Private education spending surges over 60% despite shrinking student population

Private academu signs are seen in a commercial district in Seoul, Dec. 21, 2025. Yonhap

Even as Korea’s student population has shrunk because of the country’s low birthrate, spending on after-school tutoring and test preparation academies has risen by more than 60 percent over the past decade.

The increase has been driven largely by a surge in private tutoring among elementary school students, as demand shifts to increasingly younger ages.

According to data released Sunday by the Korea Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), household spending on private tutoring academies reached 29.19 trillion won ($20.18 billion), marking a 60.1 percent increase from 2014.

After declining through 2015, when spending fell to 17.83 trillion won, expenditures on after-school tutoring and test preparation centers began rising again in 2016 and surpassed 20 trillion won in 2019.

Spending dipped temporarily to 19.35 trillion won in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has increased for four consecutive years since 2021.

While the number of students is declining, overall spending on private tutoring has continued to rise, influenced by a range of social and economic factors.

KOSIS attributes the trend in part to increases in the price of education services, along with rising household incomes that have expanded families’ capacity to spend on education.

The trend has also been reinforced by the growing role of private education institutes in providing after-school care as the number of dual-income households increases. At the same time, the rise in single-child households has contributed to more intensive investment in children's education.

Spending on private education for elementary school students was the main driver of the overall increase.

In 2024, total spending at the elementary level reached 13.2 trillion won, up 74.1 percent from 2014. Meanwhile, spending on middle school students rose by 40.7 percent and high school spending increased by 60.5 percent.

In absolute terms, elementary school students' private education expenses were about 1.7 times higher than that of middle school students, which stood at 7.83 trillion won, and 1.6 times higher than for high school students at 8.13 trillion won.

Per-student private education spending has also increased sharply. Average monthly spending on private education for elementary school students reached a record high of 442,00 won in 2024, up 90.5 percent from 210,000 won from a decade earlier.

Over the same period, average monthly private education spending per middle school student rose by 81.5 percent from 270,000 won to 490,000 won. Expenses per high school student increased even more sharply, jumping by 126.1 percent, from 230,000 won to 520,000 won.

The spread of increasingly early academic competition has been cited as a major factor behind the surge in spending on private tutoring at the elementary school level.

A related phenomenon, known as “gosi for 4- and 7-year-olds,” referring to the placement tests for government service called "gosi," have highlighted the increased prominence of English- and math-focused institutes for preschool children, some of which are now requiring level testing as part of admissions.

Heightened educational fervor, combined with uncertainties over admissions and education policies, have intensified parental anxiety and pushed the demand for private tutoring to increasingly younger ages.

In response, both the government and the National Assembly have moved to curb the expansion of private education for young children. A bill banning level tests at English academies for preschoolers passed the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee last month with bipartisan support.

Critics, however, say the measure’s effectiveness will depend on whether authorities impose meaningful administrative penalties on private institutes that violate the ban, even if the bill is ultimately approved at a plenary session.