Private education for infants, preschoolers surges in South Korea

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In South Korea, which is renowned for its fervent pursuit of education, the number of parents opting for private education for their infants and preschool children is rapidly increasing, data showed Sunday.

According to the Korea Institute of Child Care & Education, a survey conducted last year among parents of 2,393 infants and preschool children aged 0 to 6, revealed that 21.9 percent of respondents provided private education to their children within the past three months. This figure represents a noteworthy increase of 41.3 percent over a four-year period, rising from 15.5 percent in 2018.

The data also showed that parents chose to have their infants and preschool children in private education for an average of 3.9 hours per week and paid an average of 166,000 won ($130) per month for private education.

Private education refers to supplementary education provided in addition to public education. The rise in the percentage of parents opting for private education for their infants and preschool children suggests that parents perceive a lack of adequate education provided by daycare centers or kindergartens, which fall under the purview of public education.

According to the data, 40 percent of parents who choose private education for their infants and preschool children acknowledged that they faced financial burdens due to the cost of private education, but they said that “otherwise children would fall behind their peers.”

Numerous studies have indicated that in Korean society, academic achievement and admission to prestigious universities are intricately linked to social status. This connection arises from the influence of Confucian traditions, the assimilation of Western educational concepts and the rapid economic development experienced in the country.

Many parents strive for their children to excel in their future careers, which creates a sense of unease if they are unable to provide private education when other parents can. In this private education-centric environment, a cycle of intense academic pressure and relentless competition perpetuates detrimental effects, including depression, low birth rates and educational inequality.

In response to mounting concerns, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has recently directed the Ministry of Education to devise measures aimed at reducing the expenses associated with private education. As part of these efforts, he instructed officials to eliminate questions from the college scholastic ability test that fall outside the scope of the curriculum.