Hagwons And Korea's Obsession With Education

It is well known that South Korea as a country is very passionate about education.

Many school children here receive education not only in their mandatory day-school, but also in the evenings, when they go to private academies and cram schools, otherwise referred to as hagwon (학원) in the country.

Recently, a segment on a Korean TV program showed an 8-year old who was taking 11 additional classes per week at different hagwons. Many viewers voiced their concerns about having children study that hard at an age when they should be playing and having fun.

The 8-Year-Old Child Introduced On SBS Einstein Asking His Parent, "Did I Get The Question Wrong?"

The child took classes in English and Chinese on Mondays, and on Tuesdays took classes in Chinese characters (hanja) and Korean history, as well as learned the violin and ballet.

On Wednesdays, classes included mathematics and composition … The parents were so hell-bent on giving their child the best education that they set up an overly exacting study plan.

But they are not alone. Many parents in South Korea are indeed very passionate about education, and as a result there is a plethora of hagwons in the country.

In this article we will take a closer look Korea's hagwon culture.

HAGWON CULTURE AMONG YOUNG STUDENTS

The Main Gate Of Seoul National University

In South Korea, people are often judged by their academic records. If you graduated from a prestigious university, you will often be considered “successful”.

As a result, parents will encourage their children to study hard from a young age in order to have them attend a good university, and sending children to cram schools after ordinary school finishes is also considered normal.

Districts like Gangnam and Seocho in Seoul are especially famous for their education fervour, and in these areas thousands of hagwons can be found.

If you walk around these districts around 10pm when the hagwon classes finish, you will see hundreds of students pour out on the streets from the academies. Hagwon buses and parents waiting to pick up their children from the academies often clog up the traffic around this time.

Private academies are found not only in Seoul, but they are all over South Korea, and high school students will sometime take classes and study at these places until midnight.

Source: E-나라지표

In fact, a study from 2019 showed that 74.8% of students from elementary school to high school received private education (83.5% of elementary school students, 71.4% of middle school students and 67.9% of high school students).

The average cost of sending one’s child to hagwon academies was ₩429,000 per month. As the price per hagwon is usually around ₩300,000 per month, it means that the average student will attend at least one or two hagwons.

I’m sure many of you watched the popular K-drama Sky Castle. This drama criticized the obsession with education and getting into prestigious universities that can be found among upper-class Koreans, who often reside in previously mentioned Gangnam and Seokcho Districts.

The drama’s depiction of upper-class Koreans’ excessive educational methods was shocking also to many Koreans!

At the beginning of the drama, the son of a wealthy family decides to leave home after finally having been accepted to the prestigious Seoul National University Medical School.

He leaves a message for his parents asking them if his acceptance to the university had finally made them satisfied.

In the drama, families are shown spending hundreds of million won on private tutors who are tasked with helping their children getting accepted to the famous medical school.

At first, most Koreans wrote off the plot as no more than a drama production. But soon people with experience from within the very top percentile of wealthy Korean families came forward and confirmed that these families indeed spend money and zeal for entrance exams just like in the drama.

This started a conversation about the excessive importance that the country put on education.

News Of A Family Who Moved Out Of Seoul Once Their Third Daughter Had Been Accepted To University

There are many stories of families who chose to move to smaller but more expensive apartments in the Gangnam District for the sake of their children’s education, paying more money than they can afford on private academies and private tutors

As we have seen, hagwons are a part of most South Korean children’s daily life. There are many different kinds of hagwons, and we will introduce some of them.

HAGWONS FOR UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAMS
대입학원

South Korean students often focus on getting accepted to prestigious universities from a young age, in many cases already from elementary school.

In Korea like in many other Asian countries, there are therefore private academies or cram schools which help the students study for entrance exams.

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1. Single Subject Hagwons
단과학원

At Single Subject Hagwons, or dangwa hagwon (단과학원), students can study any of the important subjects Korean, English, Mathematics, Social Science and Natural Science.

These are all important subjects for the university entrance exam.

At these hagwons students usually only study one subject, as opposed to Entrance Exam Hagwons where students instead study all subjects necessary for university exams.

They are a bit cheaper at around ₩300,000/month.

At English hagwons, students are taught grammar and expressions that often appear on university exams; at Math hagwons, students can ask the teacher about formulas they are struggling with.

Usually there are fewer students in classes at these hagwons than in day school or entrance exam hagwons, which makes it easier to ask questions to the teacher.

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2. Hagwons For University Entrance Exam
입시학원

University Entrance Exam Hagwons, called ipshi hagwon (입시학원) in Korean, have seperate teachers for all important subjects, and lectures are given every day according to a time table.

Classes are divided between Korean, English, Mathematics, Social Science, Natural Science and more, and classes are divided according to students’ grades.

The cost is usually around ₩400,000-500,000/month.

There are also classes to help with mid-term and finals, and students trying to get a head start can also take classes during summer and winter vacations.

Because many students have already learned in a hagwon what they are supposed to learn at their mandatory day school, many students skip day classes or use them to do their hagwon homework, or they catch up on some sleep.

As a result, many children end up obtaining almost all their knowledge in hagwons, something that has been highlighted as a potential problem.

There are also hagwons that help students getting accepted to universities of arts and sports.

In order to get in to these universities, students need not only score good on exams but also build up a portfolio, something that the hagwons will help them with. In a high school class of 30 students, only three or four will choose to apply to a university of arts or sports.

One hagwon that focuses on music has been in the limelight lately.

Many talented young singers have attended this hagwon, and after the academy uploaded some of their students’ performances on YouTube, people have been praising their great track record of getting students into prestigious universities’ music departments.

Maybe some of the K-pop stars of tomorrow could be seen in the videos.

Source: 스테이지631

HAGWONS FOR ADULTS

Traditionally, hagwons were seen as after-class schools for middle school and high school students, but nowadays many adults also attend hagwons to prepare for university exams or to increase their chances of finding a job.

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Hagwons For Retaking University Entrance Exams & Transferring Universities
재수학원 & 편입학원

Many students in South Korea will retake university exams or change universities. Between 10 to 40% of students who are accepted to universities have taken the entrance exam more than one year.

This is certainly true for students of top universities; many of them have either spend years taking entrance exams or transferred from another university,

Many South Korean university students chose majors after their grades rather than anything else.

Once they start their university studies, many find that they don’t enjoy their major, and they might drop out in order to re-take entrance exams, this time for a university or faculty that they think will better suit their preferences.

But entrance exams are tough, even for those who have been through the experience once. Therefore, there are hagwons that assist these students.

There are programs both for students who plan on taking entrance exams afresh, and students who will take a special exam for transferring universities.

VOCATIONAL HAGWONS

There are especially many hagwons that focus on professions that require certain know-hows and skills, such as flight attendants and positions at major corporations.

Landing a good employment is not an easy feat in South Korea, which is why many Koreans choose to prepare for job hunting by going to hagwons.

There are many different kinds of vocational hagwons, and we will take a look at some of them.

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1. Pro Gamer Hagwons
프로게이머 학원

Source: 데일리시큐

Pro Gamer Hagwons are attended by people of all ages who dream of becoming the next Faker (League of Legends Pro Gamer). It’s a new kind of hagwon that didn’t exist in the past.

Not only is it a place where you can play games, at the hagwon they teach students important strategies in order to improve their skills.

Although some students at these hagwons are serious in their ambitions of becoming a pro gamers, many other are just ordinary school children who are sent there by their parents because they would’t study anyways.

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2. Flight Attendant Hagwons
승무원 학원

Source: 데일리시큐

Most South Korean who dream of becoming a flight attendant will go to a specialized hagwon.

Flight attendant is a highly popular profession in South Korea, and to beat the competition and get into a flight attendant school or university, many will pay to get trained at hagwons.

Some students of these hagwons are preparing for the entrance exam to aviation universities, whereas others have already finished their university studies within another field, and are now attempting to become a flight attendant via an exam that can be taken separate from universities.

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3. Civil Servant Hagwons
공무원 학원

The job market in South Korea has for many years been competitive and volatile.

One of the most secure employments is the one as a civil servant, and many Koreans therefore dream of becoming one. But first they need to pass the public service examination.

A friend of mine went to one of these civil servant hagwons. I was surprised at the time, as she suddenly stopped showing up at the school we were studying at together.

After asking mutual friends, I found out that she had signed up for an intensive course at a civil servant hagwon.

That friend however could not keep up with the high and ruthless pace of the hagwon, and exhausted she ended up coming back after three months.

Even if the competition is fierce, the secure employment, pension benefits and other perks make many Koreans give it a try at least once.

It is not an easy feat to pass the civil servant exam; many years less than 1% of the test takers will be successful.

Civil servants hagwons who have famous lecturers are therefore extremely popular, and most of them have lucture halls that take between 100-200 students.

Getting a seat in the front row is another competition, and many line up from the early morning to get a good seat.

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4. Job Hunting Hagwons
취업 학원

Source: CCTV 뉴스

The employment rate among young Koreans was more than 25.6% in 2020, and landing a job is sometimes compared to a snowball’s chance in hell.

As a result, there are today many hagwons that focus on helping students getting an employment.

These hagwons are different from other vocational hagwons in that they usually focus on helping students landing a job at a certain company.

Actual Courses Found Online: “Full Package For Getting Into Samsung” And "Path For Getting Into Hyundai”

For example, if you take a hagwon course which specialized on the Korean conglomerate CJ Group, you will learn the most effective way of getting a job at CJ, from writing a resume, preparation for the company entrance exam to how to behave during job interviews.

Lectures on how to talk, sit and react during job interviews are especially in high demand!

The picture below shows information on fees for online lectures that focus on CJ Group.

The course includes lectures on writing resumes, company entrance exam, job interviews, entrance exams for South Korean conglomerates and mock exams from 22 major Korean corporations.

Apparently you can listen to all these lectures for 109,000 won, which, albeit being an online course, must be considered quite reasonable.

Source: 에듀윌

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5. Hip Hop Hagwons
힙합 학원

Ever since the audition show Show Me the Money started airing, the hip hop music genre has been increasingly popular in South Korea.

Nowadays many young South Koreans dream of becoming a rapper. To satisfy this demand, "Hip Hip Hagwons” have started appearing.

These hagwons teach students rap vocalization, how to write rap lyrics, how to create beats and more.

There are different levels that range from amateurs who see it as a hobby to those who hope to become professional rappers.

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6. Reading Rooms & Study Cafes
독서실 & 스터디 카페

Although so called reading rooms are a bit different from hagwons, they are equally important for South Korean middle school, high school and even university students.

These reading rooms are, like the name suggests, a place to read books in silence, and according to Korean law they are actually classified as hagwons.

Korean students come to these reading rooms on the weekends, preferring to study here rather than at home, or on weekdays after school has finished to put in some extra study hours.

Until the mid 2010's, most reading rooms looked like the picture above, with partitions separating the students, and just enough space to study,

They cost about ₩100,000-150,000 a month, and are still popular as they provide a space where students can focus on their studies.

Since the middle of the 2010s, these reading rooms were rebranded as ”premium reading rooms” and “study cafés”.

Nowadays many of these places offer an interior that reminds of European university libraries. Snacks, beverages, printing, internet lectures and much more are included in the price.

The price for using these modern reading rooms is a bit higher at about ₩200,00 to 250,000/month. But they have all that a student could ask for, and they are very popular indeed.

News Of Students Studying At Hagwons And Reading Rooms Instead Of School After Schools Closed Down Due To COVID-19

Recently many schools have been temporarily closed due to the coronavirus in order to prevent further spread. But students instead gather at hagwons and reading rooms to study, and this has become a hot topic in South Korea.

With this we wrap up this article about South Korea’s hagwon culture. Personally, I would like to try out going to a pro-gaming hagwon.

Did you find any hagwon that you would like to study at? Let us know in the comments!