By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Piano lessons, English tutoring and art classes are understood as the basic three-part ``must-dos'' for a typical child raised in South Korea. But late into the wee hours of the night, another curriculum waits at home for the tired children.
``Educational supplements start with kindergarten registration, and it seems like almost every child does it,'' said Kim Soo-ee, a parent leader of the Seoul YMCA. ``You feel like a mom out of the loop if you don't have your son or daughter signed up.''
And such frenzy gave birth to an educational supplement market that's worth over 4 trillion won a year, industry experts say.
At the top of the stack is the market's No. 1 brand Daekyo's Noonnoppi, followed by Woongjin's Think Big, both targeting students from kindergarten to middle school. Kumon, often misunderstood as a homegrown brand, is a Japanese program also popular here.
These businesses started stepping up their game since the 1980s and most of them agree that the domestic market has reached its growth limit.
Daekyo said about 2.5 million children are subscribed with them, and an estimated one in three Koreans born after 1970 has registered for the group's tutorial program.
``Just like any other industry,'' said Daekyo spokesman Kim Bong-hwan, ``when a local market reaches saturation, it looks overseas.''
Daekyo first set up its global office in Los Angeles in 1991, initially aiming to attract the Korean-American and other Asian communities. Noonnoppi was later renamed E.nopi in 2000 to better connect with the locals.
The business was a success, said Kim, adding the operation quickly spread to other parts of the United States, then to other countries including China, Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia.
Company CEO Song Ja said it aimed to record 3 trillion won by 2010, just from the overseas business alone.
The goal doesn't seem too far-fetched, as program subscribers are on a steady rise thanks to what moms call a ``solid curriculum.''
``The after school tutorial helps my daughter enhance her math and reading skills with the detailed workbooks,'' wrote one mom in an online product review forum.
Although E.nopi is gaining popularity, Kumon is still recognized as the No. 1 global leader in education supplements, as it has currently secured more than 4 million students in 45 countries.
``We share a similar target consumer base,'' said Kim, highlighting China and Southeast Asian countries as the next big markets.
No. 2 player Woongjin's Think Big said it is also starting to make more aggressive rollouts into these market, adding that ``the Korean wave will only help their business.''
Experts say domestic publishers' inroad into the global market is a positive growth that's on a different level to exporting cars and mobile phones.