Fast Campus CEO to export career education

Lee Kang-min, CEO of Fast Campus, speaks about his company’s career education courses and overseas strategy at his office in southern Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of Fast Campus

By Lee Min-hyung

Lee Kang-min, 32, is seeking to change the nation’s educational landscape by exporting career education.

As CEO at the career education company Fast Campus, Lee runs some 50 education courses for jobseekers.

“Unlike developed countries in Europe and in North America, most Asian countries do not have well-established education programs,” he said in an interview last week. “We are planning to diversify our revenue streams by expanding our education programs into countries such as China.”

The startup chief expressed optimism for the project, as the company has seen what he calls “surging demand” in only two years after opening. More than 3,500 students have registered for the programs as of the end of last year, according to him. He said this is a massive increase, compared to just 800 students in 2014.

The company is set to offer online courses starting in the first half of this year.

“Upon establishing our online platform, we will accelerate our initiative to make inroads into foreign countries,” he said. “We believe we can generate tangible achievements no later than this year.”

Lee said he never expected that he would run a startup before graduating from university.

“I just lived a normal life like other students before drawing up the business initiative in 2013,” he said. “I thought the career education business is the next big thing, as there was little supply for such education despite growing demand.”

Fast Campus offers a diverse range of education courses _ including application development programs, marketing and even skills for operating startups.

“Education businesses do not require massive initial investments,” he said. “The main costs are rental fees for lecture rooms and salary for instructors. If we can open the online platform, we will be able to cut our heavy reliance on offline students and maximize our revenue channels.”

The company plans to open its language education business this year, providing English and Chinese courses designed to improve communication skills.

This occurred because the nation’s language education has placed too much emphasis on English test scores, rather than actually improving proficiency in language.

“Such a landscape has prevented the language education market from offering innovative, practical language courses,” said the company chief. “Our ultimate goal is to present a clear blueprint for students to speak foreign languages fluently, regardless of their test scores.”