when they have breaks between classes, they rest in their parents' vehicles,” a lecturer at a test prep center in Daechi-dong said. “While they may sometimes face parking fines, finding a room nearby is even harder — and more expensive — so parents are turning to their cars.”
According to real estate data, the monthly rent for small units in officetels, buildings that combine office and residential spaces, near Daechi-dong typically starts at 1.1 million won ($760), with some listings going as high as 1.9 to 2.6 million won. In contrast, the average monthly rent for officetels in Seoul sits at around 900,000 won, according to the Korea Real Estate Board, putting Daechi-dong at least 20 to 30 percent above the citywide average.
![Parents and students listen to a special admissions strategy session for 2026 college admissions held at a cram school in the Daechi-dong neighborhood of Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on July 27, 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/27/0f73c239-7181-433d-9f63-1c6b4878aa4e.jpg)
Parents and students listen to a special admissions strategy session for 2026 college admissions held at a cram school in the Daechi-dong neighborhood of Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on July 27, 2025. [YONHAP]
Rents climb even higher during school breaks, when demand surges for temporary housing near cram schools.
“It’s hard to even find a listing for a one-room unit close to the institutes during winter break,” said a realtor in Daechi-dong. “Units that are within walking distance of hagwon clusters are usually all leased out by early December.”
Some parents try to save on costs by sharing a rented room or officetel with other families and turning it into a temporary study room. But as more students are reluctant to share living spaces, parents are increasingly turning to alternatives like nearby motels or resting in vehicles.
“Some parents let their children rest in the car or book a motel room,” said a parent of a high school student in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul. “But when you're going everywhere with your child, all day every day, there just aren’t many options.”
Similar scenes are unfolding in major education hubs outside Seoul. A middle school parent in Daejeon said they rented an officetel in the city's densely packed Dunsan-dong area again this winter, after doing the same last summer.
“With a 5 million won deposit and 400,000 won in monthly rent, it’s cheaper than gas, parking and fines,” they said. “The kids can rest between classes, and I can too, so it’s a better solution.”
Parents say the situation reflects the increasingly high cost of keeping up with private education.
“It seems like you can’t even afford proper tutoring for your child unless you can rent an officetel,” said a parent of a preschooler in Jung District, central Seoul. “And if you can’t do that, now you’re left thinking about camper vans.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE HOO-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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