Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
'Thoughtful approach needed on prior learning bans'
Choi Jin-ki
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
A bill to ban private institutes from teaching subjects that are not yet on school curricula was submitted to the National Assembly April 16. It was authored by lawmakers of the governing Saenuri Party, following up on President Park Geun-hye’s audacious pledge to abate Korea’s internationally-known private education fervor, which continues to eat into the finances of families.
Choi Jin-ki, an economics pundit and one of the country’s famous college exam experts, agreed that widespread attendance at cram schools, called ``hagwon,’’ is the root of many problems. But the real question, he says, lies in how to separate it from special education for the gifted.
"It is clearly the worst way to teach students,’’ Choi said in an interview with The Korea Times. "Students do not have an option but to study everything in advance because everyone does it, feeling they will end up lagging behind if they don’t follow the trend. It is a game that no one can stop first.’’
From a short-sighted view, studying at hagwon works in boosting scores in the state college entrance exams, but it could eventually take away the students’ ability to self-study, he said.
"As they learn beyond what they can understand, they end up memorizing things ahead of tests. Then, they lose interest in studying,’’ Choi said. ``After losing interest, they stop studying when they don’t have to.’’
The problem is that most private institutes promote themselves as “academies for a gifted education.” Many of them teach above the level that students can grasp.
“I believe there is a social consensus about the need for elite education. But it will be very hard to draw a fine line between the two,” Choi said.
If entrance examination for foreign language and science high schools becomes easy, the test will likely be criticized for its inability to distinguish more appropriate students from the rest, he said.
“Adopting other standards such as conducting an essay test or an interview failed miserably as they turned out to be even more problematic,’’ said Choi, citing a recent illicit admission scandal at Yonghoon International School.
“In the end, it is the responsibility for the Ministry of Education to come up with ways to solve the problem while leaving the education for the gifted unhurt.”
According to ministry data from last year, parents spent 19 trillion won on private education for their children, and the number is expected to continue to rise.
Choi also said the “overinvestment in education” is a great waste of the nation’s resources, noting more practical content should be taught, if the current system has to remain.
“No matter how hard each student studies, only a few at the top can get into Seoul National University. It becomes a problem if the knowledge they learn in school is not practical,” Choi said. “Korea’s education that resembles Fordism may have helped the country rise from the ashes, but it exposes many problems now.”
He said even many private institute instructors think the size of private education is too big.
“After such intense education in and outside high schools, it is natural for graduates to feel they want to stay away from studying in college,” he added. “With all the smart high school students in this country, I wonder why we don’t have a great scholar.”