Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
Korea's early education frenzy puts children's rights at risk, human rights chief warns
Children play with bubbles at the campus grounds of Chonnam National University in Gwangju, Monday, a day ahead of Children's Day. Courtesy of Gwangju Buk District
By Park Han-sol
Korean children may excel in the classroom, but many are falling behind when it comes to physical and mental well-being, the country’s top human rights official warned Monday, sounding the alarm over the extreme culture of early private education that has come to define childhood for many families.
In Korea, children as young as 4 are being funneled into English-language preschools, while many others enter private cram schools years before elementary school graduation to gain an edge in the country’s notoriously cutthroat college admissions race.
Calling the spread of so-called “Entrance exams at age 4 and 7” a serious violation of children’s rights, Ahn Chang-ho, chair of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, warned that childhood is being consumed by an unhealthy obsession with competition.
“Children should grow not according to the speed of competition, but through the depth of time in which they are respected,” he said in a statement released ahead of Children’s Day on Tuesday.
The warning comes as the country’s educational success masks deeper vulnerabilities. According to UNICEF data cited by Ahn, Korean children rank fourth in academic achievement among 36 OECD and EU countries, but fare far worse in broader well-being, placing 28th in physical health and 34th in mental health.
Ahn also weighed in on one of Korea’s increasingly divisive social debates: whether to lower the age of criminal responsibility for juvenile offenders, an issue that has gained momentum following a string of violent crimes involving minors.
He cautioned that simply expanding punitive measures would do little to curb youth crime, while potentially exposing children to deeper stigma and discrimination.
Instead, he emphasized prevention and rehabilitation — stronger early intervention, comprehensive social support and educational frameworks aimed at addressing the roots of juvenile delinquency and helping at-risk youth reconnect with society.
Beyond education and juvenile justice, Ahn pointed to child abuse as another urgent area requiring stronger systemic intervention. With roughly 40 children dying from abuse each year and repeated child death cases shocking the public, he called for more proactive detection systems and greater on-the-ground support for victims.
At the same time, the chief addressed escalating tensions between parents and educators, as child abuse accusations against teachers have become more frequent.
“Children’s rights and teachers’ authority should not be viewed as opposing forces,” he said. “Only when teachers’ rights are respected can those of children also be fully protected.”